Preppers Network News

Could a nuclear generated electromagnetic pulse kill your car?
http://www.electropages.com/2017/05/cou … -kill-car/

Published May 22 2017

Most of us know about the latest round of sabre-rattling, chest-thumping verbal exchanges between the USA and North Korea as they strive to convince each other their military weapons are biggest and best. Its familiar stuff, except for just recently when the subject of nuclear generated electromagnetic pulses reared its potentially devastating head.

Electromagnetic pulses (EMP) as a form of military weapon have of course been known about for years although information about them has been closely guarded.

An enemy could use EMP to destroy the electrical and electronic infrastructure of another country with massively debilitating effect. Anything from communications systems, power grids, electronic equipment, water and fuel services and much more could be disabled by an EMP attack.

However one element of modern life that may possibly withstand such an attack are the cars we drive.

But before delving into that, what is an EMP? The most familiar one to most of us is a lightening strike which in EMP parlance is classified as an E2 strike. Potentially very dangerous but usually controlled by surge protection technology so damage is minimised.

Nuclear generated EMP

In comparison to lightening, an EMP created by a high altitude nuclear device has the higher classification of E1 and is far more powerful.

Following such a nuclear detonation, gamma rays are released that start to absorb electrons from the atmosphere and both of these head towards earth. This is called the Compton Effect and the electrons combine with Earth’s electromagnetic field to generate extremely powerful magnetic waves.

The nuclear device prompting all this doesn’t need to be that big. In the early 1960s the USA tested a 1.5-megaton nuclear EMP in a study referred to as Starfish Prime above the Pacific Ocean. It caused electrical damage 900 miles away in Hawaii by disabling about 3% of the island’s street lighting.

However, if that same warhead had been exploded 200 miles above the US mainland the damage would have been far more. The strength of that EMP would have been up to 30,000Volts/metre because the Earth’s magnetic field has greater strength over the United States territory rather than the Pacific Ocean. And while on the subject of EMP strength, scientists today estimate that in the right location an E1 EMP could be as powerful as 50,000Volts/metre.

Wrecked Infrastructure

So having wrecked a substantial amount of what is considered modern infrastructure would a nuclear EMP attack also disable our cars? This is a tricky question to answer because even today the effects of a true nuclear EMP are difficult to accurately predict.

At the time of the Starfish Prime test cars were much simpler technically than today’s vehicles and the generally held view at that time was cars might stall but would probably start up and run normally.

Today opinions on the subject vary enormously. One view is that if your car has electronic fuel injection, anything computerised that controls your vehicle’s primary systems, a powertrain control module, ABS, electronic ignition or keyless ignition then your vehicle would be totally disabled by an E1 EMP of 50,000Volts/metre.

Sensitive Electronics

However, opposing that somewhat negative perspective is the view that many vehicles might survive an E1 EMP. Sensitive electronics may be shielded well enough to continue to operate. In effect, the metal parts of a car body could potentially act as a Faraday cage. And lets not forget that many electronic components used in cars have to operate in harsh, high temperature conditions and consequently are often of more robust design and are well protected.

However, the Faraday cage optimism is somewhat dented by the fact that if a car body did form a perfect cage then you wouldn’t be able to make phone calls from it.

Generally speaking the answer to whether our modern cars could stand up to an Electromagnetic Pulse attack comes down to just one thing; how strong is the attack.

Tests in the past have shown that car electronics subjected to an EMP of less than 25,000Volts/metre would not be effected. It is only when an EMP of E1 proportions (50kVm) strikes that serious problems could occur that would either totally disable the car or cause malfunctions on a car that was being driven that would inevitably result in a road traffic accident.

Tests have also shown that cars switched off at the time of a high power EMP would start and function close to normal.

So some drivers could find their cars were still working following a substantial EMP attack. The question is would they still be useful bearing in mind fuel would not be available because the electronics used in garage petrol pumps would be disabled and highway control systems such as traffic lights would be out. Add to that the fact highways would be jammed with dead cars and perhaps the overall answer to the headline question is don’t throw your bicycle away yet.

Statistics: Posted by ReadyMom — Mon May 22, 2017 10:54 am

Another Missile launch on Sunday (05/21/17):

US official: North Korea launches medium-range ballistic missile
http://abcnews.go.com/International/sou … d=47539922

North Korea launched a medium-range ballistic missile Sunday afternoon, a senior Trump administration official has confirmed.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile was fired from an area about 50 miles northeast of Pyongyang.

“We are aware that North Korea launched an MRBM [medium-range ballistic missile],” the U.S. official said in a statement. “This system, last tested in February, has a shorter range than the missiles launched in North Korea’s three most recent tests.”

Prior to the U.S. official’s statement, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, “North Korea launched an unidentifiable projectile to the East Sea from Bukchang area in South Pyongyang Province at 16:49 today.” (The East Sea is also referred to as the Sea of Japan.)

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff statement continued, “The projectile flew 500 km [310 miles] and ROK and U.S. are now analyzing its detailed [sic]. ROK military is closely monitoring North Korean provocative trends and maintaining highest military readiness.”

Commander David Benham, a U.S. Pacific Command spokesman, also addressed the missile launch, saying in a statement, “U.S. Pacific Command detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch at 09:59 p.m. Hawaii time May 20. The launch of a medium range ballistic missile occurred near Pukchang. The missile was tracked until it landed in the Sea of Japan.”

The statement continued, “We are working with our Interagency partners on a more detailed assessment. We continue to monitor North Korea’s actions closely. U.S. Pacific Command stands behind our ironclad commitment to the security of our allies in the Republic of Korea and Japan. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) assessed that the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America.”

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the missile launch, saying in a statement, “The repeated provocation of North Korea is a reckless and irresponsible act that puts cold water on the expectations and aspirations of the Korean government and the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and peace settlement, and the government strongly condemns this provocation.”

The ministry continued, “The government recently announced a firm commitment to pursue the root resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue through all means including sanctions and dialogue, through dispatching special envoys to major countries such as the US, China, Japan and Russia. While the government is open to possibility of dialogue with North Korea, it will continue to stand firmly in response to provocations, saying that North Korea should immediately stop any provocations that violated UN Security Council resolutions.”

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo Sunday, “This launch presented a grave problem from the perspective of ensuring safety of aircraft and vessels. It was also a clear violation of the United Nations’ Security Council resolution. Japan cannot accept North Korea’s repeated provocation and we have lodged a strong protest against North Korea.”

Suga added, “At this point, it is speculated that the area where it fell was not within Japan’s Economic Exclusive Zone. There has been so far no report of damage to aircraft or vessels that were passing near the point [where the missile was believed to have fallen.]”

“This launch presented a grave problem from the perspective of ensuring safety of aircraft and vessels. It was also a clear violation of the United Nations’ Security Council resolution. Japan cannot accept North Korea’s repeated provocation and we have lodged a strong protest against North Korea.”

The missile launched Sunday was last tested in February. Called the KN-15, the new solid-fueled missile traveled 310 miles into the Sea of Japan. It was a significant launch, not because of the distance traveled but because of the solid fuel missile technology used in the launch.

Gen. John Hyten, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the February launch marked a significant advancement for North Korea because it was its first successful solid-fueled missile fired from a mobile launcher.

North Korea last weekend launched a midrange missile that landed in the Sea of Japan after being launched from western North Korea. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the missile flew for about 23 minutes before crashing into the sea around 500 km (310 miles) from Russia into the center of the Sea of Japan.

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer and Joohee Cho contributed to this report.

Statistics: Posted by ReadyMom — Mon May 22, 2017 10:48 am