EMP - Is what I'm reading a Joke or something?

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Video's like that make me chuckle..

There are two things that untrained people should never mess with.. 1) Electricty and 2) Explosives.

A microwave may provide enough attenuation to block a signal going to a cell phone but it won't come remotely close to blocking an NEMP (nuclear emp).. Comparing a cell phone signal to an NEMP (E1 Pulse), is like calling an apple tree a fruit store. Its such a ridiculous video that it boarders on engineering comedy for those who understand electromagnetic wave propagation..

Trust me, your microwave won't stop an E1 pulse from a high altitude nuclear detonation any better than your screen door will stop a cement truck.


nice one doc, I just put my wifes I5S in a metal biscuit tin lined with bubble wrap and a tight fitting equally metal lid and tried phoning it, the tin sucessfully blocked the signal. Make be worthwhile doing some experiments with other sealable metal containers perhaps in combination with foil coated mylar bags as well???
Again with the cell phones! Stop it! Cell phones process signals that are measured in millivolts and microvolts! That is .0001 volts! When a nuclear bomb is detonated in space, the gamma rays it produces knock electrons from the atoms in our atmosphere.. Its a process called "compton scattering" or "the compton effect".. Those electrons then flow to earth with an electrical potential that can reach as high as 50,000 volts per meter.. Using a cell phone signal as a comparison is like using a 9 volt battery to prove something is lightening proof.. its a joke!

You don't have to spend thousands to protect your electronics.. Simple put them behind multiple layers of metal that are insulated from each other. Put your electronics in a high quality static shield bag (seal it up), then put that bag into another bag, then put those bags into a trash can with a cardboard liner and tape the entire thing shut with a conductive tape. No gaps, no holes.. Make it air tight. Then put it in your basement.

That will protect 95% of your electronics from 95% of EMP pulses.
 
well I am not going to worry to much about it,I have plans for a under ground shelter with 10 ft of dirt over top of it if that is not enough to protect electronics well,,,they just can not be saved,,,besides I think the effects of a EMP is way over rated,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that is my opinion because no one really knows with absolute certainty what one will do...............
 
Video's like that make me chuckle..

There are two things that untrained people should never mess with.. 1) Electricty and 2) Explosives.

A microwave may provide enough attenuation to block a signal going to a cell phone but it won't come remotely close to blocking an NEMP (nuclear emp).. Comparing a cell phone signal to an NEMP (E1 Pulse), is like calling an apple tree a fruit store. Its such a ridiculous video that it boarders on engineering comedy for those who understand electromagnetic wave propagation..

Trust me, your microwave won't stop an E1 pulse from a high altitude nuclear detonation any better than your screen door will stop a cement truck.



Again with the cell phones! Stop it! Cell phones process signals that are measured in millivolts and microvolts! That is .0001 volts! When a nuclear bomb is detonated in space, the gamma rays it produces knock electrons from the atoms in our atmosphere.. Its a process called "compton scattering" or "the compton effect".. Those electrons then flow to earth with an electrical potential that can reach as high as 50,000 volts per meter.. Using a cell phone signal as a comparison is like using a 9 volt battery to prove something is lightening proof.. its a joke!

You don't have to spend thousands to protect your electronics.. Simple put them behind multiple layers of metal that are insulated from each other. Put your electronics in a high quality static shield bag (seal it up), then put that bag into another bag, then put those bags into a trash can with a cardboard liner and tape the entire thing shut with a conductive tape. No gaps, no holes.. Make it air tight. Then put it in your basement.

That will protect 95% of your electronics from 95% of EMP pulses.
Wouldn't the cell towers be knocked out in an EMP? If so, then cell phones would be pretty much useless.
 
Wouldn't the cell towers be knocked out in an EMP? If so, then cell phones would be pretty much useless.

Yes and no.. A cell phone would be useless for communications.. but today's cell phones do so much more than that.. They even have Geiger counter attachments for them... but ya.. your point is very much valid... the most useful part of a cell phone will be rendered useless..
 
well I am not going to worry to much about it,I have plans for a under ground shelter with 10 ft of dirt over top of it if that is not enough to protect electronics well,,,they just can not be saved,,,besides I think the effects of a EMP is way over rated,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that is my opinion because no one really knows with absolute certainty what one will do...............

10 feet of dirt would probably do the trick.. Your weak spot is going to be the door.. Also, if your soil is dry, 10 feet might be right on the edge of being enough or not.. Wet soil conducts so much better..
 
A microwave may provide enough attenuation to block a signal going to a cell phone but it won't come remotely close to blocking an NEMP (nuclear emp).. Comparing a cell phone signal to an NEMP (E1 Pulse), is like calling an apple tree a fruit store. Its such a ridiculous video that it boarders on engineering comedy for those who understand electromagnetic wave propagation..
Murphy, did you even watch the video??? The microwave did not block the cell phone signal.

The point was that a microwave can't even block a cell phone signal. THEREFORE WILL BE COMPLETELY USELESS for shielding electronics from a much more powerful EMP.
 
Murphy, did you even watch the video??? The microwave did not block the cell phone signal.

The point was that a microwave can't even block a cell phone signal. THEREFORE WILL BE COMPLETELY USELESS for shielding electronics from a much more powerful EMP.

I probably should have gone into a longer discussion on it.. My apologies for not making a complete post.. it can be difficult to explain advanced electrical concepts sometimes and that's compounded by the fact that I'm not a teacher. I have clients that ask me for explanations and I pull my hair out sometimes because every answer I give them just generates a dozen more questions...

Its not that the video is right or wrong, its that it is irrelevant.. Its like saying "I'm going to eat this apple to prove rat poison isn't harmful".. It makes no sense.. It doesn't matter if the cell phone picked up the signal or not, its irrelevant to the question of whether a microwave will protect the cell phone (or any electronics) from an EMP..

Lets elaborate on the experiment a bit for a better understanding...
Take a trashcan and line it with cardboard.. then put a cell phone in a static emp bag and place it in the trash can.. Carry the entire thing to the nearest cell phone tower and try to call the cell phone in the emp bag that's inside the trash can.
It will probably ring.. it probably has at least one "bar" of signal.. Does that mean the home-built Faraday cage won't work? No! It means nothing to the effectiveness of the home built Faraday cage. The reason is that cell phones are highly sensitive devices designed to pick up even minuscule electromagnetic waves. EMP shielding is not about achieving a complete isolation from all electromagnetic energy.. that's nearly impossible.. in fact, based on some physics theories, it is impossible. EMP shielding is about attenuating an electromagnetic wave to a point that it won't damage the item(s) you're trying to protect.

In other words, you can think of it this way.. A Faraday cage is to electromagnetic energy as Sunglasses are to your eyes. You don't need your sunglasses to completely block out all light, you just need them to attenuate that light to a comfortable level. Your Rayban's might do an adequate job on a sunny beach but they probably won't be dark enough if you're trying to Arc Weld..

Now take the trash can back home a few miles from the cell tower and try again.. Does the cell phone ring? Probably not.. Does that mean the trashcan faraday cage is effective against EMP? NO again! Even though the trashcan + emp bag would be an effective Faraday cage, the test is irrelevant in this case because the cell tower is broadcasting a relatively low power signal and your receiver is far away.

There's another angle to consider in all this.. A cell phone is designed to detect and transmit on specific frequencies.. A high altitude nuclear EMP will not just blast out just a narrow band of frequencies, it will saturate most of the electromagnetic spectrum.. and its a big ### spectrum that ranges from long radio waves all the way to the gamma end. The design of your EMP cage must take this broad spectrum into account and not just the narrow band your cell phone picks up.

The good news is that for our purposes, we're just worried about the longer radio waves.. and commonly available electrically conductive materials are quite effective if assembled correctly. The best Faraday cages are multilayered (insulation in between each layer) and each layer should ideally be a different material. Steel, aluminum, copper.. type of thing. This is ideal, but in no way required for our purposes.

Put your device in a good quality static shielding bag and tape it shut.. then put that into another bag.. You now have two layers but they're both made of aluminum.. Now take the bag-in-a-bag and put it in the trash can.. You now have three layers (excellent!) and two different materials (very good!).. That will protect 95% of electronics 95% of the time and that more than enough for us preppers.

Hope that helps,
 
ya know a person could go bug #uck worrying about all this stuff.
I'm getting as crazy as an outhouse mouse!:confused::confused:
I need hit the lottery to buy all the prepping crap to prep for anything needing prepping for.
Solar flares. geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Paranoia will destroy ya.:shtf

Still...............................it might be time to cash in some sticks I invested in and by more
prepper supplies.

I could come out of retirement and teach defensive firearms tactics again.
NOT!
That's a good way to get shot by grandma or some snowflake afraid of muzzle blast.:ar15:
 
This is making me bat$hit nuts.:wtf:

I'll take a deep breath, prioritize my needs and add to what I don't already have.

I'm considering a decent short wave radio. Or will emp fry that too?
I don't wanna talk, just listen to others talk so I can stay informed when t-v and regular
radio no longer works.

Still being able to communicate two way might be as asset.
Recommend a 2 way radio?
Range?
Antenna?
 
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This is making me bat$hit nuts.:wtf:

I'll take a deep breath, prioritize my needs and add to what I don't already have.

I'm considering a decent short wave radio. Or will emp fry that too?
I don't wanna talk, just listen to others talk so I can stay informed when t-v and regular
radio no longer works.

Still being able to communicate two way might be as asset.
Recommend a 2 way radio?
Range?
Antenna?
If we're hit by a nuclear EMP, it will fry your short wave radio if its not protected inside a Faraday cage.
If we're hit by a solar EMP, it will only fry your radio if its plugged into the grid for power.. It could possibly also fry it if its connected to one of those unusually large HF antenna's.

Nuclear EMP can induce 50,000 volts per meter into conductive surfaces.. Solar EMP induces around 1 (one) volt per meter.. Solar EMP doesn't sound so bad but when you add up the thousands of miles of power transmission lines, it adds up fast. If you have a large ham radio antenna that stretches for a hundred feet, its going to see about 30 volts induced into it. Would your ham radio survive if you connected 30+ volts to the antenna and back fed it?
 
Have tube radios ;)

Starfish Prime (1962) exploded a 1.4mt 250 miles up (standard EMP ALT today for a HEMP) between the Salomon islands and Hawaii, the explosion caused electrical damage in Hawaii. From Earth to space is 62 miles, the explosion occurred 188 miles further into space, today low Earth orbit satellites are 100 miles up such as communication Sats ;)
 
who cares? if an EMP does blow all the electronics and electrics and the world goes dark, learn to live without it, our ancestors did until less than 100 years ago. preppers should be able to ADAPT to the new circumstances, if they cant adapt they aren't going to be around for long.
 
Have tube radios ;)

Starfish Prime (1962) exploded a 1.4mt 250 miles up (standard EMP ALT today for a HEMP) between the Salomon islands and Hawaii, the explosion caused electrical damage in Hawaii. From Earth to space is 62 miles, the explosion occurred 188 miles further into space, today low Earth orbit satellites are 100 miles up such as communication Sats ;)
That one explosion, of six total, ended up taking out half of all the low earth satellites in use at the time. So much for watching your favorite tv shows. I did not see if the US had to pay for those satellites or not.
 
who cares? if an EMP does blow all the electronics and electrics and the world goes dark, learn to live without it, our ancestors did until less than 100 years ago. preppers should be able to ADAPT to the new circumstances, if they cant adapt they aren't going to be around for long.

I felt the same, until IRMA....now, Air Conditioning is right up there with food and water. It was just miserable. I had everything else covered (and that's saying something, considering I was also caring for 48 animals, and when I lose power, I lose water too), could have gone weeks more without power (though I also realize the importance now of a solar well pump)...but the heat was just intolerable. Even at night.

EDIT: We were an emergency stable for a LOT of different animals. Like a damn ark. We had a pig, even a monkey, in addition to more horses, dogs, cats, etc. staying with us for safety.
 
I felt the same, until IRMA....now, Air Conditioning is right up there with food and water. It was just miserable. I had everything else covered (and that's saying something, considering I was also caring for 48 animals, and when I lose power, I lose water too), could have gone weeks more without power (though I also realize the importance now of a solar well pump)...but the heat was just intolerable. Even at night.

EDIT: We were an emergency stable for a LOT of different animals. Like a damn ark. We had a pig, even a monkey, in addition to more horses, dogs, cats, etc. staying with us for safety.
Yeah, a hundred years ago before air conditioning people did not know what it was like to not sweat all summer. Now, after becoming accustomed to it it would be a lot tougher to go back.
 

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