Electromagnetic Pulse

Don’t Cut the Red Wire

            Can one these days possible imagine what life without technology would be like? Texting with cell phones and letting people across the world know that you just made yourself a PB&J sandwich through face book is a highly common and mundane thing nowadays. Most teenage kids (and probably a lot of adults too) would literally have a spaz attack if all the technology were to crash down. So we better start preparing by getting more psychologists because an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack can happen anytime.

            The world has had the knowledge to make an EMP attack happen for a while now. Actually, since 1945 it’s been known about. The United States first discovered this side effect (but almost overlooked it) when they were first testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean about 1000 miles away from Hawaii. The electromagnetic waves traveled far and blew out a couple electric streetlights and signal lights. It’s an invisible pulse from an nuclear blast that completely and permanently destroys electronic equipment over mass distances.

            Even my mother remembers the possibility of this attack and what it would do. In fact, when the power went of earlier today it was one of the things that had crossed her mind. And that’s not all surprising. She did grow up during the time when that was one of the biggest scares. In 1962, the Soviet Union executed a series of EMP-producing nuclear tests. Yeah, that’s pretty darn scary if I do say so myself. Even though before the U.S. did a test in space called the Starfish Prime (part of Operation Fishbowl, no joke). The Soviet’s came out more powerful and more damaging they were done over a inhabited large land mass and at a setting where the Earth's magnetic field was more intense even though the weapons they used were smaller.
            Fear. That’s the only thing keeping us safe from these attacks from other countries. Fear that we might be able to send something back seconds before our technology is crashed. And we all know that most people wouldn’t be able to handle living without their I Love Lucy re-runs.

Sources

Ÿ  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse

Ÿ  http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp.htm

Ÿ  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvu08Y9XJ0U