Protection from EMP?

Question

Are all modern solid state electronics susceptible to EMP?

Do they have to be on, having electricity circulating in the ciruit at the time of EMP burst in order to be affected?

If a computer is not turned and is disconnected from the power outlet, with only its cmos battery power, will it be affected by EMP?

Will a regular portable radio without the battery in be affected? Or do I need to store it in a Faraday cage?

Answer 1

There are two effects to protect from.
1) EMP which will induce currents in the circuitry and fry them whether the equipment is on of off. This can be guarded against with a faraday cage.

2) The burst of radiation. This can turn transistors on and will damage the circuit if it is switched on at the time of the burst, otherwise it is harmless. A faraday cage has no effect on this. Lead, concrete do though, but you need to be near the explosion for this to be a problem. EMP has a much wider range.

So the best thing is to keep you transistor radio switched off in a metal biscuit tin if you are worried.

Answer 2

All electronics are susceptible to EMP.

A Faraday cage, however, would provide complete protection - for goodness sake, a Faraday cage can protect completely from lightening which locally gives a far, far, far higher electric field.

To cause permanent damage to components the EMP would have to induce sufficient fields to punch holes in the silicon dioxide gates of the transistors - this is very unlikely. This means that devices switched off would not be affected.

However, an EMP could easily change the contents of flash memory, which does not require large fields. This means that computer devices would probably not function until the flash memory was restored somehow (the boot programs of PCs are stored in flash memory BIOS, and other devices store all of their code in flash memory).

Answer 3

I heard, "If it has a coil in it, it will short out!" Supposedly, even if your car is off, with the keys removed, the ignition system will blow due to the electrical spike induced in the ignition coil by an EMP. Needless to say, if this is true (and I don't have any reliable evidence it positively is), TVs, Radios, Computer power supplies, etc... will pop whether they're powered up or not. Even a screened Faraday cage may not work. However, a solidly grounded metal safe might protect your radio, Geiger counter, and laptop.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

I have been in electronics for 54 yrs. And I think that a near lightning stride will be very similar. The huge current flow will produce a strong magnetic field,which will induce electricity in every wire that the magnetic field cuts across. That means that any shielding or Faraday shield would be effective. If it is connected to an antenna or outside wires would not be good.

Answer 5

A Faraday cage (even the most secure) will probably not be sufficient. I can assure you that the government would be able to tell you exactly what measures are necessary against what strength of EMP, but those are not the kinds of secrets they want out.
As soon as you know your enemy's defenses, you adapt countermeasures.

Answer 6

Sensitivity varies, but a faraday cage is probably a good idea for most electronics. Have a look at:
http://www.aussurvivalist.com/nuclear/empprotection.htm

Answer 7

relies upon on the thickness of the silver and of the tarnish. Tarnish is AgS and does no longer habit. Tarnished contact surfaces are a topic. evaluate copper, which conducts very nearly besides as silver and is a lot more low priced, so that you'll economically have a thicker layer of it for extra constructive safe practices. in difficulty-free words use silver if weight or thickness are extra important than fee. Aluminum is more low priced yet in spite of the actual incontrovertible truth that slightly a lot less conductive than copper. THere are antioxidation pastes accessible, utilized by technique of commercial electricians, alongside with NoAlOx and OxGard, on your contacting surfaces.

Answer 8

I saw a program on TV where they subjected a computer to an EMP. Afterwards the computer did run but it appeared the BIOS had been erased. If the BIOS was replaced (and the OS) it should work.

Answer 9

All transistorized materials will be affected. I did hear once that Soviet planes had radio tubes in them instead of transistors. The Department of Defense wondered why they still used radio tubes and finally figured it out, they wouldn't be affected by an electromagnetic pulse.

Answer 10

This is an easy ? if it runs on electric source battery, or generator. it will stop.