And get in our air space with it that far? On Oct 23, 2013 12:31 PM, "Larry C. Lyons" <larrycly...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Not too difficult. In the 50's and 60's both the US and the Soviets > investigated EMP bombs. For instance: > http://www.futurescience.com/emp/test184.html > > From http://www.futurescience.com/emp.html: > > The Mark 18 bomb, tested in 1952, was also known as the super or alloy > bomb. It was made of a spherical shell of very highly-enriched uranium > surrounded by a sophisticated symmetrical implosion system that was 44 > centimeters in thickness. Although it is often described as a very > advanced device, it was designed by people who did not have computers of a > power that is anything even approaching the power of computer that you are > using to read this web page. More than a half-century ago, at least 90 of > these bombs were built by the United States. In 1952, they were trying to > conserve the highly-enriched uranium in the stockpile, so the Mark 18 was > surrounded with a natural uranium tamper. Anyone making a similar weapon > for EMP use could probably enhance its EMP effects by using a tamper made > of enriched uranium and using a relatively thin outer casing made of a > relatively gamma-ray-transparent high-strength alloy. In addition, there > are techniques for increasing the energy of the gamma rays beyond the > levels available in first and second generation nuclear weapons. These > techniques would increase the electric field of the EMP at least somewhat > beyond the old maximum of 50,000 volts per meter, although we don't know by > how much. > > Today, if just one of these 500 kiloton bombs like the Mark 18 were > detonated 300 miles above the central United States, the economy of the > country would be essentially destroyed instantaneously. Very little of the > country's electrical or electronic infrastructure would still be > functional. This is not to say that every device would be destroyed, but > the interdependence of different electrical and electronic infrastructures > makes it possible to stop nearly all economic activity with only limited > damage to critical infrastructures. It would likely be months or years > before most of the electrical grid could be repaired because of the > destruction of large numbers of transformers in the electric power grid > that are no longer made in the United States. Several countries today have > the ability to produce a weapon similar to this 1952 bomb, and send it to > the necessary altitude. (England tested a single-stage weapon with a yield > of 720 kilotons, called Orange Herald, on May 31, 1957.) The number of > countries with this ability will undoubtedly be increasing in the coming > years. > > > > On Wed, Oct 23, 2013 at 12:17 PM, Bruce Sorge <sor...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > I know this is all stuff of television shows, but seriously, what are the > > chances of something along the lines of Dark Angel? You know, an > > electromagnetic pulse weapon detonated in the atmosphere and wiped out > the > > vast majority of computer and communication systems. From that you have > > anarchy, then were ripe for the pickings. I realize this is pretty > > simplistic, but you get the idea. I have not really looked into the > > concept, but I am sure someone on this list has. > > > > > > On Oct 23, 2013, at 12:09 PM, LRS Scout <lrssc...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > On a nuke level maybe, neither has anything approaching the lift or > float > > > capability to come here in anywhere near the numbers that would be > needed > > > to do anything. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:368080 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
