One Second After: The Threat of Electromagnetic Pulse Weaponry
Believe it or not, nuclear weapons can still be a threat to the United States and many other developed countries. Why? Not because there's any more fear of hundreds of missiles raining down form the sky and creating nuclear holocaust, but because of an exploitable side effect of the weapons.
A nuclear weapon emits an Electomagnetic Pulse (EMP) upon detonation. This pulse is like a deadly power surge to anything electronic in the immediate area; computer components are completely fried, and even surge protectors and other failsafes fail to trip before the EMP has done its damage.
However, this EMP can even be extended to hit an extremely large area, essentially line-of-sight from a position high in Earth's atmosphere. The U.S. Navy's Captain Bill Sanders explains, in his essay, "Electromagnetic Pulse: A Bolt From the Gray" that "An EMP explosion over the continental United States would have devastating consequences for our country. The detonation of a nuclear weapon produces high-energy gamma radiation that travels radially away from the burst center. When the detonation occurs at high altitudes-greater than twenty-five miles-the gamma rays directed towards the earth encounter the atmosphere where they interact with air molecules to produce positive ions and recoil electrons called Compton electrons... The gamma radiation interacting with the air molecules produces charge seperation as the Compton recoil electrons are ejected and leave the more massive, positive ions. The earth's magnetic field's interaction with the Compton recoil electrons causes charge acceleration, which further radiates an electromagnetic field as an instantaneous electromagnetic pulse."
William R. Forstchen examines this idea further in his novel One Second After, in which this nightmare scenario comes to fruition as a single nuclear weapon is detonated over the center of the United States. Among other effects, power plants shut down, modern cars fail to run, and even backup power generators can't start up. Many citizens suffering from treatments for medical conditions such as diabetes are the first to go. Large cities starve because they can't get their regular shipments of food in. Sanitation breaks down and disease runs rampant.
This is a serious concern for the world. An entire civilization, built on electricity, could completely collapse in the event of a few well-placed nuclear weapons.
Is anyone scared yet?
