One Second After: The Threat of Electromagnetic Pulse Weaponry

[Bree Fletcher]

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?

[BrotherhoodUK]

No. For while this may be possible, it would never happen.

[Bree Fletcher]

No. For while this may be possible, it would never happen.

Why would you say that? We live in blissful ignorance of the fact that it's a lot easrier to acquire just one nuclear weapon than we'd like to think. Consider all the weapons the old USSR lost track of when they collapsed. Consider what a little corruption in the right plae could achieve.

[armbarchris]

Just EMP harden everything important, like they do with military headqaurters and such.
On a personal level, stock up on candles, food, stuff like that.

[Bree Fletcher]

Just EMP harden everything important, like they do with military headqaurters and such.

Here's the problem: that sort of thing costs money. Lots of money. There's a whole country to do, you know. Not to mention any other country that could be under threat.

[armbarchris]

Would it be more expensive than rebuilding an entire country that has been EMP'd and subsequently bombed, invaded, left to rot or whatever else the hostles had planned?

And with a couple of EMP hardned nuclear silos, you can bomb the out whoever fired the nuke. That should significantly lessen the possibility of that happening.

[Boleslav]

Really, nuclear weapons just aren't that big of a deal.

[Bree Fletcher]

Would it be more expensive than rebuilding an entire country that has been EMP'd and subsequently bombed, invaded, left to rot or whatever else the hostles had planned?

Well, yes, but do you realize who you'd have to convince of that? They want money now, not hedging against "unlikely" threats to happen later.

And with a couple of EMP hardned nuclear silos, you can bomb the out whoever fired the nuke. That should significantly lessen the possibility of that happening.

You'd be surprised how crazy people can be... Also, from America's point of view, you really can't just nuke another country, even if hey did attack first.

[Nesterus]

I stand by the point I made earlier

just because this happened in Modern Warfare 2 does not lend it credence as a threat.


General Shepard doesnt exist IRL and it would take a massive conspiracy to achieve something of that nature.

Also nuclear bombs are very very hard to aquire, you can't just get your hands on one you would have to build it, to get enriched uranium you would have to be a pretty cool guy and have connections that run deep, then you would have to have Macgyver on speed dial and it will take alot of gum and paperclips to build a nuke that can fly intercontinentaly and be able to explode over the atmostphere as you say.

[Bree Fletcher]

I stand by the point I made earlier

just because this happened in Modern Warfare 2 does not lend it credence as a threat.

Video games distort all the circumstances... There are actually people who know what they're talking about (gasp) who are seriously afraid something like this could happen. (The Navy officer I quoted earlier, for one, not to mention William R. Forstchen, who wrote the book as a warning.)