Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: brooksp@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Peter Brooks) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Question on magnetic pulse. Message-ID: <1991Jan18.002107.6444@cbnews.att.com> Date: 18 Jan 91 00:21:07 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 28 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Peter Brooks Renee Reed asks: I would like to ask what will happen to the electrical, ie. computer controlled communication systems in the event that some nation does detonate a nuclear device? I have to dust off my memories on the ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) effect. For it to be effective, it has to be a high airburst, so that lots of radiation triggers secondary electrons in the ionosphere. Turning that into English, you would have to have a really high airburst, one that is specifically intended for its EMP effect. This is a wild guess, but you would probably have to get a warhead up to 100,000 feet for an EMP to occur. I think some of our equipment is shielded from EMP. In general, the higher the technology of the electronics, the more inherently sensitive it is, and the better the shielding must be. Tubes are effectively immune, while VLSI computer chips are the most sensitive. I would presume that a nuclear strike against Baghdad would be a relatively low level airburst. Thus, EMP should not be a factor. Is there a real expert on the net? Pete Brooks