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My high school physics says that’s BS, but EMP scare tactics does make for a great info-war weapon. It’s quite the boogeyman if you don’t have much science back

by jp555 8y ago

My high school physics says that’s BS, but EMP scare tactics does make for a great info-war weapon. It’s quite the boogeyman if you don’t have much science background. Stuxnet like attacks are way way more plausible and likely.

JoeAltmaier 8y ago
Well, high school physics trumps googling around I guess. Good luck with that.
BoiledCabbage 8y ago
> if you don’t have much science background Like HS physics It comes across as somewhat condescending and naive to refer to a HS class as having a notable amount of science background. And a reason to dismiss other sources of information.
- jp555 8y ago
  Sources that invalidate foundational theory? It’s like claims that cell radios cause molecular damage in humans; that probably requires proving Enstien’s Nobel prize winning work on the photoelectric effect is wrong.
  - skj 8y ago
    I must have missed the class on the axiomatic foundational theory of EMPs-are-only-from-nuclear-blasts. Or, the HS physics overview that you and I share simply doesn't dip very deeply into these topics.
busterarm 8y ago
What are you talking about? Google 'explosively pumped flux compression generator'. LANL wrote a paper on how to do this in the '70s and did real world tests. You output to the antenna or right into the grid. If I recall correctly they mostly used RDX.
cududa 8y ago
Buddy you’re gonna have to learn that sometimes your teachers are just wrong. Just because they’re in some position of authority doesn’t automatically qualify their credentials
nradov 8y ago
You shouldn't be down voted. Non-nuclear EMP devices exist but due to the inverse square law (which we learned in high school physics) we know that they have short effective range. And they require a large conventional explosive to generate the pulse. So they work but are not a major threat worth worrying about. What does actually work and have been operationally used are graphite bombs designed to short out electrical equipment. Those are much cheaper and more effective than EMP weapons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_bomb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_bomb

by jp555 8y ago

JoeAltmaier 8y ago

Well, high school physics trumps googling around I guess. Good luck with that.

BoiledCabbage 8y ago

> if you don’t have much science background Like HS physics It comes across as somewhat condescending and naive to refer to a HS class as having a notable amount of science background. And a reason to dismiss other sources of information.

jp555 8y ago
Sources that invalidate foundational theory? It’s like claims that cell radios cause molecular damage in humans; that probably requires proving Enstien’s Nobel prize winning work on the photoelectric effect is wrong.
- skj 8y ago
  I must have missed the class on the axiomatic foundational theory of EMPs-are-only-from-nuclear-blasts. Or, the HS physics overview that you and I share simply doesn't dip very deeply into these topics.

busterarm 8y ago

What are you talking about? Google 'explosively pumped flux compression generator'. LANL wrote a paper on how to do this in the '70s and did real world tests. You output to the antenna or right into the grid. If I recall correctly they mostly used RDX.

cududa 8y ago

Buddy you’re gonna have to learn that sometimes your teachers are just wrong. Just because they’re in some position of authority doesn’t automatically qualify their credentials

nradov 8y ago

You shouldn't be down voted. Non-nuclear EMP devices exist but due to the inverse square law (which we learned in high school physics) we know that they have short effective range. And they require a large conventional explosive to generate the pulse. So they work but are not a major threat worth worrying about. What does actually work and have been operationally used are graphite bombs designed to short out electrical equipment. Those are much cheaper and more effective than EMP weapons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_bomb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_bomb