According to HN user idoh, it's indeed possible, and it's used in serious military systems. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3179852 https://news.ycombinat

According to HN user idoh, it's indeed possible, and it's used in serious military systems. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3179852 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3179852 > So, my mom is a former Maxwell employee who now does her own defense contracting, and makes this same type of part. > As I understand it, when there is a nuclear event, it generates x-rays followed by the EMP. The goal is to have warheads in flight to be able to continue to their target, so the strategy is to employ an NED. When an event is detected, the warhead shuts down its electronics for the duration of the EMP, and then powers back up. > With her NED, she uses an ASIC for detection. I might get some details wrong, but the ASIC has a physical array in it, and the x-rays flip bits in the array. When enough bits get flipped, one can infer a nuclear event. Because it is an ASIC it is really small, which has important advantages for space-born avionics.