Posted: 8/28/2012 6:48:45 PM EDT
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Will an EMP affect LED flashlights? They have a tiny printed circuit in them, right?
Maybe I am way off base...but I had a thought about this the other day, and was hoping the hive mind could put it to rest |
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Quoted:
They have a tiny printed circuit in them, right? The circuit inside them is too tiny to be affected by EMP. When an electrical device is exposed to EMP, the strength of the resulting voltage spike depends on the length of any conductors connected to the device. Long conductors (i.e., AC power lines, phone lines, big antennas, etc.) receive a significant amount of the EM pulse; short conductors do not. Basically, each conductor behaves like an antenna - The bigger the "antenna", the stronger the EM pulse received, and thus the stronger the voltage spike generated (and thus the greater the chances of the device being damaged). In devices that aren't connected to any long conductors, no voltage spike is generated due to EMP, and thus the device is unlikely to be damaged. Most small electronic devices (i.e., cell phones, portable radios, PDAs, laptop computers, digital wristwatches, flashlights, electronic combination locks on safes, red dot sights, etc.) would fall into this category - The few inches (or fractions of an inch) of conductors present in these devices is simply too short to intercept any significant amount of the EM pulse, and thus no spike is generated within them that is sufficient to cause damage. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
They have a tiny printed circuit in them, right? The circuit inside them is too tiny to be affected by EMP. When an electrical device is exposed to EMP, the strength of the resulting voltage spike depends on the length of any conductors connected to the device. Long conductors (i.e., AC power lines, phone lines, big antennas, etc.) receive a significant amount of the EM pulse; short conductors do not. Basically, each conductor behaves like an antenna - The bigger the "antenna", the stronger the EM pulse received, and thus the stronger the voltage spike generated (and thus the greater the chances of the device being damaged). In devices that aren't connected to any long conductors, no voltage spike is generated due to EMP, and thus the device is unlikely to be damaged. Most small electronic devices (i.e., cell phones, portable radios, PDAs, laptop computers, digital wristwatches, flashlights, electronic combination locks on safes, red dot sights, etc.) would fall into this category - The few inches (or fractions of an inch) of conductors present in these devices is simply too short to intercept any significant amount of the EM pulse, and thus no spike is generated within them that is sufficient to cause damage. This. |