Posted: 1/29/2008 7:25:17 PM EDT
| So, I was watching 'The Day After'. (A similar event happens in the newest iteration of 'War of the Worlds.) It showed an F-100 (a '71 or '72) being knocked out of commission by an EMP. Is that possible? I can't figure out what an EMP would disable on one of those trucks since there's such little electronics in the first place. Also, wouldn't the sheet metal act as a Faraday cage? |
|
Some members here who are fairly knowledgable about the subject claim the threat of EMP to be much overstated. I personally do not know how true that is or isn't, but in any event I'd rather be safe than sorry. Look at what components are necessary for modern to cars to function and could be potentially susceptible to EMP damage. ECMs, electronic ignition systems, voltage regulators, etc. Now look for ways to mitigate damage or better yet altogether eliminate the potential for disabling damage. This means older vehicles with carburetors, points style ignition systems, and a generator with an oldschool voltage regulator. I would be surprised if an EMP blast would immediately disable an early 1970s Ford product. They were obviously carbureted and still using a points type ignition at the time. I am not sure if they were using an electronic voltage regulator or not, but even if the alternator crapped out or the electrical system was being overcharged the vehicle would still operate for at least a while. Better yet, consider a diesel with mechanical injection. This is what I picked. |
|
If the vehicle has electronic ignition EMP will fry that out and it won't run until replaced. If you're driving something with a points ignition system, you should be ok unless you're so close that it isn't the EMP portion of the detonation that you're worrying about. I only vaguely recall this info and will post the same disclaimer I posted in a related thread: I am out of my depth on this so correct me if I am wrong. However, I believe that this information is correct. |
|
EMP, as a weapon against civlians is a vastly overstated and worried about risk. And teh fixation with older cars surviving it is also silly. Heres why: Like all electromagnetic waves the strength of the pulse diminishes rapidly with distance. For this reason even a device intended to produce an EMP would have a range that would only severely effect a city. The exact strength of the field, type of device and shielding are all highly variable. There is no way to predict exactly what will and will not function after exposure to a large EMP. A car on one side of a garage may be toasted while an identical car next to it may be fine. It depends on field strength, shielding and component tolerances and a dozen other variables you couldn't predict. Even older vehicles may not survive a intentional EMP attack. Most any electronic device could be effected. Even the wire's in the car used to run things like defrosters, fans and the like could overheat and fail. Motors too could be damaged. Any sort of electronic device could be at risk of failing and even catching on fire. Your starter and solenoid are possibly toast. At best nothing would be hurt. At worse your 66 'stang could catch on fire and burn to the ground. More likely is something in between, leaving you with a drivable car but not entirely functional and difficult to start. Assuming your old car survives the EMP, so what? Being mobile is nice, but think for a moment how utterly dependent you are on electronics. And I'm not just talking about how long you can go with out power during a storm. I mean think about every thing electronic you depend on in a day, and then imagine that it's all either dead or a fire hazard. Power isn't coming back, your computer isn't coming back your phones aren't going to work and its the same for everyone around you. Your car is a minor worry compared to airports with out radios or radar, hosptials with out lights or life support and no one with any good means to communicate. Even if you have a car, no one else does. Gas pumps don't work. Street lights don't work. Streets are clogged with dead cars. Your car may run fine, but you probably aren't going anywhere fast. Hell, you may not even have a working headlight or even a flashlight. If you are worried about EMP weapons, don't be. Our enemies who know how to make and employ them also know how to make Nuke's. If you survive either the problems are very similar. You need to have shelter, water, food and a means to defend those things. Things like transportation and communication are less important and, in the aftermath of either a nuclear or EMP attack, probably aren't going to do you as much good as you'd think. Instead of trying to get a vehicle immune from EMP, spend your time, money and effort on preparations to survive natural disasters and civil breakdown from your home or, if possible a 'bug out' location (but never at the expense of adequate preparations at your home!). I'd prepare for travel after an EMP attack after I had prepared for attack by giant crabs. -Local |
|
This question crops up every few months, so here's the canned answer: The amount of damage that can be produced by HEMP (EMP produced by a high-altitude nuke detonation - the only kind of EMP that is likely to be encountered by anyone living more than a few miles from a high-value military target) has been GREATLY exaggerated on the internet. EMP does its damage by inducing a very brief, high-voltage spike in electrical devices. This spike can be strong enough to burn out wiring, "punch through" the thin semiconductor layers in transistors, diodes and computer chips, or cause the software in computer-controlled devices to go haywire. However, the strength of the electrical spike induced in any electrical device by a HEMP burst is dependent on the length and physical orientation 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. In devices that aren't connected to any long conductors, virtually no electrical 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, 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 damaging voltage spike is generated within them. Similarly, the short length of the wires present in most vehicles (automobiles, motorcycles, ATVs, etc.) also intercepts very little of the EM pulse - and thus, is unlikely to be damaged. Also the wiring in most vehicles is partially shielded by the vehicle's metal body (thereby further reducing the strength of a voltage spike induced), and all vehicle electrical systems are designed to deal with the high voltage spikes normally produced by the ignition system, motor brushes, relay and solenoid coils, etc. BOTTOM LINE: Most vehicles - new or old - stand a good chance of being usable after a HEMP burst, even without taking any special precautions beforehand - and ditto for most portable electronic devices. |
|
althought it has been said already... Some asshole i know works with some sheilded equipment (military) and is of the opinion that only fairly delicate electronics would be fried. non-computer reliant cars would likely make it between the sheilding that would be offered by the body/frame and the lack of the super thin pathways found in microchips and such. |