Comments on: A Physicist Grudgingly Admits That Jericho Got EMPs Right

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 21:34:09 +0000

I don’t know a simple way of creating broad-spectrum EMP. You could build a bank of capacitors (similar to what you do for building a Tesla coil) and then dump the capacitor bank’s charge into a loop antenna, but you might need some RC circuits to help you get the pulse to be short enough. There shouldn’t be any danger from the EMP itself, though the electronics required to generate it might kill you.

By: Cam

Cam — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 20:15:36 +0000

Well, I’m not interested in weaponizing anything…but it might be fun for an experiment (yeah, I’m a card-carrying nerd). How do you build a simple one?

Oh, and aside from the standard electroshock hazard of electronics, is there any other risk I need to be aware of / protected from if I play with this phenomenon?

I also have a magnetron from an old microwave oven…anything fun I can do with that?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 20:06:12 +0000

You bet. Since it’s just an electronic signal, you can generate it electronically. It’s not easy to do, but you can do it, and I know companies that make EMP weapons.

By: Cam

Cam — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:03:56 +0000

Nice site, I enjoyed reading it.

Question, is it possible to trigger an EMP without the use of nukes? I remember something about an EMP saving the day on the movie “Small Soldiers.”

By: Geof F. Morris

Geof F. Morris — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 21:39:44 +0000

You had me at “International Space Station”.

[BTW, yes on the ruggedization. There's a company in Madison that does that, owned by one of the guys at my church. I should introduce you two sometime.]

By: EMP Q and A « Live Granades

EMP Q and A « Live Granades — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:22:49 +0000

[...] I’ve gotten some questions in emails and comments on other sites regarding my EMP discussion. The science is all well and good, but give some practical advice! [...]

By: Mark J Musante

Mark J Musante — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:35:38 +0000

Super-duper-schooper-nitpickery: the rate at which you percieve the wave’s wiggle only partly depends on the speed that the source wiggles its electron. It also depends on your frame of reference with respect to the source.