CAJ: Doomsday Preppers 5

In the last post I talked about since when the potential threat of an EMP has been known and how an EMP works. My explanation so far was rather physical. Therefore, I will now explain exactly how an EMP induced by a nuclear bomb works and which consequences it may have.

As I have stated before, an EMP is an electromagnetic Pulse, which means, in case of an attack with EMP, everything that has a microchip or is powered with electricity will be useless. The reason for this is that too much power/electricity flows through electrical appliances and wiring in a really short amount of time. This causes a short circuit. Therefore everything that uses electricity is damaged. To illustrate the malfunction of our modern infrastructure I will show you a list of equipment that will not work anymore.

• household appliances
• computers, mobile phones
• cars
• all kind of factories
• public institutions could become jails
• water supply, gas stations
• heating/ cooling systems
• backup generating sets would not work either
• processed food 

This list includes just a small number of aspects without which our infrastructure will not work. However, it would be impossible to live on the same way the population of an attacked country used to.

Although many gadgets we are used to since they make life more comfortable would not function we can still live a peaceful live, right?

No, eventually this would not be possible. Humanities greatest and most feared opponent are humans themselves. The situation after an EMP attack would be similar to numerous disaster movie. Humans driven by fear caused by a lack of knowledge are the greatest weapon another state has.

Many of the people who were featured in the TV Show Doomsday Preppers are afraid of getting attacked by China. If China really attacked the US with an EMP they are clearly use a military tactic that works on the basis of psychology. An EMP attack would topple every country on this planet into chaos.

I will give you an example to illustrate how an EMP could look like/feel like:

Elisabeth, an 18-year-old student, spends a nice evening at the mall with her best friends. They just bought some ice cream and are now sitting at a little fountain in the middle of the second floor of the building. While they are eating their ice and chatting with each other the lights go black. At first, that did not really bother anyone, however, a few minutes later they realize that the escalators and elevators do not work. They decide to leave the mall and drive back home since they felt rather uncomfortable. When they reach the automatic doors they cannot exit the mall because the doors will not open. Some of the people around them start freaking out and scream that they are claustrophobic while one woman is even hyperventilating.

Suddenly, a man smashes the glass doors with a baseball bat from the store beside the entrance. They run out of the shopping centre to their car, however the car will not open because it is operated with a microchip, which was destroyed by the EMP.

Elisabeth and her friends decide to run home. On their way to Elisabeth’s house they come by a group of people vandalizing and robbing shops. They get really scared and start running faster….

The situation we will have to face is nothing compared to the outbreaks of violence and riots humanity witnessed throughout history. With the damage an EMP causes it is only a matter of time until a population weakens itself so much that another country can easily overpower them.

Source: 

http://lyle.smu.edu/emis/design/?p=1751