Imagine with me that during one night in the not too distant future the unimaginable happens, a flash of light lit the sky and you wake up to see what has gone wrong. You check yourself all over and don't have any adverse affects, but you notice quickly that lights don't turn on, so you check your phone and it's out too. How about the cell phone? Nope, doesn't work and neither does your TV. You try your car radio, but it is dead and your car, strangely doesn't even start! Now panic is starting to flood your mind! You flush your toilet, but no new water runs in! You talk to your neighbors, but no-one seems to know what has happened! What now?
An electromagnetic pulse or EMP bomb was exploded but nobody knows it! Pandemonium breaks out!
This kind of attack is in itself non-lethal to humans but highly destructive to all electronic equipment. Transistors and circuit boards have been fried! Ranging from low level attacks that could disable equipment over a half to three mile radius to ones that could knock out all electronic systems and even the electricity grid over the whole country, this weapon provides both element of surprise and devastation. Even though these weapons may not yield any direct harm to humans, consider the possibility that all airplanes lose control and power instantly! Cars would stop working, traffic signals not even blinking, TVs black, hospitals would go dark, water delivery systems stop, trains stop or crash, farms stop producing, and everything relying on electricity and unprotected would instantly die. The nation would be totally brought to its knees and life would instantly revert to horse and buggy days. Communication systems down and circuitry fried, individuals would be totally cut off from each other and survival would depend upon a person's ability to re-establish life without elements we depend on today. Can you imagine the effect of such a bomb attack on the psychology of a people who have lived their whole lives without considering their dependence on the electric grid, the natural gas and water systems that operate in their home. Just think of every household appliance and how dependent you are on it. No coffee pot, no dishwasher, no clothes washer or dryer, no vacuum or even an electric toothbrush. Few of us even store candles!
Interestingly, old technologies, such as vacuum tube devices, stand a better chance to survive such a pulse. Storage batteries would not be affected. Flashlights might still work and allow for you to send flashing light Morse code over line of sight during night hours.
If you are a ham radio operator or just a radio buff, you might consider constructing a "Faraday Case!" It is a large case made of 翹" steel and lined with a copper grid. It should be grounded with large wire to a cold water line. This case should store a small 12 volt transceiver, a Morse code key, and solar cells capable of keeping your 12 Volt car battery charged. Your dipole antenna should survive, but store extra wire and coax just in case. All this could easily be contained in a small retired refrigerator. Although this idea has not been tested, we believe an old refrigerator with an extra lining of steel and copper screening inside and all grounded would serve perfectly and be large enough and cheap enough to do the job.
After the EMP bomb, assemble your rig then go on the air and check to see how extensive the damage is. Who knows, you might be the only connection to the world remaining in your area. Your lifeline may prove to be crucial to the survival of your family and that of your community. Like the Boy Scouts say, "Be Prepared!"
No comments:
Post a Comment