What Is an EMP?

The Growing Threat of EMP Attacks and Natural Events

Electromagnetic pulses, or EMPs, pose an increasing risk of catastrophic damage to modern society's critical infrastructure and electronics. As we become more technologically advanced and dependent on electricity and electronics, we also become more vulnerable to complete disruption from intense electromagnetic energy bursts. Both naturally occurring EMPs from space weather and man-made nuclear EMPs could have devastating wide-area impacts. Recent solar storms provide a reminder that we must better prepare for these threats. By understanding EMPs and taking action to protect equipment, preppers can build resilience against this concerning vulnerability.

Here at WeLovePrepping, we aim to help preppers like you safeguard your home and family from EMP catastrophes. This article will provide an in-depth look at what exactly an EMP is, the dangers they present, and effective ways you can defend your electronics. With the right knowledge and preparedness, you can face the possibility of an EMP or cyberattack with confidence.

What Exactly is an EMP?

An EMP is a short, high-intensity burst of electromagnetic radiation that can overload electronic circuits. The intense electric and magnetic fields generated by an EMP induce damaging current and voltage surges in electrical conductors. This can cause instant, permanent failure of electronics such as computers, sensors, and communications equipment.

EMPs originate from two main sources - natural events like solar geomagnetic storms, and nuclear explosions at high altitudes. Regardless of the origin, EMPs release powerful electromagnetic energy that can have devastating impacts over a massive area.

Natural Sources of EMPs - Solar Storms and Lightning

The Sun bombards Earth with a constant stream of charged particles and radiation. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections can interact with our planet's magnetic field and atmosphere to produce EMPs. The electromagnetic pulses from these geomagnetic storms induce currents that may overload transformers and disrupt radio communications.

For example, a massive 1859 solar storm called the Carrington Event produced auroras visible even in the Caribbean. The EMP damaged telegraph systems across North America and Europe. In March 1989, another powerful geomagnetic storm caused the complete collapse of the Hydro-Québec power grid in Canada within 92 seconds. Millions were left without electricity for 9 hours.

Localized EMPs also frequently occur during lightning strikes. While less intense than solar-induced EMPs, lightning EMPs can still damage sensitive electronics. Strikes near power lines often cause surges and outages.

Natural EMPs can have significant impacts, but pale in comparison to the threat of a nuclear high-altitude EMP attack.

Nuclear EMPs - High-Altitude Detonations

The detonation of a nuclear warhead 30 to 400 km above Earth's surface can generate an extraordinarily intense EMP through gamma radiation ionizing the upper atmosphere. Without air to absorb the pulse, the EMP electromagnetic shockwave propagates to the ground where it can couple with electronics across a vast region, up to 1,000 miles away from the point of detonation.

The pulse generated by a high-altitude EMP (HEMP) event consists of three distinct components, designated E1, E2, and E3. The E1 pulse is an extremely rapid spike of electric field that can reach tens of thousands of volts per meter over a timescale of just 10 nanoseconds. This intense E1 spike induces thousands to tens of thousands of volts in exposed electrical conductors, easily overloading insulation and destroying electronics.

The E2 component of the nuclear EMP follows in under a microsecond. The slower E2 pulse is similar to lightning EMP, and can induce damaging current and voltage surges in longer electrical conductors. Finally, the E3 pulse begins after a second and may persist for up to a minute. E3 consists of a very slow pulse that induces currents powerful enough to cause melting and long-term disruption of large power transformers across an electrical grid.

Militaries study HEMPs as non-lethal weapons capable of disabling electronic infrastructure over vast areas. With nuclear proliferation increasing among nations such as North Korea, the EMP threat becomes ever more dire.

EMP Threats and Potential Impact

A sufficiently powerful EMP event, whether caused naturally or through a high-altitude nuclear detonation, could have catastrophic and long-lasting consequences across affected regions. As modern civilization depends on electronics and electrical infrastructure, an EMP could cripple:

Electrical grids and power systems - Failure of high-voltage transformers could cause nationwide blackouts lasting months or years.
Communications infrastructure - Phones, Internet, radio, and satellites could go down over a wide region, hampering recovery.
Vehicles and transportation - EMPs can disable aircraft and vehicles, halting emergency services.
Financial and banking systems - Economic collapse could result from EMP damage to data centers and transactions.
Water and sewage systems - Pumps and treatment plants depend on electricity, which could be disrupted long-term.
Healthcare facilities - Patient monitoring equipment and life support systems are vulnerable to EMPs.

With electricity, communications, and transportation severed, food and water distribution would grind to a halt in afflicted areas. Lack of transportation would also prevent the deployment of backup equipment and slow recovery efforts. In a worst-case nationwide EMP scenario, civilization could be set back decades as we struggle to rebuild key infrastructure components like high-voltage transformers. Unrest, famine, and conflict over resources could ensue. As preppers, we must be ready to sustain ourselves if EMPs unleash this kind of societal collapse.

Catastrophic Failure of Electrical Grids

The most concerning impact of an EMP is the threat it poses to modern power grids. Over 2,000 large transformers form critical nodes across North America's interconnected transmission networks. These expensive, custom-built transformers can take 20 months to manufacture and transport for replacement. According to a 2008 EMP commission report, an EMP event could destroy or disable up to 70 percent of transformers across the United States. Replacement of hundreds of damaged transformers could drag out grid restoration for multiple years.

Prolonged blackouts following an EMP would shut down crucial infrastructures that sustain modern civilization. Food, clean water, sanitation, banking, communications, transportation, and healthcare could be crippled for months or years. Here at WeLovePrepping, we provide reviews of whole-house generators that can keep your home powered if the grid goes down long-term.

Disabling Vehicles and Consumer Electronics

In addition to power grids, smaller electronics and modern vehicles are extremely susceptible to EMP disruption and permanent damage. Vehicles rely on sophisticated electronics to run engines, control braking, provide safety features, and more. Electronics fail when the E1 EMP pulse induces surges exceeding thousands of volts in microchips and circuits. An EMP could disable millions of vehicles, severely hindering emergency and recovery efforts.

Consumer electronics without hardened EMP protection will be rendered useless by E1 surges. Larger electronics may survive due to built-in shielding, but could require repairs or replacement of affected components.

Here at WeLovePrepping, we have guides on simple EMP protection steps and equipment like Faraday cages that can safeguard your critical electronics and vehicles.

Preparing for an EMP Attack or Severe Solar Storm

While an EMP could disable vast swaths of infrastructure, proper precautions improve the odds of keeping your essential electronics functional. As part of emergency preparations, consider the following tips:

Store backup radios, generators, and other key electronics in EMP-proof containers or Faraday cages. These block damaging external EMP fields.
Keep vehicles in garages or other enclosed structures to shield them from EMPs.
Use quality surge protectors and EMP-resistant cases to protect sensitive devices like laptops and communications equipment.
Build a home Faraday cage or purchase galvanized trash cans or EMP-proof bags to protect larger electronics.
Have backups of critical equipment and extra supplies like batteries that could be damaged by EMPs.

We have more in-depth guides here on WeLovePrepping covering strategies to protect equipment from EMPs.

Hardening Electrical Grids

There are protective measures that can make electrical grids more resilient against EMPs and geomagnetic storms. Special blocking devices installed at grid access points prevent geomagnetically induced currents from propagating into and damaging transformers. Deploying more spare transformers facilitates faster restoration if sections are damaged. Separating interconnected networks into isolated microgrids or "islands" can prevent cascading wide-area failures. Microgrids using local renewable generation and storage improve resiliency.

Utilities can also modify transformers to handle stronger geomagnetically induced currents. Installing neutral current blocking capacitors on transformers limits effects from slow E3 pulses. Here at WeLovePrepping, we provide reviews of whole-house generators that can keep your home powered if the wider grid is disabled.

Personal and Community Preparation

In addition to equipment hardening, stockpiling essentials provides redundancy if EMPs unleash widespread disruption. Build supplies of water, shelf-stable food, first aid, hygiene items, and other basics to survive prolonged outages. Have alternative plans ready for lighting, cooking, and heating without grid power. An organized community prepper network allows pooling of resources if infrastructure fails.

We have comprehensive checklists here on WeLovePrepping for building robust emergency kits tailored for EMPs and other disasters. We also cover strategies for developing an effective neighborhood preparedness team.

Conclusion - The Growing EMP Threat Environment

Natural and nuclear EMPs pose increasing risks as storms intensify and nuclear weapons spread.
EMPs can instantaneously overload electrical grids and electronics across vast regions.
Nuclear EMPs may destroy over 70% of transformers, causing nationwide blackouts lasting years.
Vehicles, communications, healthcare systems, and infrastructure could be disabled long-term.
Preppers must take action to harden electrical networks and shield electronics using Faraday cages and other techniques.
Even with equipment protection, stockpiling backup supplies provides redundancy if prolonged outages strike.

We hope this guide has armed you with vital knowledge to understand the EMP threat environment and take action to protect against it. WeLovePrepping will continue providing the latest strategies and resources to help preppers like you achieve optimal preparedness for any emergency scenario.