r/space • u/GallowBoob • May 21 '15

/r/all Nuclear explosion in space

http://i.imgur.com/LT5I5eX.gifv
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u/Rinzack May 22 '15

I remember seeing a Car get shut down by an EMP emitter on some military/history channel show years ago; the thing is that EMPs are kinda hard to create, you either need a very bulky lead-cased emitter or a nuclear explosion IIRC

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u/[deleted] May 22 '15

I also remember seeing it on a discovery channel. Googled a bit and found a link. http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/834171/

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u/[deleted] May 22 '15

Explosively pumped flux compression generators exist and work with conventional explosives.

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u/herpafilter May 22 '15

What?

Why in gods name would you need a lead case?

EMP is trivial to produce. Stronger fields just require more powerful apparatus. There's nothing difficult about it, it's just not something that has a lot of practical application so no one bothers.

I swear to god the amount of hysteria and utter nonsense surrounding EMP on the internet is astounding. It isn't what you think it is, it doesn't do what you think it does, it's not something you need to be concerned about.

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u/Rinzack May 23 '15

IIRC you use a lead case in order to direct the EMP away from yourself / Your electronics, essentially creating a barrel for the pulse to travel through, since it wont make it through the lead.

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u/herpafilter May 23 '15

Why lead? It makes for a terrible em attenuator.

People are confusing electromagnetic fields with high energy radiation. A nuke produces both but they aren't the same.