High Altitude EMP and Nuclear Reactors

[axj]

Found this interesting bit of information that nuclear reactors in the United States apparently are NOT required to withstand EMP:

A major area of concern when it comes to EMP is nuclear reactors located in the US. Unfortunately, a little-known Federal dictum prohibits the NRC from requiring power plants to withstand the effects of a nuclear war. This means that, in the event of a nuclear war, many nuclear reactors' control systems might will be damaged by an EMP surge. In such a case, the core-cooling controls might become inoperable and a core melt down and breaching of the containment vessel by radioactive materials into the surrounding area might well result. (If you were needing a reason not to live down wind from a nuclear reactor, this is it.)

Now consider the fact that only ONE nuclear explosion at a high altitude can produce an EMP that will knock out electronics across the whole United States:

Tactically, a space-based nuclear attack has a lot going for it; the magnetic field of the earth tends to spread out EMP so much that just one 20-MT bomb exploded at an altitude of 200 miles could--in theory--blanket the continental US with the effects of EMP. It's believed that the electrical surge of the EMP from such an explosion would be strong enough to knock out much of the civilian electrical equipment over the whole country. Certainly this is a lot of "bang for the buck" and it would be foolish to think that a nuclear attack would be launched without taking advantage of the confusion a high-altitude explosion could create.

EMP occurs with all nuclear explosions. With smaller explosions the effects are less pronounced. Nuclear bursts close to the ground are dampened by the earth so that EMP effects are more or less confined to the region of the blast and heat wave. But EMP becomes more pronounced and wide spread as the size and altitude of a nuclear blast is increased since the ground; of these two, altitude is the quickest way to produce greater EMP effects. As a nuclear device is exploded higher up, the earth soaks up fewer of the free electrons produced before they can travel some distance.

_http://www.aussurvivalist.com/nuclear/empprotection.htm

 

[Al Today]

I know there are some problems with wiki, but they have a non-nuclear generated EMP described here.

[quote author=WIKI]An explosively pumped flux compression generator (EPFCG) is a device used to generate a high-power electromagnetic pulse by compressing magnetic flux using high explosive. [...] An EPFCG package that could be easily carried by a person can produce pulses in the millions of amperes and tens of terawatts [...] [/quote]

 

[RyanX]

Now consider the fact that only ONE nuclear explosion at a high altitude can produce an EMP that will knock out electronics across the whole United States:

It also makes one wonder just what a large overhead cometary explosion would do to our fragile infrastructure too.

 

[axj]

Now consider the fact that only ONE nuclear explosion at a high altitude can produce an EMP that will knock out electronics across the whole United States:

It also makes one wonder just what a large overhead cometary explosion would do to our fragile infrastructure too.

... Or a strong solar storm

 

[The_Seeker]

or chuck Norris!


j/k


Feel free to remove, couldn't help myself

 

[SilverJeep]

So, one EMP could take out our electronics and cause meltdowns at all our Nuclear plants.

Talk about maximum effect.