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    Default EMP Warnings - Britain

    Please excuse the wall of text, thought it odd that the Telegraph put out 3 articles yesterday on the EMP subject. All tailored around an Iranian threat of course...

    Quote Britain at risk from 'GoldenEye' electromagnetic pulse attack from space, MPs warn

    Britain's critical national infrastructure could be crippled in a high-altitude space attack by a rogue state or terrorists, MPs have warned.


    A Russian Topol-12M mobile nuclear missile. A nuclear device detonated 500 miles above the earth could produce a crippling electro-magnetic pulse, MPs have warned

    A nuclear device detonated up to 500 miles above the earth's surface could generate an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) with a "devastating" effect on power supplies, telecommunications and other vital systems, the Commons Defence Committee said.

    It warned that countries such as Iran - which is resisting international pressure to end its nuclear programme - and even eventually some "non-state actors" could acquire the technology to mount such an attack, in a scenario akin to the plot of the 1995 James Bond film 'GoldenEye'.

    Terrorists could also build a "crude" non-nuclear EMP weapon, with the power to cause disruption over a more limited area.

    But despite the vulnerability of the UK to such an attack, the committee accused the Ministry of Defence of appearing "complacent" and "unwilling to take these threats seriously".

    It said ministers should start work on "hardening" the infrastructure to protect against an EMP attack "as a matter of urgency".
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    "It is time that the Government began to approach this matter with the seriousness it deserves," it said.

    The committee said the Government currently rated the probability of a high-altitude EMP attack as "low", although it acknowledged that the impact would be severe.

    However, an official EMP commission in the United States found "rogue states" such as Iran and nuclear-armed North Korea were well aware of the potential for such an attack.

    The Iranians in particular were reported to have conducted missile tests which appeared to simulate the effects of an EMP nuclear strike.

    The Americans concluded that in the event of such an attack, the widespread collapse of the electrical power system was "virtually inevitable".

    "Certain states such as Iran could potentially pose a realistic threat in the future, even if it does not currently do so, if nuclear non-proliferation efforts are not successful. Non-state actors could also pose a threat," the committee said.

    "While the risk may at present be low, the potential impact of such a weapon could be devastating and long-lasting for UK infrastructure. The Government cannot therefore be complacent about this threat and must keep its assessment of the risk under review.

    "It is therefore vitally important that the work of hardening UK infrastructure is begun now and carried out as a matter of urgency."

    James Arbuthnot, chairman of the defence select committee, called on key infrastructure to fit 'hardened' microchips resistant to EMP attack.

    "I personally believe that it is quite likely to happen, because it is a comparatively easy way of using a small number of nuclear weapons to cause devastating damage.

    "The consequences if it did happen would be so devastating that we really ought to start protecting against it now. Our vulnerabilities are huge.

    He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It would have a far more devastating impact to use a nuclear weapon in this way than to explode a bomb in or on a city. It would, over a much wider area, take out things like the National Grid on which we all rely for almost everything. It would take out the water system and the sewage system. Rapidly it would become very difficult to live in cities - within a matter of days."

    "The defence is to build up the resilience of the electronic infrastructure by gradually replacing the incredibly delicate and vulnerable systems and chips and connections with the more hardened systems that are available at a not very expensive price during your routine maintenance.

    "I wish the Government would address this with rather more energy, cohesion and focus."

    It is not only EMP weapons that have the power to wreak havoc. The committee said a naturally occurring "space weather event" caused by changing conditions in the sun's atmosphere could have a similar effect.

    The most severe example - known as the Carrington event after the astronomer who observed it - occurred in 1859 when a massive solar flare sent enormous electrical currents surging through telegraph systems causing shocks to telegraph operators and setting fire to papers.

    Scientists at Nasa recorded a huge solar flare caused by a large magnetic eruption in February this year

    In 1989 the entire power grid in the Canadian province of Quebec collapsed in a matter of just 90 seconds after stabilising equipment failed to cope with the effects of a geomagnetic storm.

    The likelihood a severe space weather event occurring over the next five years is currently assessed by the Government as being "moderate to high", the committee said.

    The National Grid has estimated that if there was another Carrington-sized event, there was a 91% chance that an area of the UK would be left without power for two months or more while essential satellite systems could also be damaged

    The committee said it was now vital the Government ensured back-up procedures and equipment were in place to meet the "reasonable worst-case scenario" for a severe space weather event.

    It said ministers should also consider the practicability and cost of establishing resilience against a widespread loss of transformers, as could occur in an EMP attack.

    "The potential threats of a Carrington-size space weather event or a high-altitude nuclear EMP weapon would have specific and potentially devastating impacts upon the electrical grid and other aspects of electronic infrastructure, which play an absolutely critical role in UK society," it said.

    "It is therefore vital that the electrical grid is resilient as possible to potential threats such as these."

    A Government spokesman said: "We take these threats seriously, and proportionately, and are considering the Defence Committee report carefully. We shall respond fully in due course.

    "Many of the points it raises are already coordinated across government and will be covered by the National Space Security Policy expected later this year."

    Quote Electromagnetic pulses explained

    An electromagnetic pulse attack could cripple Britain's infrastructure, MPs have warned. This is how they occur.


    Atomic weapons testing on Bikini Atoll, 1954. Defence scientists quickly realised the potential for generating electromagnetic pulses with high-altitude nuclear explosions.

    Defence experts believe detonating a nuclear device above the earth could cripple electronic systems, knock out water and electricity supplies and bring civilisation to a halt.

    The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation from a large explosion, such as that produced by a nuclear weapon high above the earth, produces rapidly changes electric and magnetic fields. They generate surges in voltage and current inside electronic equipement - burning out microchips and circuitry.

    A nuclear electromagnetic pulse produces three waves of energy. The first is a very fast-moving, brief and intense electromagnetic field. It is created when gamma radiation from the nulcear explosion knocks electrons out of atoms in the earth's upper atmosphere. These electrons start moving downward and interact with the earth's magnetic field - creating a very large, brief pulse.

    The second wave is generated by scattered gamma rays. It is similar to the pulses caused by lightning strikes and as such tends to be less damaging to equipment.

    The third wave is a very slow pulse, lasting tens to hundrds of seconds, caused by the nuclear detonation driving the earth's magnetic field out the wave, followed by the field returning to its natural place. It can induce currents in long electrical conductors such as power lines, causing damage to substations and transformers.
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    The scale of the damage depends on the height of the explosion. A detonation at an altitude of 30 miles is calculated to cause damage for 480 miles around. At an altitude of 300 miles, the damage would radiate to 1470 miles - a field that would cover much of North America or Europe.

    The strength of the pulse depends on the distance of the explosion from the earth's equator.

    It is also possible to produce electromagnetic pulses without the use of nuclear weapons. Such devices have been fitted into bombs and missiles, but their range is far more limited because the explosion is far less powerful

    Ships and military aeroplanes, particularly those carrying VIPs or nuclear weapons, can be hardened against EMP. In Britain equipment is tested on an EMP simulator at Farnborough airbase in Hampshire.

    EMP pulses can also be naturally occuring. Solar flares see the release of large bursts of energy, including electrons and atoms, from the sun's corona.

    Quote Electromagnetic pulses in history

    An electromagnetic pulse attack could cripple Britain's infrastructure, MPs have warned. Here are examples of how the phenomenon has disrupted life.


    RAF Canberra jet crews in the 1950s. British pilots were among the first to notice nuclear electromagnetic pulses when their instruments failed. They dubbed it 'radioflash'.

    The first recorded damage from an electromagnetic pulse came with the solar storm of August 1859, or the Carrington Event. It was the largest solar storm in recorded history. Sunspots and flares could be seen on the sun. It was followed by a huge geomagnetic storm. The Northern Lights could be seen across the world, and were bright enough to read a newspaper by. Telegraph systems in Europe and North America threw sparks, set light to paper and gave their operators electric shocks.

    A similar, but milder, storm occured in March 1989. It knocked out power supplies in Quebec, jammed radio signals and weather satellites and caused aurora as far south as Texas - leading some to believe a nuclear attack was underway.

    A huge solar flare caused by a large magnetic eruption

    The phenomenon of electromagnetic interference was noticed during the early nuclear tests in the Cold War. British scientists attributed instrumentation failures to what they dubbed 'radioflash'.

    Its potential as a weapon was first realised by the US military. In the Starfish Prime test in 1962 a 1.44 megaton warhead was donated 250 miles into space. The pulse knocked out street lights and damaged telephones on Hawaii.

    A test the same year by Soviet scientists in Kazakhstan triggered power plant fires in the city of Karaganda.

    The United States set up a commission to assess the threat from an EMP attack in 2001. It concluded that North Korea, Russian, China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Cuba understand how such an attack could work - and that many countries believe the US is able and willing to make an EMP strike "under a broad range of circumstances".

    In 2010 Dr Liam Fox, then the defence secretary, warned that North Korea and Iran may seek to detonate a device high over Britain in order to disrupt electronic equipment.

    Liam Fox warned that Korea and Iran could seek to use EMP

    In fiction, the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye saw the villain, a rogue MI6 agent, plan to use an EMP weapon to rob the Bank of England and trigger a financial crisis.
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    See this is a good example of why the Star Nations and Allied Worlds want this planet De-Nuked. No one...needs that kind of weaponry.
    "Ignoring the evidence is simply another way of ignoring the truth."
    "Reality is always hard to accept whenever it is unpleasant. Our minds play tricks and tell us it just cannot be. Instead of accepting the truth as it is when it disturbs us, we try to deny its existence."

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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    Neutron bombs where invented at the same time as the A bomb - in fact before, as the neutron blast is required to detonate an atomic blast. Thus the threat of EMP's has always been there - just as the threat of A-bombs has. A neutron bomb is not physically destructive but carries an EMP greater than that of a nuke -- thus extremely effective for todays information warfare.

    The interesting part is this has been a threat since the A-Bomb was invented... why now all the hype? Because it creates fear, it creates an invisible enemy that can be blamed on whomever they wish to war against. Solar flares are the greates risk of EMP. Since commenting on the thread about Anonymous being blamed for global power outages to come, I'll remind again Hilary Clinton's comment "never let a good disaster go to waste!". Blame Solar flare effects on EMPS caused by dirty or neutron bo9mbs that 'X' made, so you have public support to wage war.

    Any biters?
    Last edited by DeDukshyn; 24th February 2012 at 02:34.
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    All the bombs will be turned into Milk Duds, and I hate to keep repeating myself. The Nukes are being disengaged by The Keepers of The Garden, a most highly intelligent and super advanced race. They do not want us kids playing with matches any longer.
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    Quote Posted by WhiteFeather (here)
    All the bombs will be turned into Milk Duds, and I hate to keep repeating myself. The Nukes are being disengaged by The Keepers of The Garden, a most highly intelligent and super advanced race. They do not want us kids playing with matches any longer.
    Is there any way we could get M&M's instead of Milk Duds? They melt in your mouth, not in your hand...just in case there is heat associated with the process.

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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    Quote Posted by DeDukshyn (here)
    Neutron bombs where invented at the same time as the A bomb - in fact before, as the neutron blast is required to detonate an atomic blast. Thus the threat of EMP's has always been there - just as the threat of A-bombs has. A neutron bomb is not physically destructive but carries an EMP greater than that of a nuke -- thus extremely effective for todays information warfare.

    The interesting part is this has been a threat since the A-Bomb was invented... why now all the hype? Because it creates fear, it creates an invisible enemy that can be blamed on whomever they wish to war against. Solar flares are the greates risk of EMP. Since commenting on the thread about Anonymous being blamed for global power outages to come, I'll remind again Hilary Clinton's comment "never let a good disaster go to waste!". Blame Solar flare effects on EMPS caused by dirty or neutron bo9mbs that 'X' made, so you have public support to wage war.

    Any biters?
    Just to clarify the atomic bomb is the same thing as a neutron bomb the other other type is hydrogen or thermonuclear. Yes you do require an atomic to kick the thermo I to life because we cannot create the pressure with out the atomic creating critical mass in the deuterium or tritium. In fact even the atomic bomb is surrounded by explosives to create criticallity in the neutron/atomic.
    Last edited by Setras; 24th February 2012 at 18:19. Reason: Dodgy iPhone
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    A lot of sabre rattling to justify an increased 'iran is a threat' meme. Now where did we see this before?
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    Quote Posted by Gardener (here)
    A lot of sabre rattling to justify an increased 'iran is a threat' meme. Now where did we see this before?
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    While I don't pretend to know anything about the state of Britain's infrastructure, I do have a few observations I'd like to throw out there for consideration:

    • As the article points out, we've know about EMPs caused by atomic weapons since at least the 1940s and those caused by solar flares since at least 1859 so don't you find it interesting that NOW they're concerned about the "devastating" effects EMPs can have on our infrastructure?
    • The US military hardened its infrastructure years ago to account for EMPs so one would logically conclude that Britain and all nuclear powers would have done the same.
    • If a "rogue state" did manage to fire a missile capable of detonating an EMP, I'm quite confident that the US, Britain, Russia and China would knock that missile down before it ever reached a sufficient distance and altitude to do much damage over Britain or any other major world power.
    • Given the previous statement's likelihood, one must also conclude that any "rogue state" stupid enough to attempt such a feat must also be aware that they would be destroyed in minutes after such an attack—particularly if their attack failed. Not a good move, IMO.
    • Since there are few, if any, "rogue states" that might already have—or gain in the near future—the capability to launch such an attack and given all the talk about "false flag" events potentially being planned by "non-rogue states," one might also conclude that, if such an attack DID happen, it would be highly likely that it was one of the "non-rogue states" who launched the attack—either directly or indirectly through one of their terrorist organizations.
    • If indeed the UK's infrastructure is so vulnerable and the MOD is not all that concerned about it, could it be because they don't want the infrastructure to stand up to an EMP attack—assuming they needed a "false flag" event of significant consequence to rally the public's support to go to war with the alleged attacker (and potentially kicking off WWIII)?

    And a few more comments directed at specific quoted content:
    Quote Terrorists could also build a "crude" non-nuclear EMP weapon, with the power to cause disruption over a more limited area.

    But despite the vulnerability of the UK to such an attack, the committee accused the Ministry of Defence of appearing "complacent" and "unwilling to take these threats seriously".
    Perhaps the MOD isn't taking it seriously because they KNOW there's little chance of a terrorist group being able to do such a thing.
    Quote It said ministers should start work on "hardening" the infrastructure to protect against an EMP attack "as a matter of urgency"
    Really? You're just figuring this out now, a mere 75-150 years later? You guys catch on quick.
    Quote He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It would have a far more devastating impact to use a nuclear weapon in this way than to explode a bomb in or on a city. It would, over a much wider area, take out things like the National Grid on which we all rely for almost everything. It would take out the water system and the sewage system. Rapidly it would become very difficult to live in cities - within a matter of days."
    Gee, I would think that a bomb dropped on a city would be far more devastating because it not only would wipe out the infrastructure but thousands or millions of people as well who then could not retaliate against their attacker. Unless…, say the perpetrator wanted the (electronic) infrastructure to be taken down to let the masses die from all the consequential problems that would arise after such an occurrence. Let's assume the perpetrator was the people's own government or shadow government. The government would have plausible deniability in all those unfortunate deaths (e.g., they just couldn't repair it all fast enough to save all of the people). Further, the government could then more easily control the few that survived and it would still have all those lovely buildings and roads and infrastructure that could still be used. Of course this is purely a hypothetical, fictitious scenario. I mean, who could actually conceive of their government doing such a sick and twisted thing.
    Quote The committee said the Government currently rated the probability of a high-altitude EMP attack as "low", although it acknowledged that the impact would be severe....

    The likelihood a severe space weather event occurring over the next five years is currently assessed by the Government as being "moderate to high", the committee said.
    I'm a bit confused. Ok, so the committee acknowledges that an EMP attack was "low" and then later the article goes on to say the government assesses the risk of a space weather EMP event as being moderate to high. I understand that the article is discussing two different initiating events, but isn't the whole idea to protect the infrastructure from going down REGARDLESS of whether a solar flare or a nuclear detonation takes it out?
    Quote The National Grid has estimated that if there was another Carrington-sized event, there was a 91% chance that an area of the UK would be left without power for two months or more while essential satellite systems could also be damaged.
    Again, the Carrington effect that took out the Quebec, Canada power grid was in 1989 and the one that toasted telegraphs was in 1859 and our efficient, effective, forward-looking, and learned leaders are just now realizing that something should be done to deter a sure-to-occur future event NOW? God, these guys are good.
    Quote A Government spokesman said: "We take these threats seriously, and proportionately, and are considering the Defence Committee report carefully. We shall respond fully in due course.
    Well there you have it. All is well and good. You can expect this all to be taken care of in, say, the next 50-100 years. No worries mates.

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    Canada Avalon Member DeDukshyn's Avatar
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    Quote Posted by Setras (here)
    Quote Posted by DeDukshyn (here)
    Neutron bombs where invented at the same time as the A bomb - in fact before, as the neutron blast is required to detonate an atomic blast. Thus the threat of EMP's has always been there - just as the threat of A-bombs has. A neutron bomb is not physically destructive but carries an EMP greater than that of a nuke -- thus extremely effective for todays information warfare.

    The interesting part is this has been a threat since the A-Bomb was invented... why now all the hype? Because it creates fear, it creates an invisible enemy that can be blamed on whomever they wish to war against. Solar flares are the greates risk of EMP. Since commenting on the thread about Anonymous being blamed for global power outages to come, I'll remind again Hilary Clinton's comment "never let a good disaster go to waste!". Blame Solar flare effects on EMPS caused by dirty or neutron bo9mbs that 'X' made, so you have public support to wage war.

    Any biters?
    Just to clarify the atomic bomb is the same thing as a neutron bomb the other other type is hydrogen or thermonuclear. Yes you do require an atomic to kick the thermo I to life because we cannot create the pressure with out the atomic creating critical mass in the deuterium or tritium. In fact even the atomic bomb is surrounded by explosives to create criticallity in the neutron/atomic.
    They are not the same. A neutron detonation is required for a thermonuclear detonation IIRC therefor every atomic / hydrogen bomb has a neutron reaction - but the outer ring of material (uranium? plutonium?) is detonated by the massive radiation given off by the neutron blast. Without the outer ring of nuclear material to cause the destructive explosion, a neutron bomb is not very physically destructive in that sense -- it's power is not measured in equiv tonnes of TNT like a traditional nuclear bomb, but by the vast radiation and EMP it gives off. It's EMP is much stronger than a traditional atomic blast because of the lack of the outer ring of material to absorb it. Somthing like that anyway, I'm not expert so my terminology might not be 100% accurate.

    From Wikipedia:
    Quote "A neutron bomb, technically referred to as an enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a type of tactical nuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation. This contrasts with standard thermonuclear weapons, which are designed to capture this intense neutron radiation to increase its overall explosive yield. In terms of yield, ERWs typically produce about one-tenth that of a fission-type atomic weapon. Even with their significantly lower explosive power, ERWs are still capable of much greater destruction than any conventional bomb. Meanwhile, relative to other nuclear weapons, damage is more focused on biological material than on material infrastructure (though extreme blast and heat effects are not eliminated)."
    Last edited by DeDukshyn; 25th February 2012 at 00:23.
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    With the Earth's magnetic field weakening, a supernova in a close proximity could release a gamma ray burst that would have the same effect. You should go to the SDO site and see what happened on the sun today. Also take a look at this-

    Click image for larger version

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ID:	14109

    http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/SW...ime_browse.cgi

    Select 20120223_191844 GIF then click show image. That is what happened at the exact moment of the earthquake that was deleted by the USGS today. Look specifically at the ionospheric charge ( the two spheres below the magnetosphere picture)

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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    LOL!!




    Is there any way we could get M&M's instead of Milk Duds? They melt in your mouth, not in your hand...just in case there is heat associated with the process. [/QUOTE]
    Everything is good til it's not-

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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    This is the perfect time to bring up such a threat! With solar maximum just around the corner, we can turn a natural event into a cause for more wars.

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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    ceetee9 wrote:
    Quote ”The US military hardened its infrastructure years ago to account for EMPs so one would logically conclude that Britain and all nuclear powers would have done the same.”
    I sincerely hope that the nuclear power plants around the world have designed in them the "shields" to protect them from the EMP. We wouldn't last for more than 12 hours on just batteries or diesel fuel to keep them cooled. If we lose the cooling power, we'd definitely head into thermal melt-down/through (as was/is the case at Fukushima)

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    England Avalon Member Terra's Avatar
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    Default Re: EMP Warnings - Britain

    EMP? What EMP?


    Apologies for starting this thread. Curiosity keeps getting the better of me, something I now know I need to work on.
    Terra

    IF.....

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