Surge Protectors Worldwide for the Electrical Power Grid?

[sunflower]

Hi Steven, as a fellow Quebecoise I am really happy to hear what you had to say about Hydro Quebec. Perhaps from hindsight we can say that we are fortunate that we experienced the '89 blackout and the '92 Ice storm. Our crumpled hydro towers were replaced by much more solid structures and to hear that integral components have been shielded is music to my ears.

Thank you and whenever you have more info regarding all this stuff which I don't truly understand I for one would appreciate reading it. We have heavy duty foil and metal containers stored in the basement. Now all we need is sufficient advance warning!

[Mark Lipschitz]

I've always wondered about this, and maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong here...

But isn't it kind of silly to put your electronics in Faraday cages or otherwise shield them if there isn't going to be any power to run them on?

I mean, the electrical grid isn't set up to withstand a massive EMP or CME. Regardless of where you live I think. So if there is no electricity what is the point of shielding your electronics? You could only use them if they have a battery and after that it is useless.

If there is a EMP event and the grid goes down, it's not going to come back online for a long time. Maybe never. If it's a localized occurrence that is one thing, but if it is global then it is back to the stone age for us.

[Steven]

Originally Posted by sunflower

Hi Steven, as a fellow Quebecoise I am really happy to hear what you had to say about Hydro Quebec. Perhaps from hindsight we can say that we are fortunate that we experienced the '89 blackout and the '92 Ice storm. Our crumpled hydro towers were replaced by much more solid structures and to hear that integral components have been shielded is music to my ears.

Thank you and whenever you have more info regarding all this stuff which I don't truly understand I for one would appreciate reading it. We have heavy duty foil and metal containers stored in the basement. Now all we need is sufficient advance warning!

Hello Sunflower. I am also happy to tell you that indeed, we are well prepared for another EMP in Quebec. To say the truth, we had another EMP of high magnitude in 2000, which was measured, but caused nothing on the DC protections.

Originally Posted by Mark Lipschitz

I've always wondered about this, and maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong here...

But isn't it kind of silly to put your electronics in Faraday cages or otherwise shield them if there isn't going to be any power to run them on?

I mean, the electrical grid isn't set up to withstand a massive EMP or CME. Regardless of where you live I think. So if there is no electricity what is the point of shielding your electronics? You could only use them if they have a battery and after that it is useless.

If there is a EMP event and the grid goes down, it's not going to come back online for a long time. Maybe never. If it's a localized occurrence that is one thing, but if it is global then it is back to the stone age for us.

It isn't Mark, because chances are high that DC components will get damaged while Large AC power components like 500MVA transformers would not be affected at all. If it happens, the grid might go down because the protection DC components might fry and the lines "opens" by default when a line loose its protection. The time to repair is not long like it would be if large AC transformers or breakers would break.

So it might be useful if you want to protect your data in your computer or other useful electronic tools you use, because chance are high the power grid will be back online after several hours or a couple days, depending of the state of your electrical power network and the magnitude/time of the EMP.

Once again, EMP will not burn large AC components like transformers or breakers. It might burn some badly shielded electronics, but not AC power grid. If a line goes down, it is not because transformers are fried, but it is because the DC components which monitors and protect the lines with algorithm have been damage. They are easy to replace and repair, much more than a large AC component.

Namaste, Steven

[Mark Lipschitz]

Thanks for the info Steven! Good to know.

But if there is a global EMP event due to CME, isn't it likely that there is going to be much much bigger problems than saving your hard drive?

[Steven]

Originally Posted by Mark Lipschitz

Thanks for the info Steven! Good to know.

But if there is a global EMP event due to CME, isn't it likely that there is going to be much much bigger problems than saving your hard drive?

Hehe. It depends of the magnitude of the CME, it happens frequently and its totally natural. Some whistleblowers like Henry Deacon, Bill Deagle or Dan Burisch have mentioned its possibility to have a "greater than usual hit" from the sun. I think it might be true, who knows... Now, if it happen, what would be the scale (magnitude) of the wave? Who can predict that? In a case of a large Coronal mass ejection, I think chances are very high that it will not burn the surface of the planet. Sure that everything is possible, but my common sens tells me that its falling into paranoia to expect such a catastrophe.

That's why I think it is better to be prepared for a hit, but not expecting the end of Life on Earth because the sun went crazy. If you follow the logic of some people saying the transformers coils will burn, than it means many, many things will heat up and burns, inclusively our body since it is made of 80% water (just like being into the microwave).

Namaste, Steven