Electromagnetic Pulse - Generation of Nuclear EMP

Generation of Nuclear EMP

Several major factors control the effectiveness of a nuclear EMP weapon. These are

  1. The altitude of the weapon when detonated;
  2. The yield and construction details of the weapon;
  3. The distance from the weapon when detonated;
  4. Geographical depth or intervening geographical features;
  5. The local strength of the magnetic field of the Earth.

Beyond a certain altitude a nuclear weapon will not produce any EMP, as the gamma rays will have had sufficient distance to disperse. In deep space or on worlds with no magnetic field (the moon or Mars for example) there will be little or no EMP. This has implications for certain kinds of nuclear rocket engines, such as Project Orion.

Read more about this topic:  Electromagnetic Pulse

Famous quotes containing the words generation of, generation and/or nuclear:

    “The pork sizzles and cries for fish. Luckily for the foolish race, and this particularly foolish generation of trout, the night shut down at last, not a little deepened by the dark side of Ktaadn, which, like a permanent shadow, reared itself from the eastern bank.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.”
    —Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)

    “We now recognize that abuse and neglect may be as frequent in nuclear families as love, protection, and commitment are in nonnuclear families.”
    —David Elkind (20th century)