Generation of Nuclear EMP
Several major factors control the effectiveness of a nuclear EMP weapon. These are
- The altitude of the weapon when detonated;
- The yield and construction details of the weapon;
- The distance from the weapon when detonated;
- Geographical depth or intervening geographical features;
- 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:
“Generation after generation of women have pledged to raise their daughters differently, only to find that their daughters grow up and fervently pledge the same thing.”
—Elizabeth Debold (20th century)
“I don’t want to be an alarmist, but I think that the Younger Generation is up to something.... I base my apprehension on nothing more definite than the fact that they are always coming in and going out of the house, without any apparent reason.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“The reduction of nuclear arsenals and the removal of the threat of worldwide nuclear destruction is a measure, in my judgment, of the power and strength of a great nation.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)