General science thread

Worth looking into nuclear electromagnetic pulses now that North Korea has threatened one?

I didn't realize a couple of things,

*counter intuitive: that the proper way to have the biggest impact is to explode it way the hell up there

*just didnt know: one bomb can have such a wide effect

I had seen catastrophic predictions before, such as millions simply starving from the breakdown it would cause.

below from the wikipedia article, showing range etc:

Defense contractors hire "good" scientists, so do tobacco companies.

Quote: odiousgambit

Worth looking into nuclear electromagnetic pulses now that North Korea has threatened one?

I didn't realize a couple of things,

*counter intuitive: that the proper way to have the biggest impact is to explode it way the hell up there

*just didnt know: one bomb can have such a wide effect

I had seen catastrophic predictions before, such as millions simply starving from the breakdown it would cause.

below from the wikipedia article, showing range etc:

When hurricane Irma hit, I already got a taste of having a worthless debit card when multiple systems are down and no one takes electronic transfers for anything. Wonder how big an impact that would have a for how long?

Even the old fashioned low tech method of dropping "chaff" on power lines to short out every line with sticky conductors was effective in the Middle East. Repairing a substation is easy compared to wiping down miles of transmission lines.

I remember one woman in Florida who was fleeing a hurricane and adopted just a few rules: Stay off the freeways, never pass up a place that sells Diesel or has an ATM. It was a constant mission to top off the tanks and turn plastic into cash.

Quote: Evenbob

He says the world has never seen a wealth class like the one he will be part of, one that isn't split into a hundred pieces when you die.
Because they'll live so long their wealth will be staggering.

Quote: Pacomartin

I just saw this very thing in action. A wealthy
woman I know died and her estate was
split among the kids. The one who got the
most just died also and that's being split
among her kids. What was just 3 years ago
a 15 mil dollar fortune, is just a little better
lifestyle to those who inherited it. The 15 mil
was split so many ways that it's no longer
of any consequence.

One reason Rockefeller was worth so much
when he died is he lived to 98. If billionaires
can live to 150, they can amass a staggering
fortune before it's split up.

Quote: Fleastiff

Repairing a substation is easy compared to wiping down miles of transmission lines.

Maybe, if you have a spare power transformer in your hip pocket of the right voltage. They don't stock those at Lowe's.

Quote: petroglyph

Maybe, if you have a spare power transformer in your hip pocket of the right voltage. They don't stock those at Lowe's.

Right but you can go to Lowes and order it ONCE. With all those miles of transmission lines you have to wipe them clean and each time someone tries it the wind redeposits it on another segment of the lines nearby.

Quote: Fleastiff

Right but you can go to Lowes and order it ONCE. With all those miles of transmission lines you have to wipe them clean and each time someone tries it the wind redeposits it on another segment of the lines nearby.

You only need to place the order once but delivery could be up to a year depending on high the voltage is. Pole top transformers are typically common and a dime a dozen. Sub station transformers can sometimes be a one off that nobody has built for a decade or more.

Yes. That is a situation that is haunting the German Navy that right now can not have ANY of its submarines put out to sea because there simply is no "supply chain" for dozens of specialized parts. Elon Musk may have worked wonders with that Big Old Battery in Australia that is working wonders with dealing with wind farm abberations and grid fluctuations but I expect he could not replace it overnight.