The EMP Attack

Oct. 7, 2017

Mike Gonzalez Minato

In 1999 the world didn’t collapse. Many people wiped the sweat off their forehead, sighing with relief. And some said “So I told you Nostradamus is a liar. I didn’t trust his prophecy from the beginning!” However I doubt if they can say the same thing after they understand what an EMP Attack is like.

About 30 years ago when the world peace was on the military balance between the US and the USSR the word “Nuclear Winter” was in a spotlight on the media. Many experts warned the crisis of all-out nuclear war and aftermath destruction of the world climate. They illustrated that the tremendous amount of dust caused by nuclear explosions here and therewill soar and even reach the bottom of stratosphere. The dust will curl around the planet because of jet streams and form thick dust-clouds that shade the whole world from the sun beam. The thickness of dust won’t disperse easily. The polluted gas and dust so called “fallout” will take some decades or even ahundred year to settle down on the ground. Thus the earth goes back to the Ice Age. Needless to say most creatures on earth cannot survive.

This horrifying illustration of the world collapse shocked people and let them promote the peace movement all over the world. Now I understand people bet their lives on one and last hope totrust human conscience.“The world political leaders would never play the last card.”So far we are safe because the leaders haven’t used the prohibited tactics. However, I recently have felt like thrown into the abyss of despair again.

The termEMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) Attack was known only among military experts but is frequently referred to in the media these days. Especially since North Korea inserted this type of words in their provoking TV announcements people have come to know this weird term.

The EMP Attack is not used to aim blasting humans, buildings and enemy’s weapons directly. The attacker only needs to carry an atomic bomb to the target place and detonate it at high altitude between 40 and 400 km above the sky from where no blast reaches the ground. We should know a nuclear explosion produces a lot of electromagnetic pulse. The explosive volume of EMP creates a vast electromagnetic field that induces enormous surge of electricity. Then high voltage electricity flows into every electronic equipment and devastates them all.

Sorry, this is the limit I can explain because I’m not familiar with “electricity”. But, maybe it’ll be easier for you to understand, if you are reminded of lightening. You might have heard of an event that a thunder nearby crashed neighbor’s electrical appliances.

This fact was known to scientists through many times nuke tests from the early stage, but formidable destructive power of nukes put this side effectout of focus. Now many people have begun to realize this could wreak havoc on all their electronic systems ----- not only people’s PCs, phones and companies’computer systems like data links but also even the nation’selectric power supply systems (power grids) and all the critical infrastructures.

“If a rogue nationlike North Korea or Iran used EMP Attacks.”Naturally this scenario flits through everyone’s mind. Then a chill runs down everyone’s spine.The media reported the North is in the place of another step for completing their ICBMs that reach the US mainland and also a technology for warheadsre-entering the atmosphere. But as for the EMP Attack they don’t need them. They have already obtained the low level technologies to send an atomic bomb to the US. Even a meteorological balloon can carry it overhead the US.

About fifty years ago human societies were not fully sustained by electronics. But today we are surrounded by numerous types of electronic devices.Please imagine the case when you’ve got a sudden blackout. You cannot use your PC nor watch TV. You cannot use your microwave to heat food, moreover you’ll be anxious about food in your fridge to go bad. So please infer how hopeless catastrophe will happen, if this blackout affectsall over Japan and never resumes for months.

The tragedy is not only at each one’s home. Soon you will know all the transportation systems have stopped through your neighbors, not through your phone or TV. Your phone is broken. No----all the telephone networks, wired, wireless and all the other communication networksare crippled. Maybe you will try to get on your car but by 80 % your car has a trouble. If luckily you can drive a car to the street, you will see a very little number of cars running and understand all the activities in town stopped. In supermarkets swarms of people are scrambling to buy food. In hospitals many patients of dialysis, heart-disease with pacemakers and serious symptoms with life support systems are dying. In a week you will be informed of horrible news through a very primitive way of media such as Kairan-ban, that is, there was the EMP Attack by North Korea and Japan has gone haywire.

Questions

①Have you got goose blimps on your skin?

No.------OK.Please, explain why not.

Yes.------Please,describe what kind horror you felt.

②On the premise that this misfortune befell us, what would you do? Please presume what action we should take.

③Some experts in the US warned there would be lootings for food in towns and many riots would spread all over the nation. What do you think about Japan’s case?

④In order to minimize chaos and damages in the society or in order to prevent this type attack what should we do?