Do Real EMP Weapons Actually Exist?

EMP weapons are a staple of movies. But do EMP bombs actually exist? Escape From L.A. Goldeneye. The Matrix. Ocean’s 11. The Fate of the Furious. These are but a few of the many popular films to feature electromagnetic pulse, or EMP. As depicted in these films, EMP is the ultimate weapon of the electronic age, able to destroy every electric or electronic circuit within its blast radius and plunge entire cities or even countries into the Stone Age. But is this terrifying weapon real, or is it just another pop culture fabrication, designed to provoke the same primal fear as when the wifi signal goes out? Incredibly, EMP weapons do indeed exist, though perhaps unsurprisingly their design, use, and capabilities are considerably different from what Hollywood would have us believe. An electromagnetic pulse is a powerful burst of electromagnetic radiation, and can be generated by a variety of natural phenomena, including lightning strikes, falling meteorites, and coronal mass ejections or solar flares. Such pulses damage electrical and electronic equipment by inducing powerful electric currents, the wiring within the equipment essentially acting as a radio antenna. This current then overloads vulnerable components in the circuit. While the effects of lightning-generated EMP is typically minor and short-range, solar flares can cause significant damage to electrical infrastructure. In 1859, a large coronal mass ejection known as the Carrington Event knocked out telegraph networks around the world, causing telegraph poles to spark and giving telegraph operators electric shocks through their headphones. In certain areas telegraphs were even able to function without batteries, the power being supplied by the electromagnetic pulse itself. It is fortunate that this event took place at a time when earth’s electrical infrastructure was limited to telegraph networks; had it occurred today it would have wrought untold destruction. Thankfully, there have been no Carrington-level events since, though a 2012 solar flare of the same magnitude came very close, missing the earth by only 9 days. In today’s digital age, the ability to instantly disable an enemy’s electrical infrastructure would give an attacking army a huge advantage on the battlefield, and so since the 1950s research into EMP weapons has been ongoing in several countries. Real EMP weapons fall into two basic categories: nuclear and non-nuclear. Nuclear EMP results from the intense burst of gamma radiation emitted by a nuclear explosion, which strips atoms in the surrounding air of electrons. These free electrons then flow along the earth’s magnetic field in what is known as a Compton Current, which in turn generates a powerful electromagnetic field. This phenomenon was anticipated by the scientists of the Manhattan Project, the WWII effort to build the first atomic bomb, and in the lead-up to the July 16, 1945 Trinity Test - the world’s first nuclear detonation - Italian physicist Enrico Fermi ordered all instruments monitoring the test double-shielded to protect them from damage. However... This is an abridged version of a video on our channel TodayIFoundOut which you can check out and subscribe to here: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut?sub_confirmation=1