An EMP question

Can you protect your equipment from EMP by unplugging it? For instance, unhooking the battery in your car, unplugging the frig, etc...

This may be a dumb question but I can't seem to find any answer anywhere. And if it has already been discussed here please point me in the right direction.

Thanks.

No, I dont think unplugging will help. I think it will still fry all electronics.

Unless your computer uses vacuum tubes, then no matter what you do (short of sealing it in a thick lead box) it is gonna get broke.
Here's a good read: EMP - From Chaos To A Manageable Solution

reply to post by -Reason-


That won't work because the EMP itself, being a magnetic field, induces current to flow.

Placing objects in a faraday cage is one way to try to save them, but that also presents new problems to overcome, such as usability.

Here is a good article on EMP bombs and their effects

I recall reading somewhere that the electrical surge created by an EMP will travel through phone and power lines, destroying anything plugged into them.

Remember that EMP weapons are limited by range to some extent, but the US power grid covers the entire country. An EMP that only affects four states might very well create power surges through the grid which would affect all of the surrounding states as well.

So in that situation, if you were in one of those four states, then no... other than buying two of all your electrical commodities and keeping the spares in metal safes, there's not much you can do to protect them.

If you were in one of the areas that would be subjected to power surges but not the EMP itself then yes, unplugging your devices would protect them. But then again, so would an awesome surge protector.

The power surge affect was only a theoretical possibility, however. Whether or not it happened would depend on what happened first, the power grid being destroyed or the surge reaching your house.

EMp Plus is the biggest worry that the goverment has right now. A scud missile with a nuke exploded roughly 5 miles above the Coast will produce a EMP plus that would knock out the power grid for half the country for at least 6 months. Any electronics that is out side a faraday cage, and not properly grounded and shielded will be useless.
Faraday cages are simple to build and the biggest thing to remember is to ground and shield your stuff.

Hi, I asked this question a while back, and got a few responses.

Here's the link, hope it helps.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Later, Ausable_Bill

[edit on 12-1-2008 by Ausable_Bill]

[edit on 12-1-2008 by Ausable_Bill]