# EMP power? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emp-power/979908 "2023-02-16T19:24:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emp-power/979908/2 "2023-02-16T19:35:21Z")
Here are some previous threads on the general idea of EMP attacks. They’re sorted from most recent to oldest. Note most of these are pretty old and should probably not be posted into now: > [@A few questions about nuclear EMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-nuclear-emp/838689): > > In the wake of a nuclear EMP attack, what sort of equipment would be needed to get power grids and electricity back up and running again? What do the repairs involve? Is it possible for a nuclear weapon to emit very little EMP? When a nuclear weapon causes radar blackout (makes radar coverage in the vicinity useless for several minutes,) is that EMP itself at work, or some other physics/magnetism thing? > [@Electromagnetic pulse attack question?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electromagnetic-pulse-attack-question/810879): > > Would a submarine survive an EMP strike if it was submerged? Peter Vincent Pry — executive director of the task force on National and Homeland Security > [@Electromagnetic pulse and technology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electromagnetic-pulse-and-technology/739257): > > I just picked up a book (which I haven’t started reading yet) about a world where an Electromagnetic Pulse wipes out all technology which is dependent on electronics, and, according to the book cover “plunges civilization into a new dark age.” So, I have to ask, how much of “technology” can survive an EMP? Are there cars still being manufactured which don’t rely on electronics? How far back do we have to go to find cars that would still run? What about motorcycles? What about infrastructure… > [@Using Nuclear Weapons' Compton Effect as EMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-nuclear-weapons-compton-effect-as-emp/338385): > > In one game which I shall not name, the evil guys have a plan to detonate a nuclear weapon above a city to initiate a compton effect, which, IIRC, were supposed to act like an EMP device, basically destroying all of the electronics within the city. Would this really work without completely wiping the city from the map, or coating it in layers of radioactive fallout? > [@Question about Electromagnetic Pulses (EMP)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-electromagnetic-pulses-emp/293765): > > An EMP will destroy any electronic device, like computers, within its blast radius, but it will not destoy electical devices like flashlights. At least that is my understanding. My questions are: What ‘piece’ is it that electronic devices have that electrical devices don’t that an EMP breaks and why does the EMP break it. > [@of nuclear and EMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-nuclear-and-emp/243613): > > Basic question: Why would a nuclear explosion creat a wave or “EMP’” -Regards > [@Electromagnetic pulses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electromagnetic-pulses/157801): > > Last week in my high school history class, we watched the made-for-TV movie “The Day After,” detailing the effects of nuclear war. In that movie, I heard the term “electromagnetic pulse” to describe a nuke’s ability to cut off all power at and around Ground Zero. My history teacher told us that this would cause cars to stop, planes to fall from the sky, etcetera, FOREVER. My question is, the pulse isn’t a tangible thing, so where does it go that makes all electronics stop functioning for all … --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emp-power/979908)._