EMP Myths

[DuneElliot]

This was an interesting read for me and included a lot of the facts and the myths surrounding nuclear weapons and EMP effects.

http://www.futurescience.com/emp/EMP-myths.html

[DuneElliot]

After reading this it does surprise me how many people are so concerned about getting an EMP-proof vehicle.

[NectarNook]

"EMP-proof vehicles" are usually pretty simple, no-nonsense things. Easy to work on for those of us who don't have a lot of knowledge in vehicle maintenance. Not much can really go wrong with them when compared to the fussy vehicles they're totting out on the market today.

I like our little '81 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup. Gets over 50 miles to the gallon, and this little lady can easily troubleshoot and fix it.

It's not all about end of the world. Some of us just enjoy simple.

Nice site, by the way. If you click back to their main pages on EMP, there's a lot of good stuff there. Oldie but goodie. I'm sure you'll find it mentioned a lot more here once you start figuring out the search function.

[dmzline]

While I do agree the effects on vehicles is probably much less damaging than internet experts want everyone to believe, we are still just estimating. Some lab tests have been performed that give us some great information, but they are still just tests.

Infrastructure would be the biggest limiting factor even if no vehicle was rendered unusable, but our ability to distribute electricity were affected. No gas, no go. Without the power grid you cannot run refineries or pump oil out of the ground, transporting it becomes impossible, etc. That is the reason I find the threads about people who want to save electronics for the day after by putting them in a faraday cage. If an EMP event were to kill electronics or just cut the power off there will be no tv to watch, and even if you have media saved you have problems big enough that watching old episodes of Sanford and Son isn't likely to be on the top of your list of things to do.

[DuneElliot]

I agree - they are just tests, but they do show us a lot more than just "oh my god, an EMP is going to destroy my vehicle". The reasoning behind WHY an EMP, and especially a CME, wouldn't affect vehicles (especially those older than 10 years) makes a lot of physics-based sense.
If it ever did happen I would almost be glad that many vehicles would run because I think many people would run their vehicles until they ran out of fuel. Then they have no way to harass the country side when they realize their folly and no access to fuel
At least this way the rabid hordes would be stuck where they were and there wouldn't even be fuel to siphon.

Oh, and I do know how to use the search function - just thought it was an important link, and everyone seems to freak out about how bad it would be (vehicular wise) - granted the grid down would be catastrophic.