September 15, 2011

from Modernsurvivalblog Website

An EMP (electro magnetic pulse), if big enough, will fry electronics, microelectronics, and will blow up transformers along the electrical power grid.

Although a large nuclear blast high in the atmosphere will cause a wide ranging EMP affect, the most likely scenario of EMP devastation will come from our Sun. A monstrous solar flare. It certainly will happen, there is no doubt about that - even among scientists and government organizations.

But… when…



The scenario

First, high energy sunlight - mostly x-rays will ‘ionize’ (convert into ions, atoms or molecules with a net electric charge) Earth’s upper atmosphere, which will interfere with radio communications.

Next comes a radiation storm, potentially dangerous to unprotected astronauts.

Finally comes the real killer, a coronal mass ejection (CME), a slower moving cloud of charged particles that can take several days to reach the Earth. When a CME hits, the solar particles will interact with Earth’s magnetic field to produce powerful electromagnetic fluctuations.

It is these fluctuations that will produce electrical currents in ‘conductive’ things here on Earth, such as our criss-crossing power lines suspended above our streets.

As you may have witnessed during a powerful lightning strike, transformers will explode and burn up as these currents overload their design capacity.



The result

Power across the land will be mostly gone. Satellites will be fried - no GPS, or communications.

No cell phones. No working pumps for utilities or gasoline. No ATM’s. No modern day transactions or commerce. Distribution channels are closed. Transportation grinds to a halt. The clock is ticking towards chaos…

The power companies do have spare transformers. However, all reports indicate there are only fractional numbers available, and most studies indicate that it could take up to many years to resolve.

By then of course, it will be a different world.



Nuclear Meltdown

While civilization will rapidly deteriorate into chaos, the worst of it is just beginning to boil over. That is, the worlds 440 nuclear power plants (about 700 if you count all research reactors).

Nuclear reactors while running normally, are in a state of controlled meltdown as they heat water into steam which turns turbines that produce electricity. The only thing saving us from disaster is the constant supply of fresh cool water that keep the rods from melting down. The flow of water requires electricity and pumps, and working electronic systems to control them.

If these systems are damaged, or the electricity is OFF, well, remember Fukushima???

Backup batteries will keep pumps running for a day or so. Diesel generators will keep pumps running as long as their is diesel fuel and spare parts on hand. The problem is, in our scenario the diesel fuel will run out (assuming that the generator works in the first place).

Distribution will be down. Where will the fuel come from? Surely there will be some reactors saved, but common sense tells us that there will remain a very large number of nuclear plants that will suffer full-on meltdown. Imagine a hundred or more Fukushima’s - all at once.

There will hardly be a safe place on the planet should this occur. Soils will be permeated with radioactive particles, which when farmed will produce vegetables that glow in the dark - assuming that the Farmers are still alive. Top soils will need to be scraped off to access cleaner soils. Of course it will be much worse downwind from any nuclear plant.

Unless you can survive underground for an extended period of time, living top side will be a life challenge, to say the least.



If you don’t think it can happen

There will always be skeptics. Skepticism is a very good thing.

However, do your own research and check on the 1859 Carrington Event. That solar event, had it occurred in modern time (and it will), it would have certainly produced results similar to the scenario above. These major solar events reportedly occur every 150 years or so.

And, they can happen at any time, even during ‘off-peak’ of a solar cycle.



In conclusion

The purpose of this article is NOT to fear monger, but to highlight your risk awareness of this eventual certainty.

It may very well happen in your lifetime. Most people don’t think about these types of dangers or risks. I happen to think about them from time to time - must just be the way my brain is wired)

It is a good life insurance policy to factor risks into your life situation. A proportional amount of preparedness for various disaster scenarios is a very wise thing. In my opinion.

You may also be interested in 'USA - Safe Distance from Nuclear Power Plants':

It is difficult to impossible to answer the question, “How far away is a safe distance from a nuclear reactor?”, so I’ve created 100 mile radius zones (200 mile diameter) around each nuclear plant to provide some visual perspective. Yellow zones are around decommissioned plants.