Title: Preparing for an EMP Attack - Can Faraday Cages Help?
Headings: Preparing for an EMP Attack – Can Faraday Cages Help?
Preparing for an EMP Attack – Can Faraday Cages Help?
Contents [ hide]
What is an EMP and How is it Caused?
Man-Made EMPs
Naturally Occurring EMPs
EMP Damage
What is a Faraday Cage and Can it Protect Against EMPs?
How Does a Faraday Cage Work?
How Can You Test If Your Faraday Cages Works?
How To Build a Faraday Cage
Homemade Faraday Cages for Large Devices
Homemade Faraday Cages for Small Devices
Purchasing a Faraday Cage
How Effective are Faraday Cages?
What You Need to Know About EMPs and Faraday Cages
Further Reading
Your Thoughts?
Chris Ruiz

Content: While these occurrences are infrequent, a geomagnetic storm in 1921 affected the United States as well as parts of Europe for two days, closing the New York City railroad system and burning telegraph lines in Sweden. The cause was later attributed to a group of sunspots that were 1.9 billion square miles in size. Today, a storm of this size would affect over 100 million people and cause widespread panic and chaos due to society’s heavy reliance on electronic devices for everyday life. Geomagnetic storms can produce an aurora borealis effect, or “northern lights.” Despite the increased vulnerabilities present in modern times due to the prevalence of electronic devices in managing day-to-day activities, a future natural EMP event will likely come with advanced warning thanks to the benefit of space-monitoring stations. A solar event would take hours, or even days, to reach Earth’s atmosphere, providing enough warning to safely stow electronics and turn off power systems (while shutting down power will not completely immunize systems against damage, it certainly can reduce the risk ). EMP Damage
EMPs, regardless the source, have the potential to inflict immediate and long-term damage. Depending on the intensity of the pulse, EMPs can start electrical fires, incapacitate power grids, and shut down power sources for refrigeration (causing loss of food and medical supplies), water and sewage services, security systems, and phone and Internet (this would affect financial institutions and ATMs as well as land, sea and air transportation). Daily productivity would come to halt for many people in the aftermath of an EMP. Additionally, any cars relying on high-tech computer systems (basically any model manufactured in the last 20 years) would be disabled and back-up generators could experience malfunctions or be ineffective if the existing equipment is damaged.