GSN March 2016 Digital Edition

Hazmat Science and Public Policy with George Lane
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP):
Technology’s Worst Nightmare
By George Lane
“The supreme art of war is to subdue
your enemy without fighting”
a super-energetic radio wave, an intense
burst of electromagnetic energy
caused by an abrupt and rapid acceleration
of charged particles that can destroy
or damage electronic systems by
harmless to people, but catastrophic
to critical infrastructure, such as
electric power, telecommunications,
transportation, and
banking, that sustain
modern civilization.
Nature generates
from the Sun, causing
great geomagnetic
storms on Earth with catastrophic
consequences. These natural events
occur every 150 years, with the last
recorded major storm 155 years ago.
A single nuclear weapon detonated
that could cause catastrophic damage
-
from two-thirds to ninety percent of
The national security threat
theoretical. As Tom Clancy wrote, “it
is real, a clear and present danger”.
metric
weapon for state actors who
wish to level the battlefield by neutralizing
the technological advantage
vide
rogue states or terrorists with a
Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran
have already incorporated EMP attacks
into their military arsenals...
with a single blow. Russia, China,
North Korea, and Iran have already
military arsenals, and openly describe
Rogue states and terrorists could use
short-range missiles that can deliver
a nuclear warhead to exact a cata-
attacks using Scud missiles, used by
30
scores of nations and even some terrorist
groups.
For the past decade, the “Commis-
-
Attack”, chaired by Dr. William Gra-
The Graham commission’s bottom
infrastructure and much of the hardware
that supports everyday life (William
R. Graham et al., “Report of the
Commission to Assess
States from Electromag-
tack:
Critical National
Infrastructures,” April
2008; www.empcommis-
-
North Korea could obtain
EMP weapons from Russia
South Korea’s National Intelligence
-
damage electronic equipment south
of the Korean DMZ. At higher yield,