Protection from Electromagnetic Pulse

[WizardOfAtlantis]

So, with some of my usual Post-Apocalyptic gears turning, and reading people's posts on the Strange Noises Happening Around the World, my mind started turning towards the ever-increasing likelihood of a dreaded Pole Shift (for those not in the knowing, that is when *over-simplified* North switches to South and South to North electromagnetically speaking) and/or greatly (GREATLY) increased EM storms ravaging the world.

Now, this then led me to wonder, again, is there anything the average person can do to protect his pc, for example, from getting fried? I've always wondered what it would take to not have your stuff fried if, say, an EMP weapon was used over your city as well. (yes, I know there would be other eggs to fry in the meantime, but it's still an important worry)

So I ask you these things, O' Knowledgeable Members of this Great Nexus. Is there anything that can be done to protect one's wiry bits and techno-gadgetry?

[dazzerfong]

If there's a field switch, your computer would be the last thing you'd be worrying about. Though, if you were still worrying about its integrity, simple: don't turn it on, and if possible, get an entire plastic case (completely sealed) to cover it. Or, get a Faraday Cage, but I'm not sure if it would apply to something of that magnitude. Edited February 2, 2012 by dazzerfong

[CommanderCrazy]

Cover it in tinfoil. Dont forget to make yourself a foily hat too!

[Vagrant0]

If there is a polar shift, your computer will be the least of your problems. The power grid, communication services, and countless other elements of infrastructure would be crippled and may not be restored globally for months. And that's not counting any environmental disasters that might also be involved.

 

The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami was about a year ago, and they still havn't completely recovered. Care to guess what happens when many of the systems maintaining power plants, pumping stations, and similar stop working for even a short period of time?

[sendo75]

This article written by some electrical engineer has some information, a decent read for knowledge.

 

A couple of relevant points from the article

- Aluminium foil and good plastic insulation for layers of encasement.

- Materials and methods of encasements will affect the level of protection.

- Important data should be stored on optical media which are unaffected by EMP.

 

It is almost not practical to be able to protect your home devices unless given ample preemptive warnings. But I think storing important information on archival grade optical media is sound advice.

Edited February 2, 2012 by sendo75

[WizardOfAtlantis]

Thank you all for the information! I will certainly give that article a read!

Yes, I realize the Big Picture and the Other Worries, but there's always that part of me that wants to complete the picture, if you know what I mean. When things settle down...if.....perhaps even more so if they don't, I would certainly want any technology I had to be able to run, at least in secret. Wild Example: Imagine the boost that your e-library would give you, if you were in a survivor situation some ten to twenty years down The Road (pardon the pun). Could mean the difference between primitive levels of survival and early industrialism, at least, depending on what you could scavenge and get to work.

Dont forget to make yourself a foily hat too!

I already have that, thank you very much! It's been recently upgraded with magnets and goggles, as well. http://forums.nexusmods.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/tongue.gif

[Yoshh]

You could always build yourself a Faraday Room :D

[WizardOfAtlantis]

You could always build yourself a Faraday Room :D

 

8O

http://forums.nexusmods.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/laugh.gif

 

 

[SubjectProphet]

An EMP is ALMOST impossible to counter. However, the military has ways to counter an EMP. If they knew about it.

 

A natural EMP is no stronger than a human-made and detonated EMP. A natural EMP fries and whipes every everything that reacts and uses electricity, thus armies use it in warfare. If there WOULD be a natural EMP this year, the military is sure to counter it in some way. Though if the poles DO shift, it'll take billions of years to effect us.

[Vagrant0]

Wild Example: Imagine the boost that your e-library would give you

Your brain needs no external power supply or being plugged into a monitor. Learn some fundamentals about science, biology, physics, and chemistry, and you can have quite a bit larger boost because you may actually understand how things work. You don't even need to know all that much, just some information about building structures, finding food, making clean water, generating energy/fuel. If the world gets a hard crash, an ebook on nuclear physics won't help you much even if you understand the terms and fundimentals.