E.m.p attack- Can data & home computers survive?

[Dav333]

Is it just the electronics devices like notebooks, PC's that are rendered useless or as well the actual storage mediums like flash memory & optical discs even when there stored away?

Would data on usb external HDD, flash memory, & dvd optical storage be readable after the attack?

What home methods can keep these storage devices safe?


Do the devices (usb flash & say notebook) have to be connected to power in order to be affected by the emp?

Would wrapping devices in a lot of tin foil & storing them in a safe be enough?


I'm not getting ready for ww3, but I'm pretty curious.

 

[russ_watters]

Certainly CDs would survive...but I'm curious about flash and hard drives too...

 

[cronxeh]

Just construct a Faraday box for your flash drives, a Faraday cage for your computer room, and in conjunction with reinforced concrete that should provide enough EMP protection. I'd be worried about air filtration and water purification systems if I was you.

Naturally an underground bunker addresses all these issues. If you consider the cost, the quality of life after a nuclear blast, and the overall damage to infrastructure, looting, and zombie Brooklynites, I'd just invest in a HAM rig, pactor modems, long lasting batteries and put them all in that Faraday cage.

 

[Dav333]

I would like to make a small one that shields a notebook, just for fun.

How thick or heavy duty does the ground wire have to be? Would a long 10-12awg wire be enough? Couldn't I just use a copper pipe? And have it deep into the ground?

As for brass mesh, wouldn't the emp still get through the holes in the mesh?

cheers.

 

[Dav333]

I got more info from a few non science forums on how to build a FC

But for a small box that you can hold easy, would it stll need a ground wire? Or does all the electricity just go away in the air?

 

[Phrak]

Dav333, you don't need to ground a Faraday cage. A Faraday cage is a conducting box.

cronxeh, I'm not sure I know how this works. Blocking a pulse EMF requires a rapid rearrangement of charge in the cage. Resistance impedes charge rearrangement. Also, conduction alone doesn't block magnetic fields. Is this an issue?

 

[Dav333]

Would storing devices in a car & microwave work?

 

[WhoWee]

I would like to make a small one that shields a notebook, just for fun.

How thick or heavy duty does the ground wire have to be? Would a long 10-12awg wire be enough? Couldn't I just use a copper pipe? And have it deep into the ground?

As for brass mesh, wouldn't the emp still get through the holes in the mesh?

cheers.

I suggest wheels - to help you move it about during the day.

 

[Dav333]

Just curious, would a device housed in rubber block out the electricity? Or some of it?