XPost: sci.military.moderated   
   From: dirk@neopax.com   
      
   Jordan179 wrote:   
      
   > Dirk Bruere at Neopax  wrote in message news:   
   c61lvb$6ukgf$1@ID-120108.news.uni-berlin.de>...   
   >   
   >>Gordon D. Pusch wrote:   
   >>   
   >>   
   >>>I think you are forgetting about a little thing called "The Inverse Square   
   Law"...   
   >>   
   >>We could try some figures.   
   >>1Mt detonation with (say) 25% of its energy as X and Gamma radiation.   
   >>That's around 10^15 Joules   
   >>The surface area of a 2000km dia sphere is 4 * pi * 10^12 m^2 = approx 10^13   
   sq m   
   >>   
   >>So at 1000km we have a radiation dose of 100J per sq m, which is probably   
   close   
   >>to fatal for electronics.   
   >>   
   >>So at a guess, 1000km is around the nearest 'safe' distance.   
   >   
   >   
   > Now I think you're forgetting about a little thing called "the Earth's   
   > atmosphere."  While your math would probably work out in a vacuum, in   
      
   That was a calc for ionising radiation kill in space.   
      
   > order to fry electronics at the surface, the EMP has to get through   
   > the atmosphere in the first place, and the atmosphere contains layers   
   > of charged particles which could interfere with the pulse.   
      
   It is the atmosphere which generates the EMP, and the EMP is most intense at   
   the   
   surface.   
      
   > Btw, considering that the danger of EMP's was first noticed in the   
   > 1960's, it's criminally stupid if we have STILL not hardened vital   
   > electronics nodes against them.   
      
   It is impractical to do it for more than very essential military equipment.   
   Continuing miniaturisation just makes the problem worse.   
   --   
   Dirk   
      
   The Consensus:-   
   The political party for the new millenium   
   http://www.theconsensus.org   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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