MOlivo
11-28-2007, 04:39 PM
Some electrical equipment is innately EMP-resistant. This includes
large electric motors, vacuum tube equipment, electrical generators, trans-
formers, relays, and the like. These might even survive a massive surge of EMP
and would likely to survive if a few of the above precautions were taking in
their design and deployment.
At the other end of the scale of EMP resistance are some really sensitive
electrical parts. These include IC circuits, microwave transistors, and Field
Effect Transistors (FET's). If you have electrical equipment with such com-
ponents, it must be very well protected if it is to survive EMP.
One "survival system" for such sensitive equipment is the Faraday box.
A Faraday box is simply a metal box designed to divert and soak up the
EMP. If the object placed in the box is insulated from the inside surface of
the box, it will not be effected by the EMP traveling around the outside metal
surface of the box. The Faraday box simple and cheap and often provides more
protection to electrical components than "hardening" through circuit designs
which can't be (or haven't been) adequately tested.
Many containers are suitable for make-shift Faraday boxes: cake boxes,
ammunition containers, metal filing cabinets, etc., etc., can all be used.
Despite what you may have read or heard, these boxes do NOT have to be air-
tight due to the long wave length of EMP; boxes can be made of wire screen or
other porous metal.
The only two requirements for protection with a Faraday box are: (1) the
equipment inside the box does NOT touch the metal container (plastic, wadded
paper, or cardboard can all be used to insulate it from the metal) and (2) the
metal shield is continuous without any gaps between pieces or extra-large holes
in it.
Grounding a Faraday box is NOT necessary and in some cases actually may be
less than ideal. While EMP and lightning aren't the "same animal", a good
example of how lack of grounding is a plus can be seen with some types of
lightning strikes. Take, for example, a lightning strike on a flying air-
plane. The strike doesn't fry the plane's occupants because the metal shell of
the plane is a Faraday box of sorts. Even though the plane, high over the
earth, isn't grounded it will sustain little damage.
In this case, much the same is true of small Faraday cages and EMP.
Consequently, storage of equipment in Faraday boxes on wooden shelves or the
like does NOT require that everything be grounded. (One note: theoretically
non-grounded boxes might hold a slight charge of electricity; take some time
and care before handling ungrounded boxes following a nuclear attack.)
The thickness of the metal shield around the Faraday box isn't of much
concern, either. This makes it possible to build protection "on the cheap" by
simply using the cardboard packing box that equipment comes in along with
aluminum foil. Just wrap the box with the aluminum foil (other metal foil or
metal screen will also work); tape the foil in place and you're done. Provided
it is kept dry, the cardboard will insulate the gear inside it from the foil;
placing the foil-wrapped box inside a larger cardboard box is also wise to be
sure the foil isn't accidentally ripped anywhere. The result is an "instant"
Faraday box with your equipment safely stored inside, ready for use following a
nuclear war.
Copper or aluminum foil can help you insulate a whole room from EMP
as well. Just paper the wall, ceiling and floor with metal foil. Ideally the
floor is then covered with a false floor of wood or with heavy carpeting to
insulate everything and everyone inside from the shield (and EMP). The only
catch to this is that care must be taken NOT to allow electrical wiring
connections to pierce the foil shield (i.e., no AC powered equipment or radio
antennas can come into the room from outside). Care must also be taken that
the door is covered with foil AND electrically connected to the shield with a
wire and screws or some similar set up.
to read the whole article click the link below
http://www.textfiles.com/survival/emp.pro
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The author of this article, Duncan Long, is well-known as the writer of many
gun, self-sufficiency, and survival books. His firearms books are listed
(along with other interesting books) in a free catalog available from Paladin
Press, P. O. Box 1307, Boulder, CO 80306 (303) 443-7250. Long's NUCLEAR WAR
SURVIVAL is available for $14 from Long Survival Publications, 115 Riverview
Dr., Wamego, KS 66547. Long has also recently had a post-nuclear war sci-fi
book, ANTI-GRAV UNLIMITED released from Avon Books
large electric motors, vacuum tube equipment, electrical generators, trans-
formers, relays, and the like. These might even survive a massive surge of EMP
and would likely to survive if a few of the above precautions were taking in
their design and deployment.
At the other end of the scale of EMP resistance are some really sensitive
electrical parts. These include IC circuits, microwave transistors, and Field
Effect Transistors (FET's). If you have electrical equipment with such com-
ponents, it must be very well protected if it is to survive EMP.
One "survival system" for such sensitive equipment is the Faraday box.
A Faraday box is simply a metal box designed to divert and soak up the
EMP. If the object placed in the box is insulated from the inside surface of
the box, it will not be effected by the EMP traveling around the outside metal
surface of the box. The Faraday box simple and cheap and often provides more
protection to electrical components than "hardening" through circuit designs
which can't be (or haven't been) adequately tested.
Many containers are suitable for make-shift Faraday boxes: cake boxes,
ammunition containers, metal filing cabinets, etc., etc., can all be used.
Despite what you may have read or heard, these boxes do NOT have to be air-
tight due to the long wave length of EMP; boxes can be made of wire screen or
other porous metal.
The only two requirements for protection with a Faraday box are: (1) the
equipment inside the box does NOT touch the metal container (plastic, wadded
paper, or cardboard can all be used to insulate it from the metal) and (2) the
metal shield is continuous without any gaps between pieces or extra-large holes
in it.
Grounding a Faraday box is NOT necessary and in some cases actually may be
less than ideal. While EMP and lightning aren't the "same animal", a good
example of how lack of grounding is a plus can be seen with some types of
lightning strikes. Take, for example, a lightning strike on a flying air-
plane. The strike doesn't fry the plane's occupants because the metal shell of
the plane is a Faraday box of sorts. Even though the plane, high over the
earth, isn't grounded it will sustain little damage.
In this case, much the same is true of small Faraday cages and EMP.
Consequently, storage of equipment in Faraday boxes on wooden shelves or the
like does NOT require that everything be grounded. (One note: theoretically
non-grounded boxes might hold a slight charge of electricity; take some time
and care before handling ungrounded boxes following a nuclear attack.)
The thickness of the metal shield around the Faraday box isn't of much
concern, either. This makes it possible to build protection "on the cheap" by
simply using the cardboard packing box that equipment comes in along with
aluminum foil. Just wrap the box with the aluminum foil (other metal foil or
metal screen will also work); tape the foil in place and you're done. Provided
it is kept dry, the cardboard will insulate the gear inside it from the foil;
placing the foil-wrapped box inside a larger cardboard box is also wise to be
sure the foil isn't accidentally ripped anywhere. The result is an "instant"
Faraday box with your equipment safely stored inside, ready for use following a
nuclear war.
Copper or aluminum foil can help you insulate a whole room from EMP
as well. Just paper the wall, ceiling and floor with metal foil. Ideally the
floor is then covered with a false floor of wood or with heavy carpeting to
insulate everything and everyone inside from the shield (and EMP). The only
catch to this is that care must be taken NOT to allow electrical wiring
connections to pierce the foil shield (i.e., no AC powered equipment or radio
antennas can come into the room from outside). Care must also be taken that
the door is covered with foil AND electrically connected to the shield with a
wire and screws or some similar set up.
to read the whole article click the link below
http://www.textfiles.com/survival/emp.pro
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The author of this article, Duncan Long, is well-known as the writer of many
gun, self-sufficiency, and survival books. His firearms books are listed
(along with other interesting books) in a free catalog available from Paladin
Press, P. O. Box 1307, Boulder, CO 80306 (303) 443-7250. Long's NUCLEAR WAR
SURVIVAL is available for $14 from Long Survival Publications, 115 Riverview
Dr., Wamego, KS 66547. Long has also recently had a post-nuclear war sci-fi
book, ANTI-GRAV UNLIMITED released from Avon Books