An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a burst of intense electromagnetic energy generated by the detonation of a nuclear bomb. Although much attention is devoted to the flashier aspects of atomic explosions (high heat, strong winds, and radioactive fallout), a judicial use of EMP effects could easily destroy an entire country.
Essentially, the sudden burst of energy will fry electrical components in the area by causing a burst of intense electrical current to form within them. The effects can be minor or catastrophic depending on a variety of factors, the most important being the altitude of the explosion. For the most part, the size of the bomb is not the critical factor, and a small Hiroshima-sized fission bomb could be as effective as a 50-megaton device. An atomic bomb detonated at an altitude of 300 miles above Kansas would cover the entire lower 48 states with a crippling EMP.
Sixty years ago, when electronics was in its infancy and most electrical devices relied on vacuum tubes, heavy cables, and mechanical types of switches, the effects of an EMP would in most cases be temporary (in fact, the Russians continued until relatively recently to use vacuum tube radios in their most advanced military aircraft, in part to mitigate the effects of an EMP). Automobiles would stop running as a result of the pulse, but then they would start up again right afterwards. Some wires and light bulbs would burn out, but they could be easily replaced.
Today, the effects of an EMP would be totally devastating. Unless properly shielded, almost every device with electronic components would be rendered totally useless including computers, telephones, televisions, radios, GPS units, radar, automobiles, cat laser toys, and countless other items. Planes in the air would literally crash. Hospitals would become charnel houses. People would starve as there would be no way to order or transfer food to restock grocery stores. Since the entire banking system relies on computers, the economy would crash, and gold, ammunition, and Twinkies would become the new currency. As there would be no means of mass communication, anarchy and panic would immediately erupt. The persons most likely to survive the situation would be the Amish.
You will note the above use of the term "unless properly shielded." Experts state that virtually nothing in the civilian arena is properly shielded. It is hoped that the military would at least design its equipment with the potential exposure to an EMP in mind, but the same experts further assert that since the Cold War ended, the emphasis has been on planning to replace equipment in the event of an EMP attack, rather than building it to withstand such an attack in the first place. I for one see absolutely no practical problems in the middle of a nuclear conflict in suddenly rebuilding and replacing all equipment used by the Defense Department which has electronic components.
An electromagnetic pulse can also be generated by non-nuclear means and is called, quite creatively, a "non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse" (NNEMP). The effects and range of such a pulse are far more limited than what can be generated by an atomic bomb, and discussion of them can wait for another day.
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