This is pretty long, but interesting, so grab a soda and read. 
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The next Pearl Harbor will not announce itself with a searing flash of nuclear light or with the plaintive wails of those dying of Ebola or its genetically engineered twin. You will hear a sharp crack in the distance. By the time you mistakenly identify this sound as an innocent clap of thunder, the civilized world will have become unhinged. Fluorescent lights and television sets will glow eerily bright, despite being turned off. The aroma of ozone mixed with smoldering plastic will seep from outlet covers as electric wires arc and telephone lines melt. Your Palm Pilot and MP3 player will feel warm to the touch, their batteries overloaded. Your computer, and every bit of data on it, will be toast. And then you will notice that the world sounds different too. The background music of civilization, the whirl of internal-combustion engines, will have stopped. Save a few diesels, engines will never start again. You, however, will remain unharmed, as you find yourself thrust backward 200 years, to a time when electricity meant a lightning bolt fracturing the night sky. This is not a hypothetical, son-of-Y2K scenario. It is a realistic assessment of the damage the Pentagon believes could be inflicted by a new generation of weapons--E-bombs.The first major test of an American electromagnetic bomb is scheduled for next year. Ultimately, the Army hopes to use E-bomb technology to explode artillery shells in midflight. The Navy wants to use the E-bomb's high-power microwave pulses to neutralize antiship missiles. And, the Air Force plans to equip its bombers, strike fighters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles with E-bomb capabilities. When fielded, these will be among the most technologically sophisticated weapons the U.S. military establishment has ever built.
There is, however, another part to the E-bomb story, one that military planners are reluctant to discuss. While American versions of these weapons are based on advanced technologies, terrorists could use a less expensive, low-tech approach to create the same destructive power. "Any nation with even a 1940s technology base could make them," says Carlo Kopp, an Australian-based expert on high-tech warfare. "The threat of E-bomb proliferation is very real." POPULAR MECHANICS estimates a basic weapon could be built for $400.
An Old Idea Made New
In the 1980s, the Air Force tested E-bombs that used cruise-missile delivery systems.
PHOTO BY AVAIATION WEEK & AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY
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The theory behind the E-bomb was proposed in 1925 by physicist Arthur H. Compton--not to build weapons, but to study atoms. Compton demonstrated that firing a stream of highly energetic photons into atoms that have a low atomic number causes them to eject a stream of electrons. Physics students know this phenomenon as the Compton Effect. It became a key tool in unlocking the secrets of the atom.Ironically, this nuclear research led to an unexpected demonstration of the power of the Compton Effect, and spawned a new type of weapon. In 1958, nuclear weapons designers ignited hydrogen bombs high over the Pacific Ocean. The detonations created bursts of gamma rays that, upon striking the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, released a tsunami of electrons that spread for hundreds of miles. Street lights were blown out in Hawaii and radio navigation was disrupted for 18 hours, as far away as Australia. The United States set out to learn how to "harden" electronics against this electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and develop EMP weapons.
America has remained at the forefront of EMP weapons development. Although much of this work is classified, it's believed that current efforts are based on using high-temperature superconductors to create intense magnetic fields. What worries terrorism experts is an idea the United States studied but discarded--the Flux Compression Generator (FCG).
A Poor Man's E-Bomb
To ignite an E-bomb, a starter current energizes the stator coil, creating a magnetic field. The explosion (A) expands the tube, short-circuiting the coil and compressing the magnetic field forward (B). The pulse is emitted (C) at high frequencies that defeat protective devices like Faraday Cages. ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN BATCHELOR.
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An FCG is an astoundingly simple weapon. It consists of an explosives-packed tube placed inside a slightly larger copper coil, as shown here. The instant before the chemical explosive is detonated, the coil is energized by a bank of capacitors, creating a magnetic field. The explosive charge detonates from the rear forward. As the tube flares outward it touches the edge of the coil, thereby creating a moving short circuit. "The propagating short has the effect of compressing the magnetic field while reducing the inductance of the stator [coil]," says Kopp. "The result is that FCGs will produce a ramping current pulse, which breaks before the final disintegration of the device. Published results suggest ramp times of tens of hundreds of microseconds and peak currents of tens of millions of amps." The pulse that emerges makes a lightning bolt seem like a flashbulb by comparison.An Air Force spokesman, who describes this effect as similar to a lightning strike, points out that electronics systems can be protected by placing them in metal enclosures called Faraday Cages that divert any impinging electromagnetic energy directly to the ground. Foreign military analysts say this reassuring explanation is incomplete.
The India Connection
The Indian military has studied FCG devices in detail because it fears that Pakistan, with which it has ongoing conflicts, might use E-bombs against the city of Bangalore, a sort of Indian Silicon Valley. An Indian Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis study of E-bombs points to two problems that have been largely overlooked by the West. The first is that very-high-frequency pulses, in the microwave range, can worm their way around vents in Faraday Cages. The second concern is known as the "late-time EMP effect," and may be the most worrisome aspect of FCG devices. It occurs in the 15 minutes after detonation. During this period, the EMP that surged through electrical systems creates localized magnetic fields. When these magnetic fields collapse, they cause electric surges to travel through the power and telecommunication infrastructure. This string-of-firecrackers effect means that terrorists would not have to drop their homemade E-bombs directly on the targets they wish to destroy. Heavily guarded sites, such as telephone switching centers and electronic funds-transfer exchanges, could be attacked through their electric and telecommunication connections.
Knock out electric power, computers and telecommunication and you've destroyed the foundation of modern society. In the age of Third World-sponsored terrorism, the E-bomb is the great equalizer.
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Goldeneye
Tina Turner
See reflections on the water
more than darkness in the depths
see him surface in every shadow
on the wind I feel his breathGoldeneye I found his weakness
Goldeneye he'll do what I please
Goldeneye no time for sweetness
but a bitter kiss will bring him to his kneesYou'll never know how I watched you
from the shadows as a child
you'll never know how it feels to be the one
who's left behind
You'll never know the days, the nights,
the tears, the tears I've cried
but now my time has come
and time, time is not on your sideSee him move through smoke and mirrors
feel his presence in the crowd
other girls they gather around him
if I had him I wouldn't let him outGoldeneye not lace or leather
Golden chains take him to the spot
goldeneye I'll show him forever
it'll take forever to see
what I've gotYou'll never know how I watched you
from the shadows as a child
you'll never know how it feels to be so close
and be denied
It's a gold and honey trap
I've got for you tonight
Revenge it's a kiss, this time I won't miss
now I've got you in my sight
With a Goldeneye, golden, goldeneye
with a goldeneye, goldeneye.
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Maradön? stumbled drunkenly to the keyboard and typed:
It's unlikely that a large scale EM pulse will ever be used as a weapon. It would be impossible to gauge the extent of the damage, and any forign power using the weapon could just as quickly find itself affected.
What about anti-technology fanatics, huh?
"Gawd/Aliens/Elvis has told us that technology is the spawn of Satan/Something ...um alien/Cheesecake!!1!"
You know you want to be a farmer!
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Dr. Vorbis obviously shouldn't have said:
Then, as the last car crackles to a halt, over all the cries and moans, a voice is heard. That is the voice of Isiah, the Amish farmer, as he chuckles softly to himself and proclaims, "Wasn't such a silly idea, now was it?"
That is SUCH a load of crap!
Living in PA, the Amish Capitol of the World, I can assure you that the Amish depend on technology almost as much as anyone else.
They can and often do ride in cars, so long as a non-amish is driving, thier children have modern toys and often clothes as well since the amish ban on the trappings of modern living isn't imposed until a certain age. They often go to modern hospitals and hang out at modern bars.
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Maradön? spewed forth this undeniable truth:
That is SUCH a load of crap!Living in PA, the Amish Capitol of the World, I can assure you that the Amish depend on technology almost as much as anyone else.
They can and often do ride in cars, so long as a non-amish is driving, thier children have modern toys and often clothes as well since the amish ban on the trappings of modern living isn't imposed until a certain age. They often go to modern hospitals and hang out at modern bars.
I've actually been to Intercourse (that's the Amish city, isn't it? or around there) and yeah, a few "Amish" ride in cars and all that, but most of them were in horse and buggies.
(*shows off his "I <3 Intercourse" t-shirt.*)
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Maradön? had this to say about pies:
That is SUCH a load of crap!Living in PA, the Amish Capitol of the World, I can assure you that the Amish depend on technology almost as much as anyone else.
They can and often do ride in cars, so long as a non-amish is driving, thier children have modern toys and often clothes as well since the amish ban on the trappings of modern living isn't imposed until a certain age. They often go to modern hospitals and hang out at modern bars.
Or you could laugh at a joke.
In the beginning the Universe was created.Douglas Adams, 1952-2001
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So quoth Suddar Williams:
I've actually been to Intercourse (that's the Amish city, isn't it? or around there) and yeah, a few "Amish" ride in cars and all that, but most of them were in horse and buggies.(*shows off his "I <3 Intercourse" t-shirt.*)
I went their too in 6th grade, and i swear, that is the bootleg exuse for amsih poeple i ahev ever seen, i mean they had a damn robotical pretsal factory
But they do stick to the horse and buggies. 
Edit: Less is more. [ 04-03-2002: Message edited by: Sentow ]
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
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Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael stopped staring at Deedlit long enough to write:
precise-targetting missiles that can fly down chimnies and such
Am I the only one that found this humorous?
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Skaw was naked while typing this:
Am I the only one that found this humorous?
Santa Claus is coming... for you!
For various reasons, I won't go into details, but rest assured there's nothing really to fear.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
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The Otaku Penguin had this to say about Knight Rider:
That would suck so much ass...
Better than being nuked....
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Bloodsage thought this was the Ricky Martin Fan Club Forum and wrote:
EM weapons are not a panacea, nor are they a scary frankenweapon to give one nightmares.For various reasons, I won't go into details, but rest assured there's nothing really to fear.
Translation:
BS was in on at least part of the testing process, and saw the bombs flub horrably.
But part of my job is being a radar/EM expert, so I'm up on a lot of the theory.
There are just a lot of technical problems to overcome when trying to do that on any great scale.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
And what happenes to people with artificial hearts and such, to those that think an EMP shockwave would be harmless. Anyone hooked up to lifesupport in hospitals would die.
War=Bad Fake War(Ah La CS)=good
We should hook all terrorists up to a/the matrix instead of the death penalty
