What are electromagnetic effects (Electromagnetic Pulse or EMP)?
See Nuclear Weapon EMP Effects Ionizing radiation from the fireball produces intense currents and electromagnetic fields, usually referred to as the electromagnetic pulse (EMP). This pulse is felt over very large distances. A single high-yield nuclear detonation will create destructive EMP over hundreds of thousands of square kilometers beneath where the explosion occurs. EMP from high-yield nuclear detonations will subject electrical grids to voltage surges far exceeding those caused by lightning. Modern VLSI chips and microprocessors, present in most communication equipment. TVs, radios, computers and other electronic equipment are extremely sensitive to these surges and immediately get burnt out. Thus all possible communication links to the outside world are cut off. Restoring these facilities will be an arduous (and expensive) task assuming that the infrastructure required to complete this task would still exist following a nuclear war. Warplanners consider the EMP from the detonat
