What is an EMP , and how does it work?
EMP stands for “ElectroMagnetic Pulse”. It’s basically an extremely strong burst of radio waves. Nuclear explosions produce EMP’s, and although theoretically they might be able to be produced by discharging a huge capacitor through an appropriate coil, the amount of energy required would seem to make this prohibitive, except for short distances. (You can, for example, fry a piece of electronic equipment by holding it in front of a radar antenna, or for that matter, by putting it in your microwave oven – it’s the same phenomenon on a smaller scale). Magnetic fields will induce voltages in conductors. An EMP can fry electronic equipment because the field induces high voltages on the circuit-board traces, which then blows out the IC’s. It also will induce high voltages in power and phone lines, which provides another path for the destructive energy to get into your equipment.
