Hemp

For other uses of the word HEMP, see Hemp (disambiguation).

A High-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse, or HEMP, is emanated from the detonation of a single nuclear warhead several kilometers into the atmosphere. In the absence of proper shielding, it can destroy electronics vital to telecommunications and computing by generating a current that will overload highly sensitive integrated circuits. The resulting infrastructure failure would debilitate response to a first-strike strategic nuclear assault and thus makes HEMPs excellent fog-of-war inducers. According to the Federation of American Scientist's [Nuclear Weapon EMP Effects] a properly attenuated strike over the geographic center of the continental United States could theoretically affect the entire Lower 48 states. In fact, it could damage any material capable of carrying an electric current within the line of sight (in overall electromagnetic spectrum terms, not simply visible light) of the blast.

External link

[Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding HEMP]

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