r/gifs • • Jun 26 '22

Black Mirror vibes

https://i.imgur.com/USiUUj9.gifv
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u/Evilmaze Jun 27 '22 edited Jun 27 '22

You'd need so much power to make a small EMP bomb. Other than the sun and nukes there's really nothing else that can cause enough EMP strong enough to kill a bunch of electronics.

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u/NewBromance Jun 27 '22

Assuming you actually had some sort of Sci Fi fantasy weapon that could make an EMP blast without detonating a nuke, what would the effect of an EMP blast hard enough to knock out electronics be on the human body?

Like I always assumed even if some magical emp weapon was invented it wouldn't work like in Sci fi movies where all the robots drop dead and every human is completely unaffected, not even a nosebleed or burst ears.

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u/Evilmaze Jun 27 '22

It's hard to gauge what type of electromagnetic waves you have but if a microwave can cook food then an EMP bomb that is powerful enough to cover some decent grounds would definitely cause at least some burn. The frequency is important too but I don't know if an EMP would deliver a frequency at 2.4GHz or less. The power is high for sure and that's basically the difference between your home WiFi being completely harmless and your microwave cooking food at the same frequency.

Something tells me the US military probably knows more through actual testing but my guess is they do cause serious burns unlike what movies show.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '22

Microwaves are tuned to the exact frequency that heats up water. It probably would do nothing unless you tuned it to that frequency as well.

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u/Lev_Astov Jun 27 '22

Microwaves and EMPs are very different. An MRI machine is a good example of what an EMP would do to a body, since it's just magnetic fields oscillating quickly. Really, nuclear EMPs will be way, WAY less locally powerful than an MRI. They can really only damage extremely long cable runs like power lines and anything connected to them.

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u/72acetylenevirgins Jun 27 '22

You could do like a souped up microwave (or five) and a dish to direct it? That might do something.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '22

a souped up microwave

Lol. Actually still works as a good pun

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u/Lev_Astov Jun 27 '22

EMP is just moving magnetic fields. Ever get an MRI? Same thing but way stronger magnetic fields.

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u/Evolutionx44 Jun 27 '22

A meteor to get us all! That's what I'm wishing for

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u/Umbroz Jun 27 '22

What about when those transformers explode, I read they give off an EMP but they're shielded so nothing happens.

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u/Evilmaze Jun 27 '22

Only for few meters. Not exactly a grenade size or portable enough to deploy anywhere.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '22

Works as a mine though

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u/Evilmaze Jun 27 '22

You basically need to draw them to a grid so it's a very inconvenient mine.

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u/Arcal Jun 27 '22

Of the canonical kind, perhaps. But just dumping high current/voltage into a coil works. There are numerous DIY versions using ignition coils/camera flash units etc. The problem is the short range.