Our daily lives are now the stuff of science fiction novels. Technology permeates each part of our lives, from communications systems to traffic lights. The electrical grid is the foundation of everything. Hospitals run life-sustaining equipment on it. Car ignitions use an electric signal to start. Water purification plants depend on electric equipment. Heating and cooling systems run on electricity. We are literally dependent on electricity for all of our daily functions.
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So what would happen if an electromagnetic pulse, such as the one caused by Starfish Prime, suddenly disabled all of that equipment?
Understanding Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Lessons from the Starfish Prime Nuclear Explosion for Preppers The 1962 Starfish Prime Nuclear Test: A Detailed Overview Global and Local Impact of the Starfish Prime Detonation Strategies to Protect Against EMP Events How Starfish Prime Influenced Nuclear Test Ban Treaties and Global Policies Future Implications for High-Altitude Nuclear WeaponsTable of Contents
Understanding Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a large magnetic field that rapidly collapses, which quickly pushes a current through any metal in its range. This can cause a power surge that overwhelms and destroys delicate circuitry. It can also affect magnetic fields, destroying hard drive data.
Notably for national defense, it is one of the effects produced when a nuclear warhead detonates in orbit.
Because of this, security experts worry that a nuclear device could be detonated in low orbit expressly for the purpose of creating a widespread EMP that disables electronics across the country. Some estimate that a 1.4 megaton bomb detonated over Kansas could disable unprotected electronics across the continental U.S.
Source: PBS
Natural EMPS are caused by solar flares or coronal mass ejections. When these forces reach Earth's atmosphere, they can interact with our planet's magnetic field, inducing extra current in electronics and causing power surges and shorts. For example, a natural solar storm in 1989 caused widespread electric damage and blackouts across Northern Canada.
The effects of an EMP vary widely depending upon the size of the electromagnetic field created and the sensitivity of the equipment nearby. One of the issues with preparing for a possible EMP attack is that we just don't know how widespread the damage might be. Think of an EMP like a lightning strike. It sends a large amount of energy through whatever metal is handy.
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The effects are unpredictable - but never good. You generally don't want your phone, car, or heart monitor to have to deal with a sudden surge of electric current and a huge magnetic field.
Non-nuclear EMP Weapons (NNEMPs) also exist, but affect a much smaller range than that produced by a thermonuclear warhead.
Lessons from the Starfish Prime Nuclear Explosion for Preppers
Most of what experts know (and guess) about the electromagnetic effects of a high-energy nuclear weapon is drawn from a single operation, called project Starfish Prime.
Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted in 1962 by the United States government. The starfish prime test was one of many atomic tests in the 1950s and 60s as the U.S. and the USSR faced off in the Cold War.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
The researchers detonated a 1.4 megaton bomb on a Thor Missile 400 kilometers above Johnston Island, a remote island in the Pacific Island 700 kilometers southwest of Hawaii.
Basically, scientists found the most remote location they could and detonated some bombs in the highest layer of Earth's atmosphere to see what would happen. This would help the military be more prepared for a potential "hot war" with the Soviet Union.
They were in for a surprise.
On July 9, 1962, witnesses from Hawaii to Australia saw a startling light show as the explosion lit up the sky. More disturbing - an EMP immediately cut out electricity in Hawaii, which was over 1,000 away. No one expected the electromagnetic pulse to extend that far. In fact, that's why the Atomic Energy Commission chose the remote Johnston Atoll for the Starfish test.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
That's not all. Streetlights went out and telephone service was interrupted. Satellites in orbit were damaged by the nuclear blast and scientists detected much higher numbers of electrons in the Van Allen belt (the radiation zone surrounding the Earth).
The 1962 Starfish Prime Nuclear Test: A Detailed Overview
The nuclear test conducted by the United States in July 1962 was designed to test the country's nuclear capabilities. The bomb itself was carried by a Thor Rocket, a midrange ballistic missile. This rocket eventually inspired some of the launchers used in the later U.S. space program.
Starfish prime was part of a larger program of atomic testing called Operation Fishbowl. This was a series of high-altitude tests. The U.S. military was interested in discovering the effectiveness of these weapons, especially as anti-ballistic missile measures.
Many of the launches were failures, including one that blew up the entire launchpad. While Starfish Prime had some issues as well, it was the most successful of the tests and yielded much of the data on high-yield atomic weapons that researchers and analysts use to predict the outcome of nuclear conflict.
The high-altitude explosion was significant because it demonstrated the effects of nuclear weapons detonated in space. The explosion was 500 times more powerful than the bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima during WWII. It showed that space-based atomic warfare could disrupt satellites in orbit, rain radiation down on Earth, and emit electromagnetic pulses across a far wider range than previously speculated.
Source: Rare Newspapers
Global and Local Impact of the Starfish Prime Detonation
The Starfish Prime test had consequences far larger than expected. This led world governments to be far more sober about the effects of nuclear and electromagnetic weapons. We'll cover each of the major effects in turn.
Satellites: In the early 1960s, there weren't nearly as many satellites orbiting the Earth as there are now, but Starfish Prime disrupted roughly one-third of them. Great Britain had one satellite named Ariel, and the radiation issues by Starfish Prime temporarily disabled its timer and damaged its solar panels. Luckily, the damage was repairable, but it raises questions for our much more densely-packed satellite system of today.
Radiation Belts: In 1958, an American physicist named James Van Allen discovered that the Earth is surrounded by two belts of intense radiation. Luckily, the Earth's magnetosphere protects us from the impacts of that radiation.
The Starfish Prime explosion, however, released high-energy electrons into that magnetosphere, which then became trapped, forming a sort of artificial radiation belt in addition to the naturally-occurring ones. In fact, scientists are currently working on a way to remediate some of the damage "cleaning" the electrons out of the magnetosphere.
Extra radiation poses an issue for space travel and exploration, since astronauts have to travel through the Van Allen radiation belts to get to space. Additional radiation released by high-atmosphere atomic weapons could have consequences for those of us living on Earth, as the atmosphere is a delicate balance that can be easily disrupted.
Pacific Ocean: The high-atmosphere tests of Operation Fishbowl were designed to decrease the impacts to Earth, but some radioactive material did fall into the Pacific Ocean. Disturbingly, the test right before Starfish Prime, called Bluegill Prime, exploded on the launchpad. In an effort to keep the testing moving, the "cleanup" crews simply dumped the (still-radioactive) material into the ocean. The full consequences are still unknown.
Honolulu
The reason the U.S. government conducted the largest nuclear test on Johnston Atoll was to limit its effects on habitable areas. Johnston Atoll is extremely remote, a little over 800 miles southwest of Honolulu.
That's why the effects of the Starfish Prime explosion were so startling. People knew that something would happen - in fact, hotels in Honolulu had rooftop viewing events advertised as "Rainbow bomb parties." Looking back, it's a bit of a flippant reaction to an H-bomb in the air!
While they did get a pretty impressive lightshow, Honolulu residents also experienced blackouts, streetlights going out suddenly, and disrupted phone and radio signals. Other effects were a bit weirder - garage doors going up and down and burglar alarms going off across the city. It's hard to imagine the eeriness of lights going off and coming back on at night, paired with alarms and widespread electrical malfunctions.
Artificial Auroras
The Starfish Prime test caused widespread auroras throughout the Pacific. The 1.45 megaton bomb launched a colorful display that looked a lot like a sunrise or the aurora borealis - but was definitely not natural in origin.
Witnesses in Hawaii reported "“the moon was centered in a sky partly blood-red and partly pink." New Zealanders reported "rainbow stripes."
These beautiful light shows were the harbingers of more sinister effects, as they immediately preceded the outages caused by the EMP. So, if you ever see some beautiful pink and red stripes in the sky that have no reason to be there - it's probably time to grab your go bag and start rounding up your family members to a safe location.
In 2022, in the year of the 60th anniversary of Starfish Prime, we saw the world face another major war, as Russia invaded Ukraine. No one knows the future, which is why it's so important to prepare against the threat of nuclear war and its harsh effects, like EMPs.
Strategies to Protect Against EMP Events
As with most emergencies, the best action to take is to prepare before the event. Some helpful measures to take ahead of time:
- Stock extra food, water, and medical supplies
- Learn basic (non-electric) survival strategies
- Keep a HAM radio in a Faraday cage for emergency communication
- Consider alternative transportation (i.e. a bicycle)
Some research suggests that electronics that are kept inside of a Faraday cage won't be affected by an EMP. Faraday cages are essentially metal shields and are used in a wide variety of fields today. For example, when cell phones are confiscated by the police as part of an ongoing investigation, they are often stored inside of a Faraday cage so that the phone data (possibly containing evidence) can't be wiped by remote devices.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
It's a good idea to store your survival equipment - solar chargers, communication equipment, and the like - inside a small Faraday cage, just in case.
It's a good idea to have a Geiger Counter on hand, so you can figure out how badly your area has been affected by the radiation.
For a deep-dive into different preparedness measures, check out our article here on preparing for an electromagnetic pulse attack.
Source: MIRA Safety
How Starfish Prime Influenced Nuclear Test Ban Treaties and Global Policies
The unexpected effects of Starfish Prime encouraged world leaders to slow down nuclear testing. The Limited Nuclear Test Ban treaty was signed in 1963 between the U.S., Great Britain, and the USSR, who were the major nuclear powers at the time. This prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons conducted in outer space, underwater, or above-ground. It still allowed for limited underground tests.
Thirty years later, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was signed by major nuclear powers, including the U.S.. However, the United States, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, Israel, Egypt, and Russia never ratified it, so it doesn't currently have the force of international law. This treaty would ban "all nuclear explosions, whether for military or peaceful purposes." Notably, this wouldn't stop countries from possessing nuclear weapons, just from detonating them for any reason, including testing.
Now, we know that just because there is a law against something doesn't mean that a bad actor might still find a way to do it. Even if the CTBT or a similar ban is eventually ratified, there's always the possibility of rogue states or non-state actors to carry out a nuclear detonation that could result in an EMP.
Future Implications for High-Altitude Nuclear Weapons
Although the threats of EMP weapons and high altitude nuclear weapons in space have been recognized since the 1950s, infrastructure improvements have been slow. In many cases, hardening the electronics is considered just too expensive by private companies.
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While water treatment systems and communications hubs have some hardened electronics built in, consumer electronics mostly don't. Plus, there's no way to tell how organized people will be in the aftermath of an EMP. They may be unlikely to do the work to restart key systems.
Since you can't be sure how tough the grid will be in the event of an attack, it's wise to take precautions yourself.