Author: Forrest M. Mims III

Power outage. Electricity missing. Blackout concept.

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post

Forrest M. Mims III
Date
December 22, 2022

Categorized
Military

Tagged
Arthur Bradley, Coronal mass ejection (CME), EMP attack, Featured, Richard Carrington, Top 10 2022}

What Would It Take to Survive an EMP Attack?

_{Remember, almost all conventional power sources and the entire internet would be knocked out and might take many months to replace} _{Forrest M. Mims III
December 22, 2022

11

Military}

As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten Mind Matters News stories of 2022, based on reader interest. Let’s start with #10, electronics expert Forrest M. Mims III on “What would it take to survive an EMP attack?“ We are increasingly vulnerable to both natural disruptions and military attacks on our power grids. Earlier this month I wrote about electromagnetic pulse impulses (EMPs), which would destroy your electronics, leaving you and your surroundings intact — but without easy means of survival. Force of nature: Sometimes the sun is to blame for knocking out the power supply Natural disruptions can give us some idea what to expect. When lightning destroys a transformer atop a power pole, nearby Read More ›

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post

Forrest M. Mims III
Date
March 24, 2022

Categorized
Military

Tagged
Arthur Bradley, Coronal mass ejection (CME), Coronal mass ejection (incidents), Disaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms (book), EMP attacks (civilian preparedness), EMP attacks (Congressional testimony), EMP attacks (government preparedness), EMP attacks (military preparedness), EMP attacks (protecting electronic devices), Featured, Richard Carrington}

What Would It Take To Survive an EMP Attack?

_{Remember, almost all conventional power sources and the entire internet would be knocked out and might take many months to replace} _{Forrest M. Mims III
March 24, 2022

11

Military}

We are increasingly vulnerable to both natural disruptions and military attacks on our power grids. Earlier this month I wrote about electromagnetic pulse impulses (EMPs), which would destroy your electronics, leaving you and your surroundings intact — but without easy means of survival. Force of nature: Sometimes the sun is to blame for knocking out the power supply Natural disruptions can give us some idea what to expect. When lightning destroys a transformer atop a power pole, nearby businesses and residence must get by without power until the transformer is replaced but it usually doesn’t last long. Far more damage can occur in the rare event that the sun erupts with a major coronal mass ejection (CME) of plasma and Read More ›

Aerial view of nuclear explosion over a city.

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post

Forrest M. Mims III
Date
March 17, 2022

Categorized
Military, Physics

Tagged
Fallout (from nuclear bomb), Featured, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Irwin Redlener, Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) doctrine, Nuclear bomb (surviving an attack), Red Cross (on nuclear survival)}

What Would Surviving a Nuclear Explosion Be Like?

_{Nuclear war has been in the news lately but we naturally try to avoid thinking about its effects} _{Forrest M. Mims III
March 17, 2022

6

Military, Physics}

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to renewed concerns about the use of nuclear weapons. We hear a variety of responses ranging from “real but not immediate danger” through “a wake-up call for the world.” Here’s what would happen if a nuclear weapon was detonated in an average American community: Pete and Judy Bradley are relaxing on a Sunday afternoon following a Thanksgiving weekend with family members. Highways and airports are filled with travelers on their way home. While the Bradleys are looking at the digital photos they took during the holiday, their darkened living room is suddenly, brilliantly illuminated by a blinding flash of light. The photo of their granddaughter displayed on their computer screen disappears. The Bradleys Read More ›

warhead on transport stand, against a rocket. Weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, a bomb.

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post

Forrest M. Mims III
Date
March 9, 2022

Categorized
Ethics, Medicine and Health, Military

Tagged
Featured, Harry Truman (and atomic bomb), Hiroshima (atomic bomb), Hydrogen bomb (vs atomic bomb), Radiation sickness (Hiroshima fallout), Trinity site (atomic bomb test)}

What Would a Real-World Nuclear Attack Be Like?

_{We know some of what it would be like from the records and reconstruction of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima} _{Forrest M. Mims III
March 9, 2022

6

Ethics, Medicine and Health, Military}

Since 1992, I’ve made annual visits to one of the most tranquil places I know, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory 11,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean. After calibrating my atmospheric instruments, every evening I photograph the sunset while thinking about the horrors of nuclear war. That’s because I’m standing behind the old Atomic Energy Commission Building, from where nuclear tests over the Pacific were once photographed. The origin of those tests occurred 38 minutes before sunrise on July 16, 1945, when the pitch-black sky over New Mexico’s Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death) desert was instantaneously transformed into a blinding white glare. Scientists and technicians observed this phenomenon from miles away through welder’s glass to protect their eyes. What they saw Read More ›

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post

Forrest M. Mims III
Date
March 3, 2022

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Military

Tagged
electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), Featured, Ukraine (2022 war), Vladimir Putin (warning to West)}

Putin vs. Ukraine: New Weapons Target Your Electronics, Not You

_{Putin’s recent warning about “consequences that you have never experienced” could refer to EMPs that target the computer-based systems that keep us all alive today} _{Forrest M. Mims III
March 3, 2022

4

Medicine and Health, Military}

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to strike Ukraine. He also made a public statement that included a dangerous warning: Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so, to create threats for our country, for our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history. We are ready for any development of events. All necessary decisions in this regard have been made. David Brennan , Tom O’Connor and Naveed Jamali, “NATO States May Give Sanctuary to Fleeing Ukraine Forces as Russia Advances” at Newsweek (February 25, 2022) This warning has been widely viewed as a threat to employ nuclear Read More ›