Would you manage

[Buckman]

This a real scary stuff so do not read further if you are under 16 , have a nervous disposition and no imagination as this is real honest to goodness gloom and doom stuff . LOL!

I came across an article on some scientist website yesterday where there was mention of an "Electro Magnetic Pulse" being generated and how it would affect our daily lives as no electric and no Internet. No cash, no water, no sewage, no heating, no medication etc. Probably cannot go to a supermarket to buy food and pay as they will not know the price of

the goods as everything is bar coded. Unless you have an old car, no transport either. It could take up to 5 years for the grid to come back on line. However apparently old valve radios, TVs etc will work.

We could manage for about 4 - 6 weeks, but we would be dumping a lot of food that would have defrosted. We are lucky that we have a clear stream running at the back of our property. We also have some veg growing but not much. Bigger concern would be mobs.

I wonder if the above scenario is possible as surely governments would be aware and have some safeguards in place in this modern age of technology?

 

[otherclive]

In the Cold War nuclear weapons were developed to generate an EMP and minimise blast so systems would go down but collateral damage was minimised.

 

[Buckman]

In the Cold War nuclear weapons were developed to generate an EMP and minimise blast so systems would go down but collateral damage was minimised.

Very true, but in those days we were not so reliant on technology and home PCs were sci-fi stuff. LOL!

 

[Buckman]

Not being able to use social media like FB, Twitter etc would be catastrophic for young people. LOL!

 

[otherclive]

Very true, but in those days we were not so reliant on technology and home PCs were sci-fi stuff. LOL!

The aim was to disable power grids, communications and control systems amongst other things. So it would still have had an impact on civilians.

 

[Len W]

You would be safer drinking rainwater! We were without power for a couple of months here, it was disagreeable but not the end of the world stuff. Lots of large game around here if stuff gets serious. If you're in the suburbs guess you could trap some of the mob for sustenance. Most of the stuff we think we need we can survive without or find a work around. After all we are caravaners / motorhomers longing for the nomadic lifestyle and the open road

 

[borderbilly]

Yes I would manage, being a retired ghillie I know how to hunt and gather off the land.

 

[Buckman]

You would be safer drinking rainwater! We were without power for a couple of months here, it was disagreeable but not the end of the world stuff. Lots of large game around here if stuff gets serious. If you're in the suburbs guess you could trap some of the mob for sustenance. Most of the stuff we think we need we can survive without or find a work around. After all we are caravaners / motorhomers longing for the nomadic lifestyle and the open road

Taking water from a stream or river, one would boil the water. In our case the water comes from a spring about 1/2 mile upstream. Many things in the caravan would not work either for example the fridge or even the pump for the water system.

 

[Len W]

Things are looking too bleak, The media is full of it every day . I cant help but see the funny side. What about all those solar panels many people have fitted surely they would help boil the odd kettle here and there . Give some of us the sense of normalcy as all hell breaks out around us. I too can live of the land But i don't want too for the same reason i gave up camping. rheumatoid arthritis.

 

[Hutch]

The article I read was about a Modern day " Notradamus" living in Argentina, or somewhere in South America. And he Prophitised an EMP lasting three days.
It is the Media trying to hype things up.

 

[Buckman]

Just to add I was following a link to something completely different when I spotted the article and read it. Tried this morning to find the page again, but no luck. All I remember besides the actual article and it was some sort of supposedly scientific website so not the normal daily media.

It was quite and indepth article about the consequences of an EMP and that the detonation could take place a coupe miles above the surface of the earth and knock out several entire countries crashing the economy within days.

I am perhaps a bit cynical about these sort of doom and gloom things happening and perhaps also put too much trust in the government protecting us from just such an event.

 

[Len W]

Surely the type of event we're talking about would be world wide and catastrophic, a solar storm like the one that took out Canada's power in 1989. Most of their electricity supply is above ground supplied via transformers. Can't help thinking we would have more to worry about from the most likely cause being nuclear detonation over UK. Who would want to be the political leader that started WW3 , recently in the media there was an article reminding us of the nuclear fall out shelters lurking beneath our feet here in the UK. We don't need to be reminded of this fact as most of us lived through the constant threat of nuclear war. The reporting of terrible things that are or are not going to happen to us all has gotten ridiculous. We are in need of a media enema. Or perhaps we just need to adopt the ostrich defence when fleeing isn't an option.

 

[Buckman]

Or perhaps we just need to adopt the ostrich defence when fleeing isn't an option.

Don't you mean bend over and kiss your rear end goodbye?

 

[trevormonty]

Solar flare wiping out the powergrid and satellites is real threat. Power grid would be effected on day time side of planet when it hits. There are warning satellites between earth and sun which would give few hours warning as corona particles don't travel at speed of light.
Shutting down grid total should help protect it but its a big decision for government to make and could take days or weeks to power back up. When New York powergrid tripped out about 20 years ago it tooks days to restore power.
Damage to satellites especially GPS ones could be even be worst. GPS works by triangling your location using precise timing signals (atomic clocks in GPS satellites). Didn't take long for industries to realise they had access to free atomic clock via cheap GPS receiver. That precision timing is used by power grid, transport and banking sections, no GPS and they could be down for quite long time.
More expensive satellites are radiation hardened but not sure if they will survive powerful solar flare.

GPS.gov: Timing Applications

 

[PTA]

Well, that's cheered me up!

 

[trevormonty]

Well, that's cheered me up!

There are 10,000s of survivalists especially in USA hoping and praying for such a day. Events never unfold as predicted, COVID demostrated that.
"be careful what you wish for".

 

[Buckman]

There are 10,000s of survivalists especially in USA hoping and praying for such a day. Events never unfold as predicted, COVID demostrated that.
"be careful what you wish for".

Probably one of them that wrote the doomsday scenario.

 

[Len W]

Of all the things to be preoccupied with your own imminent demise shouldn't be one of them . Better to smell the daisy's and enjoy life as much as possible. The things we have no control over grow day by day. I worked in the USA for a while and one of the guys I worked with was a prepper other than that he seemed quite normal.

 

[Mr Plodd]

We're all doomed Cpt Mainwaring, doomed I tell ye!!

 

[otherclive]

Surely the type of event we're talking about would be world wide and catastrophic, a solar storm like the one that took out Canada's power in 1989. Most of their electricity supply is above ground supplied via transformers. Can't help thinking we would have more to worry about from the most likely cause being nuclear detonation over UK. Who would want to be the political leader that started WW3 , recently in the media there was an article reminding us of the nuclear fall out shelters lurking beneath our feet here in the UK. We don't need to be reminded of this fact as most of us lived through the constant threat of nuclear war. The reporting of terrible things that are or are not going to happen to us all has gotten ridiculous. We are in need of a media enema. Or perhaps we just need to adopt the ostrich defence when fleeing isn't an option.

My wife still stocks up cupboards as if we are still within the 4 minute warning regime. 😂

 

[Sam Vimes]

In my industry EMP was a known consideration and some applications had to have mitigation strategies in place.

EMP does most damage to powered electronics so in some platforms early detection of an event would power down the system. However even that has consequences if something is incoming and you need to duck.

Of equal concern was the affect of high energy particles that can upset the electronics. Of particular concern was high flying aircraft and of course satellites.

A more wide spread concern regarding GPS systems is jaming and spoofing.

Yet a bigger concern and one which happens daily is that our lives are dependent on systems that have become too complex and often little understood by those controlling them. Updates, reconfiguration and expansion frequently knock these systems off line and we can't do banking, buy sausage rolls from Greggs or post fake news on Facebook.

I keep chalk and slate to hand and horses in the stable. Semaphore flags, beacons and tin cans and string.

 

[PTA]

There are 10,000s of survivalists especially in USA hoping and praying for such a day. Events never unfold as predicted, COVID demostrated that.
"be careful what you wish for".

Yes, those MAGA conspiracy theorists are a laugh a minute. They walk amongst us!

 

[Buckman]

In my industry EMP was a known consideration and some applications had to have mitigation strategies in place.

EMP does most damage to powered electronics so in some platforms early detection of an event would power down the system. However even that has consequences if something is incoming and you need to duck.

Of equal concern was the affect of high energy particles that can upset the electronics. Of particular concern was high flying aircraft and of course satellites.

A more wide spread concern regarding GPS systems is jaming and spoofing.

Yet a bigger concern and one which happens daily is that our lives are dependent on systems that have become too complex and often little understood by those controlling them. Updates, reconfiguration and expansion frequently knock these systems off line and we can't do banking, buy sausage rolls from Greggs or post fake news on Facebook.

I keep chalk and slate to hand and horses in the stable. Semaphore flags, beacons and tin cans and string.

Interesting I never knew that if the appliance was switched off it would not be affected by an EMP? However I wonder about cars as most new cars have the alarm switched on and the alarm controls the immobiliser?

 

[Sam Vimes]

Yes, unfortunately a lot of devices are permanently on even when we think they're not.

One of the platforms I worked on had to survive a nearby nuclear detonation re EMP. We asked what about the crew. Sadly expendable but not the equipment.

 

[Dustydog]

EMP? Thank goodness in my caravan I can use gas instead of electricity ! Head to the deepest depths of the Highlands near a fresh water spring / loch and distillary😋😋