North Korea Developing Electromagnetic Pulse Weapons 191
An anonymous reader writes "The Sydney Morning Herald reports, 'North Korea is using Russian technology to develop electromagnetic pulse weapons aimed at paralyzing military electronic equipment south of the border, according to South Korea's spy agency. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a report to parliament that the North had purchased Russian electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weaponry to develop its own versions. EMP weapons are used to damage electronic equipment. At higher energy levels, an EMP can cause more widespread damage including to aircraft structures and other objects. The spy agency also said the North's leader Kim Jong-Un sees cyber attacks as an all-purpose weapon along with nuclear weapons and missiles, according to legislators briefed by the NIS.'" Let's not forget that North Korea has also achieved nuclear fusion, developed a super drink that can cure aging and disease, and found a "unicorn lair" last year.
Now we know why there's no electronics in NK (Score:5, Funny)
It's all part of a plan to destroy the rest of the world by having the only part that doesn't use electronics. Thus they can set off a global EMP without consequence.
Clever of them, isn't it?
Re:Now we know why there's no electronics in NK (Score:5, Funny)
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Yeah, and they'd have to run an extension cord to South Korean for enough juice to run it in the first place. :P
You know what the communists said: "The imperialists and capitalists will bend over backwards to sell us the length of rope that we'll use to hang them." Or something like that. (I'm paraphrasing.)
No electronics in NK anymore (Score:3)
Re:No electronics in NK anymore (Score:5, Insightful)
You're funny.. but the truth is much much closer to this.
North Korea is all bluff and bluster. I've never seen a more faithful reenactment of The Animal Farm. There is a ruling class there that has all the shiny toys and entertainment from the "evil" imperialist countries. Why would they ever risk losing their own life styles for ideals that are nothing more than lip service?
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Re:Now we know why there's no electronics in NK (Score:5, Funny)
That's why North Korea is Best Korea(c)!
Little known fact - when they play Donkey Kong they use real donkeys. Their gaming industry is impervious to EMP.
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Re:Now we know why there's no electronics in NK (Score:5, Interesting)
In the 1970s the Soviets designed a simple EMP device that could be built in any machine shop inexpensively, and the plans have been in the wild since the fall of the Soviet Union. It's interesting that it's not used by the terriers, imagine what the effect would be on Wall Street or Las Vegas.
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Maybe no one notices because it doesn't work? Lots of people have been working on practical EMP weapons. Other than air burst nucs, nothing seems to be coming out of the research stage.
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I suggest you look at flux compression generators. They've been around since the 1950s, fairly low tech and inexpensive to construct, the one that I've seen a plan for was supposed to have a nominal range of half a mile and would fit into a minivan.
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What kind of terrier? Boston, Jack Russel, Patterdale? And when did the dogs get EMP weapons?
Bad idea (Score:5, Funny)
Wouldn't an EMP also fry all of the electronics owned by North Korean citizens....oh..wait.
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Now it all makes sense...
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Not if its directed.
Sure, NK doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell of pulling it off, but directed energy weapons are NOT a bad idea in principle, and if done correctly could be far more effective than projectile weapons.
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Yep, there's a reason why directed energy weapon research in the US was linked to the SDI: you have to be outside of an atmosphere before they're worthwhile.
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Or be at a closer range. If you want to fire at something 500 miles away you need to be out of the atmosphere because 1) your target is over the horizon, 2) the energy is dissipated in the atmosphere. Directed energy weapons are worthwhile if you're up close and line of sight, and EMP weapons (not the same thing) work through walls over short distances as long as the attacker keeps the inverse square rule in mind.
Re:Bad idea (Score:4, Interesting)
Depends on what you're trying to do.
Consider America's modern soldier--or maybe a few years down the road. He's wearing radios and cameras, has computer-aided targeting systems, etc. How are the North Koreans going to compete against that kind of technology?
On the other hand, if you could knock it out from a short distance away, you turn an effectively integrated military unit into a bunch of guys with guns. You level the playing field.
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America could take North Korea easily. But it couldn't take China which was one of the reasons the peninsula is split in two today.
If you're China, the American soldier's radio and cameras are interesting artifacts but inconsequential.
There are a million armed Russian soldier on China's northern border at all times.
That sounds like a lot of people to everyone except the Chinese.
Two cats and a wool sweater (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe even some wool socks if they're really pushing things.
Re:Two cats and a wool sweater (Score:4, Funny)
Maybe even some wool socks if they're really pushing things.
Somewhere in translation, it was changed from Massive ESD to a much more threatening Massive EMP.
Think of the fun they could have (Score:2)
It's all true (Score:5, Funny)
The reality is the anti-aging drink, nuclear fusion and EMP weapons are all byproducts of the biggest find, which was of course the unicorn lair. Technology beyond your wildest dreams, the unicorns have always held it back from us.
I for one hail our North Korean, unicorn riding overlords.
Re:It's all true (Score:4, Funny)
As Stile learned, unicorns don't let just anyone ride them. You're likely to be sent off a cliff trying to clutch a fly who plays a harmonica if you dared to molest one in such a way.
Re:It's all true (Score:4, Funny)
A unicorn isn't so tough. Oh sure, it can call on all the deep magics of the land, storms, curses, the whole bit, but the solution is obvious: Take away its magic*—pop!—and now your vaunted unicorn is only a large, strong, intelligent animal that impales people.
* this has not been conclusively proven impossible.
No they aren't. (Score:3)
If you want to know what they're up to in Pyong-yang, check out the Bing Maps sat photos of the promenade near the stadium.
map [binged.it]
Ewh (Score:2, Funny)
You use bing?
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For most places that I've looked at, Bing has better "bird's eye" imagery then Google has at maximum zoom level. If you're just looking for basic satellite imagery, directions, etc I prefer Google Maps, but if you want the best detail, I think Bing is better.
Everything else Bing-related sucks though.
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I would try it, but I can't seem to find a URL to access it. Do you have a link?
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I would try it, but I can't seem to find a URL to access it. Do you have a link?
Just Google it.
Size, range and much hype... (Score:4, Informative)
Real military devices are hardened and ready by design for nuclear related EMP. The Swiss bunkers show planning for such events in the real world at a civilian bunker setting over many, many years.
The other option is a low yield nuclear device with the desired characteristics - again something military devices are hardened and ready by design.
Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_bomb [wikipedia.org] to go after an electrical supply grid.
So the military was always ready.
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And I assume that civilian installations are not EMP protected. I think blowing up a few key electrical utility installations can do a great deal of damage. Think a large fraction of the east coast for example without electrical power, and no ability to restore it for at least days if not weeks. I assume these EMP devices are not nuclear, so they would perhaps be easier to smuggle as well.
Re:Size, range and much hype... (Score:4, Interesting)
As for EMP in the real world - creating a useful field is the unique physics per device size or weight gets strange with expected range focused on military equipment thats shielded...
There is no 'win' with easy with EMP unless you go nuclear to form the EMP. The huge conventional forces needed to create the 'needed' EMP will have more range than the produced EMP.
Re:Size, range and much hype... (Score:5, Informative)
A., one of the trends of the last several decades is much greater use of OTS (Off The Shelf) equipment in the military. That is just buying existing commercial equipment without all of the traditional MILSPEC type hardening that would have been done in the past. That has meant much quicker fielding times, and more current technology, but at the cost of much greater vulnerability to EMP and other associated effects. Some recent prime examples would be the tablet PCs the military is deploying, and various low level tactical communications gear. There are others.
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As for EMP if it worked it would be for sale, been tested in any of the small conflicts and found to be useful and be in mass production.
Re:Size, range and much hype... (Score:5, Funny)
Anyone thinking of using an EMP weapon against the US should carefully consider the consequences. It would almost certainly destroy any ability to use Powerpoint in the military, and as a result it is likely that military effectiveness of US forces could easily double.
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A., one of the trends of the last several decades is much greater use of OTS (Off The Shelf) equipment in the military. That is just buying existing commercial equipment without all of the traditional MILSPEC type hardening that would have been done in the past. That has meant much quicker fielding times, and more current technology, but at the cost of much greater vulnerability to EMP and other associated effects. Some recent prime examples would be the tablet PCs the military is deploying, and various low level tactical communications gear. There are others.
Yeah and all the Chinese made electronic components in that hardened, MILSPEC gear that the US military use really helps, I'm sure.
Re:Size, range and much hype... (Score:4, Insightful)
South Korea has the world's 15th-largest economy, but it is largely driven by electronics exports [wikimedia.org]. North Korea has been threatening nuclear weapons for so long it's like the boy who cried wolf. The world knows the North is not going to resort to a nuclear strike unless something goes very, very wrong. So it needed a new, more-plausible boogie man. What better, and cheaper, to scare the world into giving it economic aid than the threat of an EMP strike that could cripple the South's economy? It wouldn't set the North back that far, and the world's response would be far less punitive than the response to a nuclear strike.
Of course, it's quite likely the North lacks the ability to deliver an effective EMP weapon, just as it lacks the ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the U.S. But to the masses, its just believable enough thanks to Western media plot devices. Did your parents ever waste electricity leaving a night light on to keep the monsters away from your bed at night? They knew there were no monsters, but it was a small cost compared to having you spend the night in their room. Likewise, the North is betting that the first world governments would rather spend a token amount on aid than waste all their time trying to reassure their citizens that the EMP monster isn't really going to take away their TVs/smartphones/etc.
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No no no, their main weapon is surprise, and fear. You must be new here.
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Is there any law of physics that prevents making a semiconductor EMP bomb? I mean, we now have photolitho-produced electron accelerators...
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Small-scale EMP is actually harder to achieve that large-scale
I'm not so sure. I saw a show on TV [youtube.com] where they showed a working device and disabled a car with it.
And let's not forget... (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's not forget that North Korea has also achieved nuclear fusion, developed a super drink that can cure aging and disease, and found a "unicorn lair" last year.
And let's not forget that the US has achieved democracy, developed a universal healthcare plan to cure aging and disease, and found WMDs in Iraq.
Our bullshit is more refined but equally pervasive.
Re:And let's not forget... (Score:5, Interesting)
>US has achieved democracy
yes she actually has, and after world war II defended it even on other places like western europe (where i am from)
the self loathing of the west (here in europe and in the U.S.), and the constant ridiculing of democracy is striking.
if the motive for such comments is an expression of disappointment with some of the weaknesses of the current democratic system then ok i understand. But if somebody REALLY believes that our democratic system (with all its weaknesses) is "just as bad" as a dictatorship (like in north korea), then i can only suggest to pick up a history book and make a reality check
Re:And let's not forget... (Score:5, Insightful)
No, from all that I can see the USA doesn't have a democracy anymore. It has corporate democracy and that is quite a different beast.
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That the corporate democracy in the USA isn't as bad as a dictatorship doesn't mean it is the golden solution.
No, from all that I can see the USA doesn't have a democracy anymore. It has corporate democracy and that is quite a different beast.
Not quite; more corporate republic...
Re:And let's not forget... (Score:5, Insightful)
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A wide variety of individuals and groups can influence policy, such as unions, the ACLU, the NRA, American states, foreign governments, and many others.
Any politician that doesn't suit the voters is subject to losing his or her job. Just one example:
Colorado Recall Elections Chill Push for New Gun Laws [go.com]
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A corporation acts with the will of its bosses but with the resources of the entire organisation. By contrast all of your other choices (excepting despotic regimes) act with both the will and the resources of their constituents.
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Corporations influence policies and voting.
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But "Corporations are people - WMR
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The thing I don't like about the US democracy is that it's essentially false dilemma [wikipedia.org] based. Yes, you do have more than two parties, but "everyone knows" that they will never get elected, and you can't let the other side win, so you "have" to vote on one of the two big parties.
How much of a democracy is it when the choice is that limited? It's a soft limit, but still an effective limit.
If North Korea let the people select from, say Kim Jong-un and (while he was alive) Kim Jong-il. Would that then be a democr
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Yes, the US exported democracy everywhere.
It would have been nice, though, if they kept some for domestic use.
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Who said that WMDs were found in Iraq?
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Who said that WMDs were found in Iraq?
Well, NBC News for one...http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4997808/
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One artillery shell that didn't work? That's all you've got?
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Who said that WMDs were found in Iraq?
An American citizen who had been in Syria fighting for the rebels was, on returning to the US, charged with using a 'weapon of mass destruction'. This was an RPG. If thats a WMD then FUCK YEAH WMDs were found in Iraq!
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Citation, please.
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Has anyone ever claimed with a straight face that the US has "developed a universal healthcare plan to cure aging and disease"?
I assume you're referring to Obamacare, but even its most strident supporters basically view it as a step in the right direction (i.e. towards single payer). And no one claims single payer (or any other health insurance system) "cures aging" or anything ridiculous like that. Just that's its more cost effective.
There's plenty of ridiculous propaganda employed in the US. Like claim
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They never actually claimed any of those things, they were just western propaganda designed to make them look silly. In contrast the US genuinely claimed that Iraq had WMD and started a huge international war effort based on that lie, killing hundreds of thousands of people in the process.
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There's absolutely no need for the west to fabricate these bizarre claims. Are you at all familiar with the KCNA?
http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2012/201211/news29/20121129-20ee.html [kcna.co.jp]
This is an official mouthpiece of the DPKR. Read some stories on the site. It's some kind of bizarro world in which The DKPR is an embattled champion of freedom, and a really great place for the whole family!
Why would the west need to bother? The DKPR does the job for us.
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And let's not forget that the US has achieved democracy, developed a universal healthcare plan to cure aging and disease, and found WMDs in Iraq.
Yes America has the best politicians money can buy
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Thank goodness we have the Koch brothers to protect us from mob rule.
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God forbid, that could lead to unions!
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And unions have unicorns. My God, we've just turned into North Korea *
* The US and North Korea are the only countries stuck on the ICD 9 (International Classification of Diseases). Everybody else is on 10. Google is planning on launching 22 next week.
Picture of results of first test? (Score:2)
If they are copying Russian EMP weapons, that might explain something.
I think I found a picture showing the results of one of their tests. [scientificamerican.com]
so kim jong un is watching james bond movies (Score:5, Interesting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoldenEye [wikipedia.org]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Another_Day [wikipedia.org]
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What are you smoking (Score:3, Interesting)
Given the frivolous nature of the comments on this article thus far it seems that few of you have ever considered the effects of a serious EMP attack on your way of life. The mere fact that NK can put something in orbit means they don't necessarily have to have the tech to deliver it to the us as you would a ballistic missile, but just wait for the oppotune time to de-orbit it. In addition, the US happens to be in a location where the earth's magnetic field can significantly enhance the effect of a NEMP. My admittedly hazy memory says the effect of catastrophic failure of US power infrastructure from a well placed NEMP was 70% of the population due to starvation, rioting and the other horsemen of the apocalypse. In addition, the estimate was decades to restore full services if you even could under such circumstances.
Re:What are you smoking (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What are you smoking (Score:4, Informative)
Unfortunately EMP is a genuine serious threat, and North Korea poses a potential threat not just to the US, but to Australia, Japan, and other nations as well.
Inside the Ring: North Korean missiles deemed a serious threat to U.S. [washingtontimes.com]
'North Korea's nuclear weapons could hit UK': Alarm at David Cameron's claim [mirror.co.uk]
An EMP Could Cripple the U.S. [heritage.org]
An EMP is a torrent of electromagnetic energy that disrupts and destroys electronic devices within an affected area. As a result of such an event, most electrical devices would fail, most cars would cease functioning, airplanes would fall from the sky, and critical infrastructure—such as water and sewers, banking, energy, transportation, information technology, and others—would shut down.
Importantly, the electrical components and transmission systems would be permanently destroyed, requiring enormous levels of repair and rebuilding. Huge swaths of the U.S. would be without even the most basic of services for years, and it could take decades to fully recover. The economic and human losses would be catastrophic.
EMP Attacks—What the U.S. Must Do Now [heritage.org]
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack represents one of the greatest threats imaginable—to the United States and the world. An EMP occurs when a nuclear device is detonated high in the atmosphere—a phenomenon of which America’s enemies are well aware. The electromagnetic discharge can permanently disable the electrical systems that run nearly all civilian and military infrastructures. A massive EMP attack on the United States would produce almost unimaginable devastation. Communications would collapse, transportation would halt, and electrical power would simply be non-existent. Not even a global humanitarian effort would be enough to keep hundreds of millions of Americans from death by starvation, exposure, or lack of medicine. Nor would the catastrophe stop at U.S. borders. Most of Canada would be devastated, too, as its infrastructure is integrated with the U.S. power grid. Without the American economic engine, the world economy would quickly collapse. Much of the world’s intellectual brain power (half of it is in the United States) would be lost as well. Earth would most likely recede into the “new” Dark Ages.
A single nuke exploded above America could cause a national blackout for months. [acdemocracy.org]
One EMP burst and the world goes dark [usatoday.com]
Re:What are you smoking (Score:4, Funny)
'North Korea's nuclear weapons could hit UK': Alarm at David Cameron's claim [mirror.co.uk]
I just want to point out that "alarm at David Cameron's claim" is actually "alarm that UK PM is delusional."
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I'd be genuinely alarmed that Cameron's leadership has left us so feckless that a tiny, technologically backwards nation on the other side of the globe was an existential threat. How bad do you have to be at your job that North Korea is near the top of the threats list?
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I'd be genuinely alarmed that Cameron's leadership has left us so feckless that a tiny, technologically backwards nation on the other side of the globe was an existential threat. How bad do you have to be at your job that North Korea is near the top of the threats list?
You have to be delusional, that was my point.
Cameron, and anyone who believes that NK is near the top of the threats list of the UK, is delusional.
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Given the frivolous nature of the comments on this article thus far it seems that few of you have ever considered the effects of a serious EMP attack on your way of life. The mere fact that NK can put something in orbit means they don't necessarily have to have the tech to deliver it to the us as you would a ballistic missile, but just wait for the oppotune time to de-orbit it. In addition, the US happens to be in a location where the earth's magnetic field can significantly enhance the effect of a NEMP. My admittedly hazy memory says the effect of catastrophic failure of US power infrastructure from a well placed NEMP was 70% of the population due to starvation, rioting and the other horsemen of the apocalypse. In addition, the estimate was decades to restore full services if you even could under such circumstances.
Actually, I'm quite aware of what the effects may be. There's just not a whole lot anyone, except the military, can do. We're already quite prepared for the follow-on effects (Four Horsemen). Short of creating an absolute Faraday cage around the house here, something I've actually done before in uniform, not much anyone can do. Hmm..., thinking about it, perhaps a small Faraday cage for the life-saving electronics might be in order.
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Have you thought about not antagonizing them? Your navy parades around, dick in one hand and ruler in the other, every year just off their coast. Wouldn't you feel a bit threatened if NK warships did that off the United States' west coast?
Hopefully... (Score:2)
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Let's not forget... (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's also not forget that North Korea successfully launched a satellite [heavens-above.com] into a stable polar orbit (higher than the ISS). That first payload was a bit of a dud, but they have a proven ability to send a package over any part of the Earth's surface.
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Yeah, but they might hit China if they aim for us. They are a blind kid at a shooting range firing a shooting competition, hitting spectators behind the firing range. If life were Star Wars, NK would be Imperial Stormtroopers, who couldn't hit a target the size of the broad side of an Executor Class star destroyer if they were 20 meters away.
Parrot without understanding (Score:2)
What is this about? I looked into it and it is actually something the media is copy pasting from wikipedia. The original quote from wiki also includes the extra words "At higher energy levels, an EMP event such as a lightning strike can cause more widespread damage to aircraft structures and other objects."
Can someone who knows the science explain this to me? Can an EMP weapon actually
To make N. Korea (Score:2)
Even more repulsive.
Good lolz but it's all bullshit (Score:2)
The only EMP weapons that can cause damage on a scale greater than "annoying" are nukes set off in the upper atmosphere.
Try using one of those, NK, and come back and tell us about all the non-glassed land you don't have.
Most they could do is build some EPFCGs and drop them on the US from balloons WW2 Japan-style, to black out a few city blocks.
They also claim self-buttering toast (Score:2)
They also claimed self-buttering toast but really that was my invention. I never brought it to market because the bread market bullied me and took the patents. If it weren't for that powerful lobby you could be enjoying my yummy toast for breakfast as you cruise to work in your water-fueled self-driving flying car which was also stopped by powerful lobbies. >_>
What does this weapon do? (Score:2)
Is it powerful enough to zap a car radio, thereby make the people inside die from boredom?
North Korea played this game (Score:2)
North Korea launches EMP satellite and invades US :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQeQWWKKvq4 [youtube.com]
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No country currently has an operational neutron bomb.
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Some even dream of using them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/26/lord-gilbert-neutron-bomb_n_2190607.html [huffingtonpost.co.uk]
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No-one's actually shown that neutron bombs will work as intended. The high neutron flux would do all kinds of weird shit to building materials. Could make the entire city too radioactive to be useful.
Re:This should be encouraged (Score:5, Informative)
They weren't meant for use inside cities anyway. They were for fighting mass tank formations while minimizing the destruction to West Germany. Minimizing, not eliminating: they still had large blast and thermal effects.
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No-one's actually shown that neutron bombs will work as intended. The high neutron flux would do all kinds of weird shit to building materials. Could make the entire city too radioactive to be useful.
Thats where you need a cobalt bomb...
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Nah, cobalt bombs are for entire continents or planets,
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Nah, cobalt bombs are for entire continents or planets,
They are going to be bloody handy when we've been at war with Eurasia so long everyone thinks "We have always been at war with Eurasia."
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Judging from your grammar, i can understand your misgivings. But science in america us mostly about national interest now.
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You should check the grounding on your computer chassis or your house.