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Underwater EMP
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by TaiyakiFerret
on 2005-01-15 16:31:27
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| While daydreaming about submarine warfare, I was suddenly hit by the thought of an underwater emp device. However, as the medium is heavily ionized h2o, it is expected that there would be little if any affect as the water would probably ground it. anyway, what's your opinion on this subject? Take into account that the initial emp is generated by the shorting of a circuit through an explosive. Whereupon, a massive bubble of gas is created upon detonation allowing for the emp to travel a minute distance through gas before reaching the water. |
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Re: Underwater EMP
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would work as a mine that is attached to the hull of a ship or combat suit.. otherwise... it could use a dart/cable system to harpoon the target... |
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Re: Underwater EMP
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| If such a device exist, It probably could cause a serious threat to underwater nuclear submarines and maybe naval ships. Would EMP effect under water animals? |
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Re: Underwater EMP
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@sabretacheq Yes, at least for marine life that have active electrical or magnetic properties. Although I'm not aware of any magneto-sensitive sea creatures, there are electro-sensitive animals, and certainly many species we have never seen before. Given the enormous amount of electronics required for the proper operation of a tactical nuclear submarine or any other surface/submerged ships... anyone onboard one would be in trouble if caught in the radius of an EMP. It's almost certain death if you were on a submarine. There is some speculation as to how strong EM fields affects our electrochemical processes (brain, spine, nerves, etc.) but this is a subject that is still under debate and study. Although not directly related to EMPs (the subject of the studies are on people who live near high-tension power lines) they both involve strong EM fields. @Tejyasn Frankly, a torpedo is probably simpler (though with the added loss of life o.O) If you deployed an EMP device, you and your sub would have to get clear of the pulse radius before you set it off (unless of course, you're a lone diver in the middle of nowhere...) giving the enemy ample time to possibly find it. And of course, there's the issue that, even after you've disabled them, they're still a pretty potent gun turret (guns aren't affected by EMPs) albeit in the middle of the ocean. No, it's much neater to torpedo them. The only evidence would be at the bottom of the ocean, dead men tell no tales and shoot no guns, that kind of stuff. @TaiyakiFerret It is my understanding that the ionized water of the ocean would have little to no effect on the EMP. An EMP is not the same as electricity; it is a powerful electromagnetic field pulse (the earth is itself surrounded by an EM field, albeit a weak one). Thus grounding has no effect on the matter; this is not to say that an EMP detonated underwater will be the same as an EMP detonated in the air. What matters significantly is the medium that the EM field is passing through - water or air. The energy density of an EM field relative to the source charge is dependent on the properties of the medium (specifically, the permittivity of the medium)... it is perfect in an absolute vacuum, and decreases with increasing density. Since water is significantly denser than air, there would be an effect on the EMP in this way. However, a significantly powerful EMP device would render this point, well, pointless.
--Jason
"Artificial Intelligence is the science of making computers act like the ones in movies." |
Jason