UK government adopts tin foil hat for security fearmongering or reason ?

[Sionyn]

UK Is In Danger From Electromagnetic Bomb, Says Defense Secretary

what next ?

money from the initiatives to protect the country from zombies, aliens and robots

http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/news/emp-bombthreat-77863

[Rerouter]

i dont entirely disagree with them throwing development time towards that, if anything we might start seeing more common components able to take a larger hit of ESD, and stronger RF impulses, like how daves fluke 87 locked up in the presence of a mobile acting as a transmitter nearby,

[mikeselectricstuff]

A few years ago there used to be a huge but very anonymous looking building in St.Giles in central London. This belonged to the Ministry of Defence. A few years before it was demolished they refurbed all the surrounding railings, gates etc., and I noticed that they had installed thick electrical bonding straps connecting all the parts of the railings together (e.g. around the concrete posts), and presumably also to ground.
This couldn't have been for lightning protection as this was near ground level on a building something like 3 or for storeys hiugh. 

[FreeThinker]

The effects of EMP are well known and military establishments are well protected from them in all vital areas. However with the recent uptake of wifi, mobile phones etc civilian usage is very vulnerable, not just your personal phone but emergency services etc. Just think of the chaos that would follow if ALL radio comms were killed.

[G7PSK]

Not much sense in making TV's EMP. proof in case of another Carrington event, The first things to fry will be the satellites. Best to get some valves in stock though.

[FreeThinker]

Not much sense in making TV's EMP. proof in case of another Carrington event, The first things to fry will be the satellites. Best to get some valves in stock though.

Surely it will be the receivers rather than the transmitters that are effected? Satellites will be safe I'm sure. 

[G7PSK]

With an EMP weapon any circuit that is turned on is vulnerable. Satellites are repeaters they have receivers as well as transmitters. It is possible that nerves would be damaged by a powerful EMP as well.

[alm]

A few years ago there used to be a huge but very anonymous looking building in St.Giles in central London. This belonged to the Ministry of Defence. A few years before it was demolished they refurbed all the surrounding railings, gates etc., and I noticed that they had installed thick electrical bonding straps connecting all the parts of the railings together (e.g. around the concrete posts), and presumably also to ground.
This couldn't have been for lightning protection as this was near ground level on a building something like 3 or for storeys hiugh.

My guess is that this has something to do with electrical safety. If there were electrical cables running near the railings, then I can see how bonding them to ground might be a good idea. They might also have planned to put high voltage on them as a security measure. I doubt something with 1m holes in it would have any noticeable effect on EMP.

It is possible that nerves would be damaged by a powerful EMP as well.

I'm sure it's possible, but is it also plausible and significant? For example, the EMP from a 1.4 Mt nuclear bomb at 100m may damage the nervous system, but this is of purely academic interest since you will be dead from the heat, shock and radiation before this becomes an issue. At what field strengths does such a short pulse become harmful to humans? Most damage from RF appears to be due to tissue heating, but this effect may be quite limited for a < 1 us pulse.

[mikeselectricstuff]

A few years ago there used to be a huge but very anonymous looking building in St.Giles in central London. This belonged to the Ministry of Defence. A few years before it was demolished they refurbed all the surrounding railings, gates etc., and I noticed that they had installed thick electrical bonding straps connecting all the parts of the railings together (e.g. around the concrete posts), and presumably also to ground.
This couldn't have been for lightning protection as this was near ground level on a building something like 3 or for storeys hiugh.

My guess is that this has something to do with electrical safety. If there were electrical cables running near the railings, then I can see how bonding them to ground might be a good idea. They might also have planned to put high voltage on them as a security measure. I doubt something with 1m holes in it would have any noticeable effect on EMP.

I don't think so. These were perimiter railings and gates at the edge of the pavement - no reason for there to be any cables there. HV would not have been practical, and there were no insulators.

[firewalker]

Maybe they had a close encounter with Photonic induction... 

Alexander.

[pickle9000]

So when they had that massive atmospheric ionization when the exploded weapons in the atmosphere, is that a function of the EMP? If it is then they probably set up experiments 30-40 years ago to help determine what is needed in the form of protection.

...mike

[EEVblog]

what next ?
money from the initiatives to protect the country from zombies, aliens and robots

Umm, I'm afraid to say it, but most likely.
The military industrial complex will always find a new threat to keep the machine turning.

Dave.

[firewalker]

The next thing would be "Meteorite Defense Net".

Alexander.

[ivan747]

Not much sense in making TV's EMP. proof in case of another Carrington event, The first things to fry will be the satellites. Best to get some valves in stock though.

I love the use of valves in niche RF applications, it's amazing they are still very competent in some aspects.

[pickle9000]

what next ?
money from the initiatives to protect the country from zombies, aliens and robots

Umm, I'm afraid to say it, but most likely.
The military industrial complex will always find a new threat to keep the machine turning.

Dave.

In Canada the biggest military decision is which coast to put the tank on. We have three battleships and one actually floats. We have at least one sub, it was bought used and only had one leak (true). Our snipers are pretty good, they get trained in a marsh so I guess that's pretty cheap (true also).

We don't have a military industrial complex, I think it costs money.

...mike

[SeanB]

Won't go into the MIC........

The bonding was more likely to complete the shielding of the building so that radiation from the monitors and computers inside could not be read easily from the street. Probably also had a copper mesh in the outside walls and the floors and roof, all bonded with wide straps to a grounding mesh around and under the building.

[Dawn]

When you start seeing what seems to be nonsensical bonding of every available metal surface, that would suggest there's more at play then getting a good earth for a Faraday cage for containment of emissions for countermeasures or emi/rfi/emp. I've seen this before. They're maximizing the surface area of a ground plane of everything they can get they're hands on with bonding braid or strap. Chances are this was for a counterpoise for an HF communications system where especially microprocessor based tuners and radios can be extremely fussy and can do some very strange things without a good counterpoise. Before anyone pointing out that an HF radio system in an urban environment is absurd due to the noise floor, that's not what this is generally about. In the event of a continuity of government or reconstructive event after a disaster of sorts, a fall back system of HF communications could be the lifeline between agencies in the event of total failure of a communications infrastructure.