(Time) Mark Thompson - Meet the high-power microwave. HPMs are man-made lightning bolts crammed into cruise missiles, that could fry the sophisticated computers and electronic gear necessary to produce, protect, store, and deliver biological and chemical weapons. The powerful electromagnetic pulses can travel into deeply buried bunkers through ventilation shafts, plumbing, and antennas. Moving at the speed of light and impervious to bad weather, the energy pulse can destroy any electronics within 1,000 ft. by short-circuiting internal electrical connections in a way similar to what can happen to your computer or TV when lightning strikes nearby. The U.S. used a more primitive form of these weapons - known as soft bombs - against Yugoslavia and in the first Gulf War, when cruise missiles showered miles of thin carbon fibers over electrical facilities, creating massive short circuits that shut down electrical power.
2003-01-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive