Need help with E.M.P. Project!!

[physicskid27]

Hi,

First time posting, first attempt at a project. From the threads I have been able to pull up seems like many have tried and many have failed at EMP's. For a beginner it seems this project is a little advanced but I tend to pick up things quickly so I feel I can accomplish it. This is a fun project to keep my physics learning going during the summer. I was able to pull up some schematics and also a parts list from scribd. ( https://www.scribd.com/doc/21794053/Electromagnetic-Pulse-Emp-Gun ) hopefully it doesn't violate any forum rules. My first concern is the parts list I have put a number of them into digikey and found them by pairing up voltage/resistance etc. Yet there are many different kinds so i don't know if I am getting the right one.

Parts list is seen through the link. If you can help me find the correct parts it would be much appreciated. Thanks seems like a good board.

 

[canadaelk]

Interesting! Nowehere in the design notes did I find a warning: This thing can hurt/maim/kill someone or an animal!

 

[physicskid27]

Haha yes I am aware of the dangers. It would still be great to get some help!

 

[canadaelk]

Haha, it is not funny! You may think you are aware of the dangers, but someone around you, finding and using it, may not be! I hope you find no help here and have 2nd thoughts about such a (working?) contraption! E

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Haha, it is not funny! You may think you are aware of the dangers, but someone around you, finding and using it, may not be! I hope you find no help here and have 2nd thoughts about such a (working?) contraption! E

I don't think 'working' is something we've got to worry about!

 

[physicskid27]

I am hurt. Scarred for life.

 

[dougy83]

My first concern is the parts list I have put a number of them into digikey and found them by pairing up voltage/resistance etc. Yet there are many different kinds so i don't know if I am getting the right one.

You are likely getting the correct parts. If e.g. the parts list says 10k 1W resistor and you get a 10K 1W resistor from Digikey, then it should be fine. You may have trouble finding a "special high-frequency transformer" however... I assume the sellers of the plans have the info on how to make such a transformer.

 

[physicskid27]

Thanks for being the first to respond with a real remark and not a condescending one. I remember in the Art of Electronics they mentioned something about components made up of different materials which would effect the result. If memory serves I believe these materials only made the slightest impact that could truly only effect those projects which require the utmost precision (processors, etc.).

 

[dougy83]

You're welcome of course.

Yes, values probably aren't that critical. I'd expect you'd want to know what's so special about the transformer though (or just work out the turns ratio yourself).

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I am hurt. Scarred for life.

Don't take it personally (as my remark wasn't aimed at you) - in your original post you commented that no one has managed to get it working, but (for some strange reason you think you can) - the reason is that such things don't work, EMP is mainly the realm of science fiction.

 

[KMoffett]

... the reason is that such things don't work, EMP is mainly the realm of science fiction.

...except thermonuclear detonations!

Ken

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

...except thermonuclear detonations!

Which was why I said 'mainly'

 

[unclejed613]

there are other methods used for creating limited range EMP effects, but they use high explosives to collapse a capacitor's plates together (or crush an inductor), so it's not something you want to try in your garage..... the main limiting factor is the inverse square law... i.e. the field strength of the EMP is proportional to the inverse square of the distance from the source. thermonuclear EMP is effective over large areas because an intentional EMP burst excites a large area of the ionosphere simultaneously (large, as in an area the size of about 1/3 of North America, at least theoretically), and the EMP radiates directly downward from there. since the wave hits the earth nearly simultaneously over such a wide area, the inverse square law really doesn't get considered since the magnetic "pole" covers a huge area. but with small devices acting essentially as a point source, the inverse square law is very important. so let's say you get the thing working, and you measure a 10000 gauss pulse 1cm from one of the poles. increase the distance to 2cm and you only will measure 2500 gauss at 3cm you will measure 1111 gauss at 4cm you will measure 625 gauss..... at 10cm you get a field strength of 100 gauss. this is why, while they may be an intersting "toy", EMP generators aren't going to black out your neighborhood, or even your neighbors house, although it may black out your house if you pop a breaker charging the caps....

 

[tcmtech]

For the high voltage transformer I would recommend using the flyback transformer from an old TV or CRT type computer monitor. They are easy to find and easy to wind your own primary coil on and already have the HV secondary ready to go.

 

[physicskid27]

I want to be able to say I tried. Anyway, I'm having some trouble finding the diodes( 16 KV 10 ma fast recovery high voltage rectifiers). Amazing1.com has 16,000 Volt at 5ma but not at 10mA. Can anyone lead me in the right direction. Didn't seem to find them on digikey either.

 

[physicskid27]

Never mind found one at voltage multipliers.

 

[shortbus=]

Don't you guys know anything? I saw a guy on National Geographic " Doomsday Preppers" test his walkie-talkies against EMP from a car battery. He had the w-t in a metal garbage can and they still worked after shorting both battery cables to the can. TV can't lie.

 

[johansen]

Don't you guys know anything? I saw a guy on National Geographic " Doomsday Preppers" test his walkie-talkies against EMP from a car battery. He had the w-t in a metal garbage can and they still worked after shorting both battery cables to the can. TV can't lie.

lol that show makes me ill. and i haven't even seen much of it.

funny you bring it up, i was discussing such things with a friend of mine, his dad overheard some of the converstion and tried to tell me NYC will never get nuked..
anyhow long story short he said he heard a steel garbage can was a good faraday cage...
i told him it is if the lid is soldered shut.
yep, if your cellphone still takes a call its not a faraday cage...

 

[unclejed613]

EMP from a car battery?....... i must have missed something in physics class........
if you really want to generate some EMP, that radiates more than a few inches, find out how the air force did it on their EMP test stand

Question: What New Mexico structure is 12 stories tall, built entirely out of wood and helped win the Cold War? (Hint: It is NOT the “Rattler” rollercoaster at Uncle Cliff’s Amusement Park.)

Answer: “The Trestle” at Kirtland Air Force Base.

The Trestle at Kirtland Air Force Base supports a wooden runway that faces an arsenal of spotlights and rusting signal-generating equipment that have not been turned on in over 20 years.

The Trestle, or “ATLAS-I” (short for Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator) was the brainchild of my boss, Dr. Carl E. Baum, who worked at the Base for 42 years and is now a Distinguished Research Professor at The University of New Mexico. The Trestle, inspired by a railroad bridge, is a test stand for the world’s largest electromagnetic pulse simulator. It is two football fields long and was built over an enormous, bowl-shaped arroyo, deep inside this high-security military complex. This is not your typical military base or average airport. You would not see commercial airlines or purchase cheap flights here.

Between 1980 and 1990, military aircraft were towed onto the deck of this wooden mesa and bombarded with electromagnetic pulses, or “EMP,” like the kind made by an exploding nuclear bomb. The purpose of these classified experiments was to measure the effects of these electromagnetic waves on the delicate electronics and soft underbelly of military aircraft.

Atomic tests like these used to be conducted in a grand, theatrical style during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, a time when military money flowed like water. It was the ultimate “Reality Show”: If you want to see how a 100 ton, 185 ft.-wide B-52 Bomber was affected by an H-Bomb, you simply wheeled the plane onto the Trestle’s deck, charged up its Marx capacitors with 0.2 terawatts of electricity (that’s 10 to the 12th watts), aimed, and fired.

“That’s only a tiny percentage of a nuclear weapon but it’s a lot of energy for a short period of time in a limited space,” Baum said to me during an exclusive interview that I conducted with him in the fall of 2007.

“Instead of detonating a nuclear bomb to produce an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) covering the continent, we produced similar fields over a smaller region of space. The total energy produced was about 200 kilojoules. Human beings are essentially not affected by this, only the electronics.”

the text is from an article called: Empire My Prince
By Charles Reuben
shawnee@unm.edu
(Proud Mayor of Chucksville, U.S.A.)


more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATLAS-I

 

[DerStrom8]

An EMP is not a toy. It's not a project you should make for fun, or even just "to see if you can do it". It's very dangerous, in more ways than you can imagine. It requires high voltage, high current, and large capacitors. When used, it won't just temporarily shut down power. It will destroy any electronics in its path. It's not something to be played with. Normally, I'd say if someone doesn't know how to build a high power contraption, it's better to help him do it rather than leave him to keep trying on his own. In this case, however, I just can't do that. Please try to find a different project. If you're set on high voltage, try a Tesla coil or something. I'd be happy to help you with that. But an EMP gun is another story, and I just can't let you go building such a dangerous (and illegal) contraption.