this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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Aren't EMP's hard to induce though? Like there is a big one in a nuclear explosion, but outside of that, how can you make one without megawatts of power connected to a vehicle sized device?
It's not as hard as you'd think! 🙂 Mostly because of advances in HPM tech in the last couple years.
https://www.emsopedia.org/entries/high-power-microwave-hpm/
Even 9 years ago, you could build one from an old microwave, that could likely cause a lot of issues near a data center:
https://youtu.be/80kDn4vit_w
Small EMPs are relatively easy to generate and if memory serves there was at least one test in the 90s that was basically an EMP generator that could be shoved into a moving van suck off the grid and then go off. There has been relatively little open research on this subject for obvious reasons.
Oceans 11 bullshit.
Possibly but the 90s were peak BS R&D only really behind WW2 R&D, fucky caseless munitions, weird computer warfare experiments, early modern drones, Et cetera. Mind you the damned thing may have only worked once on a fluke but it's well within believablity given everything else being fucked with at the time.
What is interesting, there was just an article, these scientists made this super magnet that was really small, like 1,000x stronger by size and using way less electricity to do t. I forget some rare earths it was made of. Just a week back maybe wish I read it closer. I wonder if that could make a bigger emp surge easier.
Thankfully we have large vehicles that can drive around vehicle sized devices, and if you're looking for ridiculous amounts of power, have I got something to tell you about datacenters...