As I mentioned in my first post, the book that brought my attention to prepping and survival was One Second After by William Forstchen. Now, the subject matter of this book is, as most of my readers know, is the EMP, or electro-magnetic pulse that can and will occur after the detonation of certain weapons. The whole point of the book is that this is a disaster that could happen and likely will happen, some time in the future.
So, just imagine my surprise when I received the following email from my brother-in-law, Tom:
I read your blog on the EMP Post. But did you know that the Harkness family actually witnessed just such occurrence? In the late 60′s, over the town of El Paso, TX, there was a weather satellite that was launched from the White Sands Missile Range. Shortly after its launch, it was determined that the rocket had malfunctioned and that the trajectory on radar showed that it was headed for Mexico.
With a flick of the wrist and a push of a button, the rocket was ordered to self-destruct. This was one of the main reasons that environmentalists demanded that weather satellites stop using nuclear power sources. The explosion caused the nuclear payload to ignite and burn. The site was spectacular as it formed a perfectly round rainbow in the night sky over El Paso. It also caused a power outage due to the EMP and EEMP. Fortunately, the telephone systems were still run by old electron tubes and the phone system was back up in a about an hour. Dad called White Sands and found out what really happened.
Ham radio operators like to hang onto old radios that use the big electron tubes because of their unique ability to handle massive amounts of EMP and EEMP. EEMP is “Effective Electromechanical Pulse” or sometimes called a High-Effective EMP. This is where electrical current is caused to exist in a conductor due to the effects of an EMP. It could cause the household current in your home to jump from 120V to several thousand volts, effectively destroying most of your appliances…. and, if you are touching any of them… being electrocuted.
Many military commanders opt for an air-burst of EMP and EEMP as it reduces the number of casualties and destroys most of the fighting equipment (i.e. communications). Other commanders have considered EMP Salting. This is where the fuel in the burst is designed to cause the metals in the ground, around your home, and even in you body, to be forced to give up electrons. This causes these metals to become radioactive and highly toxic, making just about everything you eat, breathe, or drink, a deadly poison (i.e. Nuetron Bomb). The only problem with this type of burst is that it makes the land uninhabitable for about 100,000 years. Kind of a waste of territory, but well within consideration for a Jihadist.
I would be very interested in hearing others’ views about this item that occurred in ElPaso in the late sixties. Do you remember it, if you’re old enough? I am old enough, but I lived in far East Texas, and I must also confess that in the late sixties, my mind was on “more important” things than national security!
My brother-in-law Tom blogs at Safety In Education. He is a licensed CHL instructor and teaches in his hometown of Pittsburg, TX, as well as assisting my husband as a co-teacher with his CHL classes in Plano, TX. Please check Tom and his blog out. He always has an interesting (true) story to tell!
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