EMP Generator

ActualDragon wrote 10/16/2016 at 22:55 • 1 point

hey I read the article on emp generators on hackaday.com, but it looked like he had to hold it like a centimeter away. is there any way i could make one to turn off iphones with a range of like 5 feet?

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hubidrei wrote 11/11/2016 at 15:55

Ok, for more output power, you will need bigger wire a better impulse cap .

You can find some ways to do it at http://www.amazing1.com/emp.html
For a high power EMP you need a very fast rise or fall time of the ipulse this cannot be done by an ordinary spark gap.

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ActualDragon wrote 10/19/2016 at 00:41

is a coil gun like a emp generator?

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Steven Gann wrote 10/19/2016 at 22:54

I suppose it sort of *could* be. An EMP generator would be any device designed to put out a significant electromagnetic pulse, which I suppose a coil gun does.

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Steven Gann wrote 10/18/2016 at 00:25

I'm not the best at analog or electromagnetic, but it seems like these "EMP" devices are usually old-fashioned, spark gap Tesla coils, more or less. Going off of that, it would seem your focus will be on maximizing the voltage supply (a custom flyback transformer?), maximizing energy storage (DIY HV supercapacitors?), and then dumping that energy.

I've been told the EMP is mostly from the spark, and others have said it comes from the coil. I know large arcs put out a lot of EMI either way (spark gap transmitters).

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ActualDragon wrote 10/18/2016 at 17:23

whats a flyback transformer

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Steven Gann wrote 10/19/2016 at 22:55

A specially designed transformer for stepping up really, REALLY high voltages.

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Jarrett wrote 10/17/2016 at 20:30

Short answer: Probably not with the power sources or materials we have today.

Long answer: EMPs induce a magnetic field in nearby metals. Holding up one of those generators is more likely to cause current to flow in a weird direction and damage something, rather than just turn it off.

The distance variable in the Maxwell equations are linear. So to get the same effect 1 metre (~3 feet) away as from a centimeter away, you need 100 times the current. To do that in the same wire gauge, you need 100 times the voltage, but that puts 100^2 times the amount of power through the wire, melting it completely.

So you need thicker wire. This increases the loops size (linearly), so you need more current to get equal field strength, so you need more voltage, etc.

Don't trust me, though! Play around with the calculations yourself, it's all physics-based and pretty easy algebra. Fun and educational!

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ActualDragon wrote 10/17/2016 at 21:47

thanks, i'll definitley play around w/ it

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ActualDragon wrote 10/16/2016 at 22:56

handheld though, concealable

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.Stack

EMP Generator

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