[HoE] Doomsayer Miracle: EMP question

[Doug Stalker <dougs@technologist.com>]

PEGHopler@aol.com wrote:

>
> The effect of  EMP only lasts for the duration of the miracle. Once the
> miracle ends, the device functions normally.
>
> In the case of a real EMP from a nuclear explosion, unshielded electronic
> devices would be irreparably damaged, while non-electronic electrical devices
> would only be knocked out for the duration of the pulse.
>

I looked into the effects of radiation on computer systems... It gets worse the
smaller the circuits are made, as it takes less energy to trip a gate to the
wrong position.  By the time of the apocalypse chips must have gotten really
small, and be used in just about everything.  This would mean that any
non-shielded equipment anywhere near the blast would need, at the very least, to
be shutdown and started up again.   If you're unlucky you get a temporary short
in a gate, causingthe path to overheat and destroy part of the chip.  Miitary
systems are shielded and contain redundent pathways to avoid this causing
permanent problems:  You have to overcome the shielding.

As for the Doomsayer EMP:  I think it would be more appropriate to use a more
cinematic version of EMP; A bolt of energy hits the target, target shuts down and
blue energy crackles over it's surface for a while, gradually fading out.  After
the durration of the miracle, the crackling energy has gone and the equipment can
be restarted.


Meanwhile, what about EMP guns?  They can be made using conventional technology
(see the story at http://www.theregister.co.uk/990910-000015.html ) and would be
just perfect for taking out those attacking cyborgs.  It wouldn't destroy any of
their eqipment, but they would fall to the ground and have to restart from a cold
boot.  (How long do cyborgs take to boot up?)


--

 - doug -