Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 15:29:51 +0100
Message-Id: <200203281429.PAA05579@ats.it>
From: "Valbonesi_Enrico" <valbones@ats.it>
To: info@antigravity.it
Reply-To: info@antigravity.it
Subject: e/b
MIME-Version: 1.0

he next Pearl Harbor will not announce itself with a searing flash of
nuclear light
   or with the plaintive wails of those dying of Ebola or its
genetically engineered twin.
   You will hear a sharp crack in the distance. By the time you
mistakenly identify
   this sound as an innocent clap of thunder, the civilized world will
have become
   unhinged. Fluorescent lights and television sets will glow eerily
bright, despite being
   turned off. The aroma of ozone mixed with smoldering plastic will
seep from outlet
   covers as electric wires arc and telephone lines melt. Your Palm
Pilot and MP3
   player will feel warm to the touch, their batteries overloaded. Your
computer, and
   every bit of data on it, will be toast. And then you will notice that
the world sounds
   different too. The background music of civilization, the whirl of
internal-combustion
   engines, will have stopped. Save a few diesels, engines will never
start again. You,
   however, will remain unharmed, as you find yourself thrust backward
200 years, to
   a time when electricity meant a lightning bolt fracturing the night
sky. This is not a
   hypothetical, son-of-Y2K scenario. It is a realistic assessment of
the damage
   the Pentagon believes could be inflicted by a new generation of
   weapons--E-bombs.

   The first major test of an American electromagnetic bomb is scheduled
for next
   year. Ultimately, the Army hopes to use E-bomb technology to explode
artillery
   shells in midflight. The Navy wants to use the E-bomb's high-power
microwave
   pulses to neutralize antiship missiles. And, the Air Force plans to
equip its bombers,
   strike fighters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles with
E-bomb
   capabilities. When fielded, these will be among the most
technologically
   sophisticated weapons the U.S. military establishment has ever built.

   There is, however, another part to the E-bomb story, one that
military planners
   are reluctant to discuss. While American versions of these weapons
are based on
   advanced technologies, terrorists could use a less expensive,
low-tech approach to
   create the same destructive power. "Any nation with even a 1940s
technology
   base could make them," says Carlo Kopp, an Australian-based expert on
   high-tech warfare. "The threat of E-bomb proliferation is very real."
POPULAR
   MECHANICS estimates a basic weapon could be built for $400.










   An Old Idea Made New
   The theory behind the E-bomb was proposed in 1925 by physicist
   Arthur H. Compton--not to build weapons, but to study atoms.
   Compton demonstrated that firing a stream of highly energetic
   photons into atoms that have a low atomic number causes them to
   eject a stream of electrons. Physics students know this phenomenon
   as the Compton Effect. It became a key tool in unlocking the secrets
   of the atom.

   Ironically, this nuclear research led to an unexpected demonstration
   of the power of the Compton Effect, and spawned a new type of
   weapon. In 1958, nuclear weapons designers ignited hydrogen bombs
   high over the Pacific Ocean. The detonations created bursts of
   gamma rays that, upon striking the oxygen and nitrogen in the
   atmosphere, released a tsunami of electrons that spread for
   hundreds of miles. Street lights were blown out in Hawaii and radio
   navigation was disrupted for 18 hours, as far away as Australia. The
   United States set out to learn how to "harden" electronics against
   this electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and develop EMP weapons.

   America has remained at the forefront of EMP weapons
   development. Although much of this work is classified, it's believed
   that current efforts are based on using high-temperature
   superconductors to create intense magnetic fields. What worries
   terrorism experts is an idea the United States studied but
   discarded--the Flux Compression Generator (FCG).

   A Poor Man's E-Bomb
   An FCG is an astoundingly simple weapon. It consists of an
   explosives-packed tube placed inside a slightly larger copper coil,
as
   shown below. The instant before the chemical explosive is detonated,
   the coil is energized by a bank of capacitors, creating a magnetic
   field. The explosive charge detonates from the rear forward. As the
   tube flares outward it touches the edge of the coil, thereby creating
a
   moving short circuit. "The propagating short has the effect of
   compressing the magnetic field while reducing the inductance of the
   stator [coil]," says Kopp. "The result is that FCGs will produce a
   ramping current pulse, which breaks before the final disintegration
of
   the device. Published results suggest ramp times of tens of hundreds
   of microseconds and peak currents of tens of millions of amps." The
   pulse that emerges makes a lightning bolt seem like a flashbulb by
   comparison.

   An Air Force spokesman, who describes this effect as similar to a
   lightning strike, points out that electronics systems can be
protected
   by placing them in metal enclosures called Faraday Cages that divert
   any impinging electromagnetic energy directly to the ground. Foreign
   military analysts say this reassuring explanation is incomplete.

   The India Connection
   The Indian military has studied FCG devices in detail because it
fears
   that Pakistan, with which it has ongoing conflicts, might use
   E-bombs against the city of Bangalore, a sort of Indian Silicon
   Valley. An Indian Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis study of
   E-bombs points to two problems that have been largely overlooked
   by the West. The first is that very-high-frequency pulses, in the
   microwave range, can worm their way around vents in Faraday
   Cages. The second concern is known as the "late-time EMP effect,"
   and may be the most worrisome aspect of FCG devices. It occurs in
   the 15 minutes after detonation. During this period, the EMP that
   surged through electrical systems creates localized magnetic fields.
   When these magnetic fields collapse, they cause electric surges to
   travel through the power and telecommunication infrastructure. This
   string-of-firecrackers effect means that terrorists would not have
   to drop their homemade E-bombs directly on the targets they wish to
   destroy. Heavily guarded sites, such as telephone switching centers
   and electronic funds-transfer exchanges, could be attacked through
   their electric and telecommunication connections.

   Knock out electric power, computers and telecommunication and
   you've destroyed the foundation of modern society. In the age of
   Third World-sponsored terrorism, the E-bomb is the great equalizer.






                                             In the 1980s, the Air Force
tested E-bombs that used
                                             cruise-missile delivery
systems. 
                                             PHOTO BY AVAIATION WEEK &
AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY








                                             To ignite an E-bomb, a
starter current energizes the stator coil,
                                             creating a magnetic field.
The explosion (A) expands the tube,
                                             short-circuiting the coil
and compressing the magnetic field
                                             forward (B). The pulse is
emitted (C) at high frequencies that
                                             defeat protective devices
like Faraday Cages. ILLUSTRATIONS
                                             BY JOHN BATCHELOR






phone 0039  329 41 67 40 3  Enrico Valbones
web page http://www.antigravity.it email : info@antigravity.it