EMP fields on a sci-fi planet: I need scientific insight!

[Turanil]

Well, still wondering about my next campaign, that should mix fantasy and sci-fi, I was thinking about EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse).

So, the first time I heard of EMP (sorry, but I am a clueless dude... ), it was in Matrix. For some time I believed it was some sci-fi device invented for the movie, nothing more. But then, a friend of mine told me that EMP really exist. So now, I want to know more about it, to see if I could use that as a setting device:

The world would be a planet orbiting a gas giant. It would have a thick atmosphere, making this world gloomy and misty, but protecting from the gas giant's radiations. However, at random times an electromagnetic storm would erupt from the gas giant and affect the orbiting planet. Wide areas on the side facing the gas giant would experience an electromagnetic storm that would disrupt and destroy electronic devices. As such, during the day (i.e.: side facing the gas giant), all robots, computers, etc. would be shut off for fear of the occasional and unpredictable EMP storm. (So basically machines are at work during the night and dormant during the day.)

So my question is about this setting idea from a scientific perspective:
-- Is it reasonably possible? (a gas giant that produces EMP storms that can affect the orbiting planet)
-- If electronic devices are deactivated (turned off) when EMP occur, do they remain unaffected by it?
-- Is it possible to shield an electronic device from an EMP?
etc.

Right now, my setting idea is a world where a minority of people have the technology, while other people (who obey them) live in ignorance and a primitive technological level that is unaffected by the EMP. Robots and the like (who are feared and seen as demons) only operate during the night when people lie in fear in their homes. (There is more to this idea, but I am not sure so many of you are interested in a long post about yet another setting )

Thanks for any clue!

 

[painandgreed]

So my question is about this setting idea from a scientific perspective:
-- Is it reasonably possible? (a gas giant that produces EMP storms that can affect the orbiting planet)
-- If electronic devices are deactivated (turned off) when EMP occur, do they remain unaffected by it?
-- Is it possible to shield an electronic device from an EMP?
etc.

Given the exotic conditions you could cook up with a large gas giant with a quickly rotating large magnetic core, I'd say it's possible. There could be something like lightning on a planetary scale that could cause an EMP burst along certan frequencies.

Although items that are turned off may be less succeptable to EMP, they are still affected. The base effect of EMP is the wires in the electronic devices picking up the passing magnetic field and acting as an antenna and the resulting electric current being more powerful than the circuitry is able to handle and burning something out. Turnign such items off during EMP storms is not out of place as they would be easier to ground and protect when off and the circuits would not already be at their limits of carrying current as they would when on.

Sheilding electronic devices against EMP a is fairly simple bit of engineering* as you basically just need a cage around it with the distance between the bars determined by the frequency of the electric field you are defendign against. A solid metal box should protect quite nicely against most EMP although you still have to worry about the holes in the box that you have to use to interact with the electronics inside (as well as nay gaps caused by the manufacturing process). It's just a mater of money and engineering usually involving extra weight. If might be cheaper to not run the robots during EMP storms than to sheild them, although mission critical systems (such as military bots) could be built to run during such storms.

*The idea that AIs as far advaced as there were in the Matrix couldn't shield themselves from EMP burst was ludicrous, but not as bad as the idea of using people as an energy source as far as physics is concerned.

 

[DanMcS]

The world would be a planet orbiting a gas giant. It would have a thick atmosphere, making this world gloomy and misty, but protecting from the gas giant's radiations. However, at random times an electromagnetic storm would erupt from the gas giant and affect the orbiting planet. Wide areas on the side facing the gas giant would experience an electromagnetic storm that would disrupt and destroy electronic devices. As such, during the day (i.e.: side facing the gas giant), all robots, computers, etc. would be shut off for fear of the occasional and unpredictable EMP storm. (So basically machines are at work during the night and dormant during the day.)

So my question is about this setting idea from a scientific perspective:
-- Is it reasonably possible? (a gas giant that produces EMP storms that can affect the orbiting planet)

I don't see why not, but moons tend to orbit close enough to their primary that I'm not sure being on the "night" side would be any good protection. None of the planets in our solar system have an electromagnetic field this strong, so you're pretty much making it up, feel free to have it work that way if you like. Makes for a good setup, so go for it.

-- If electronic devices are deactivated (turned off) when EMP occur, do they remain unaffected by it?

I don't think so. EMPs induce enough current flow in an electronic device that it can be damaged even if it's turned off, I think.

-- Is it possible to shield an electronic device from an EMP?

Yes. They don't tend to be terribly mobile, though, since it usually requires a good sized housing and heavy-duty insulation to shield something, though. So your robots might not be shielded, but their owners could probably build shelters that would be shielded enough for the robots to be corralled in during the daytime.

Electronics could probably be working inside such shelters all the time, not just at night.

See: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/1988/CM2.htm

5. Shut down and protect unneeded and redundant radio systems.
This will protect all radios that are not essential from the possibility of EMP (7:4-11).
6. When possible, use antennas that have small radiating elements. The smaller the radiating elements, the less susceptible to EMP (7:4-11).
7. Keep cable and wire runs as short as possible. The wire will act as an EMP conductor (7:4-12).
8. Keep cable runs as straight as possible--AVOID LOOPS. Loops will pick up more EMP than straight runs (7:4-12).
9. Keep cables and wire on the ground where practical. Elevating cables and wires will increase the EMP generated voltages and currents (7:4-12).
10. Use shielded twisted pair cables where options in use of cable exist. Twisted pair cables pick up significantly less EMP than unshielded cable (7:4-12).
11. Shielding is effective for EMP. Sensitive communications equipment can be protected from EMP if properly shielded in metal containers (7:4-12).
12. An effective EMP shield requires that all openings be closed with metal covers (7:4-12).
13. Maintain your EMP shields and shelters. Ensure all doors and access panels are kept closed (7:4-12).

 

[Turanil]

My setting idea (among other things) is that humans came to this planet a long time ago, with (of course) advanced technology, probably to harvest an exotic stuff (power crystals or what not).

Then, due to an interstellar war these humans were cut off from their original society, having to be stranded on this planet forever. Time passed, and they couldn't develop a whole industrial civilization, plus there was some power struggle from which came winners and losers. So, some people still hold the technology, spaceships, robots, can plug into the matrix, etc., while a majority of sub-class of serf live on the surface in ignorance, toiling for these people. But note that the original humans, who are also these leaders, are not adapted to the planet without the appropriate suits (which involve eletronics of course); while their serfs are.

Now things get complicated because of these electromagnetic storms. So if I understand well, provided the electronic stuff remains inside shelters, it remains okay. So, robots and humans in mecha-suits could only safely operate during the night, and access to the infosphere-matrix would likewise during short specific hours. And during the day you wouldn't be able to use electronic stuff, while plain old swords still function... a useful plot device.

BTW: I could well use elves and half-orcs for these two races. Originally all of them were humans; but the winners altered themselves to have extended lives, etc., so gaining lifespan and stats of elves, while the losers were altered into more dumb people but stronger to toil in the mines, able to see in darkness (it's a gloomy world), so gaining the stats of half-orcs. The rare true humans come from elsewhere.

 

[tarchon]

So my question is about this setting idea from a scientific perspective:
-- Is it reasonably possible? (a gas giant that produces EMP storms that can affect the orbiting planet)
-- If electronic devices are deactivated (turned off) when EMP occur, do they remain unaffected by it?
-- Is it possible to shield an electronic device from an EMP?
etc.

Yes
Depends on the design
Yes, though there are some limits

 

[tjoneslo]

So my question is about this setting idea from a scientific perspective:
-- Is it reasonably possible? (a gas giant that produces EMP storms that can affect the orbiting planet)
-- If electronic devices are deactivated (turned off) when EMP occur, do they remain unaffected by it?
-- Is it possible to shield an electronic device from an EMP?
etc.

I'll expand upon what DanMcS said.

EMP is a strong burst of radio waves, like putting something in a microwave oven. Electrical devices and electronics are particularly vunerable to this because they have metal in them which acts like an antenna, converting the burst of radio waves into electrial current. Many thousands of volts of electrical current. Sort of like being hit by a lighting bolt.

One thing that would induce EMP from a gas giant is to have the star flare periodically. A star flare procuces a huge burst of plasma moving at high speed through space, when it hits the Gas Giant's magnetic field, will produce a huge EM pulse. You can see a variation of this if you've ever seen the Northern Lights.

It is possible to shield electionic devices from EMP, as DanMcS link shows, by wrapping them in metal (tin foil works just fine). Air Force 1 is hardened against EMP for example, because they went through and wrapped every electronic and electrical component in metal, isolating it.

The other way to make electrical devices withstand EMP is to use extra heavy duty wiring and such. For Electronic devices, you would use vacuum tubes. Real 1950s retro-technology look and feel. Everything electrical massivly over-built to withstand the periodic current surges.

 

[Turanil]

Further questions:

One thing that would induce EMP from a gas giant is to have the star flare periodically. A star flare procuces a huge burst of plasma moving at high speed through space, when it hits the Gas Giant's magnetic field, will produce a huge EM pulse.

So it is possible, but wouldn't that affect lifeforms as well, and make the world barren and improper for humans? Unless genetical alteration could make people more resilent to it.

(BTW: could be great to explain a Darwin's World Like setting with a twist...)

It is possible to shield electionic devices from EMP, <...>

Maybe sufficiently advanced technology (such as PL6 or 7) can easily create such shielding, and thus this idea to have to shut off machines during EMP storms is ludicrous (thus invalidating my setting idea)??

 

[WayneLigon]

There are also ways of shielding things from EMPs, I think, or by building them from non-susceptible materials. It might still affect things, though. It's a cool idea about the storms. It could be that whatever kind of ship drive that exists, it can't function safely in those conditions, so the storms ground all traffic within a several hundred km area. It's good for creating that 'I'm sorry, the bridge is out.. you'll have to spend the night' atmosphere.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

There are also ways of shielding things from EMPs, I think

Like putting everything inside Farraday cages.

 

[EdL]

Now things get complicated because of these electromagnetic storms. So if I understand well, provided the electronic stuff remains inside shelters, it remains okay. So, robots and humans in mecha-suits could only safely operate during the night, and access to the infosphere-matrix would likewise during short specific hours. And during the day you wouldn't be able to use electronic stuff, while plain old swords still function... a useful plot device.

BTW: I could well use elves and half-orcs for these two races. Originally all of them were humans; but the winners altered themselves to have extended lives, etc., so gaining lifespan and stats of elves, while the losers were altered into more dumb people but stronger to toil in the mines, able to see in darkness (it's a gloomy world), so gaining the stats of half-orcs. The rare true humans come from elsewhere.

And firearms will also work just fine, thank you very much.