I came across this article from Sandia Labs while doing some non-related research. Since some previous posts touched on EMP, I thought this would be worth sharing. It's a quick, easy read, too, which isn't the norm from the majority of Sandia papers.
https://www.sandia.gov/news/publications/labnews/articles/2018/07-12/EMES.html
The ElectroMagnetic Environment Simulator, or EMES, consists of a hippopotamus-sized Marx generator that sits alone in a small laboratory. The large capacitor bank stores electrical energy and releases it upon command. The resulting blast of energy, in the form of an electromagnetic pulse, can be focused on a target every 15 minutes. Absorbers at the far end of the test chamber gobble up the energy not absorbed by the object being tested.
...“An EMP pulse generated by an adversary would be an attempt to disrupt our communications or other equipment,” said Leonard Martinez, the Sandia researcher in charge of the timing and firing control system. “Recent advancements now enable us to provide that pulse within a microsecond of the unit’s timing requirement.”
The idea is to explore the effects of the energy pulse by testing an item at critical moments during its processes. Learning when and where a problem may occur in the unit permits engineers to design better EMP shielding to prevent such upsets.
Sandia’s EMES testing process involves trundling components into the target area, subjecting them to the rapidly peaking EMP and then removing them to make way for the next item to test. Preliminary results are provided immediately, Leonard said, and a longer report with more extensive analysis is issued later...
Earlier versions of the pulse-producing machine operated from 1978 to 1994. The test facility lay fallow until after the 9/11 attacks, when it was resurrected to test communications across the nation in the event an adversary could generate an EMP in or near the United States.
“‘Could we still communicate? Would our radios, televisions, microwave ovens and refrigerators work after such a pulse arrives,’ was the question,” Leonard said...
https://www.sandia.gov/news/publications/labnews/articles/2018/07-12/EMES.html
The ElectroMagnetic Environment Simulator, or EMES, consists of a hippopotamus-sized Marx generator that sits alone in a small laboratory. The large capacitor bank stores electrical energy and releases it upon command. The resulting blast of energy, in the form of an electromagnetic pulse, can be focused on a target every 15 minutes. Absorbers at the far end of the test chamber gobble up the energy not absorbed by the object being tested.
...“An EMP pulse generated by an adversary would be an attempt to disrupt our communications or other equipment,” said Leonard Martinez, the Sandia researcher in charge of the timing and firing control system. “Recent advancements now enable us to provide that pulse within a microsecond of the unit’s timing requirement.”
The idea is to explore the effects of the energy pulse by testing an item at critical moments during its processes. Learning when and where a problem may occur in the unit permits engineers to design better EMP shielding to prevent such upsets.
Sandia’s EMES testing process involves trundling components into the target area, subjecting them to the rapidly peaking EMP and then removing them to make way for the next item to test. Preliminary results are provided immediately, Leonard said, and a longer report with more extensive analysis is issued later...
Earlier versions of the pulse-producing machine operated from 1978 to 1994. The test facility lay fallow until after the 9/11 attacks, when it was resurrected to test communications across the nation in the event an adversary could generate an EMP in or near the United States.
“‘Could we still communicate? Would our radios, televisions, microwave ovens and refrigerators work after such a pulse arrives,’ was the question,” Leonard said...
