E-Bomb Souryojit Ghosh B10032

8/8/2019 E-Bomb Souryojit Ghosh B10032

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/e-bomb-souryojit-ghosh-b10032 1/14

E-Bomb-The Future Of Weapons

Souryojit Ghosh

Praxis business School

Batch (2010-2012)

Roll no- B10032



Abstract

Electromagnetic bombs (E-Bombs) are technically becoming more feasible with the advent of High Power

Electromagnetic Pulse generation techniques and High Power Microwave technology, with new

applications in Strategic and Tactical Information Warfare. A very short, intense energy pulse is

generated by the weapon producing a surge of thousands of volts that kills semiconductor devices. The

effectiveness of the weapon is determined by the power generated and the characteristic of the pulse.Various governments around the world are involved in extensive research for building the E-Bomb and

want to use it against terrorists.

The Alternative To Guns and Bloodshed

The theory behind the idea of the E-bomb was proposed long back in the year 1925 by

physicist Aurthur H.Compton to not built weapons but to study atoms. He experimented that by firing a

stream of highly energetic photons into atoms that have a low atomic number, will cause them to eject a

stream of electrons. This effect is also known as the Compton Effect. It was instrumental in unlocking the

secrets of the atom. It was the nuclear research that led to the unexpected discovery of the power of the

Compton Effect which finally led to the inception of the E-bomb. The detonation of the hydrogen bombs

high over the Pacific Ocean by nuclear weapons designers in the year 1958, resulted in creating bursts ofgamma rays that on striking the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere released a shockwave of

electrons that spread for hundreds of miles. The damage caused was so extensive and widespread that

street lights were blown out in Hawaii and radio navigation was disrupted for 18 hours, even in places as

far away as Australia. The U.S then came up with the idea to develop Electromagnetic weapons.

The Electromagnetic shockwave produces the Electromagnetic pulse and this pulse of

energy produces a powerful electromagnetic field, which can be strong enough to produce short lived

transient voltages of thousands of volts on exposed electrical conductors such as wires or conductive

tracks on printed circuit boards which are exposed. The EMP effect as it is called is of great military

significance as it can do irreversible damage to a wide range of electrical and electronic equipment such

as computers, radio or radar receivers. The equipment can be permanently damaged or electrically

destroyed depending on the electromagnetic hardness of the electronics, a measure of the equipments

resistance to this effect and the intensity of the field produced by the weapon. The damage caused would

be the same as the effect caused by exposure to close proximity lightning strikes and may require

complete replacement of the equipment. Computer equipment would be very sensitive to EMP effects, as

it is high quantity of Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) devices which are very sensitive to exposure to

high voltage transients. Computers which are used in communication systems, road and rail signaling,

military equipment such as signal processors, electronic flight control and digital engine control systems

etc would all be vulnerable to the EMP effect. Other electronic devices and electronic equipment can also

be destroyed by the EMP effect. Equipments such as telecommunications equipment, radar and

electronic warfare equipment, satellite, microwave, UHF, VHF, HF, Low band communications equipment

and television equipment having lengthy copper cables between devices, high frequency transistors,

diodes will be very vulnerable to the EMP effect.

Key technologies that are existent to form the technological base in E-bomb are

explosively pumped Flux Compression Generators (FCG), explosive or propellant driven Magneto-

Hydrodynamic (MHD) generators and a range of High Power Microwave(HMP) devices such as the

Virtual Cathode Oscillator or Vicrator. The following figure has the typical EMP shapes for a Nuclear EMP

Transient, Lightning stroke and Flux Compression Generator.



Flux Compression Generators

In bomb designs the explosively pumped FCG is the most developed technologyapplicable. It has been built and tested in U.S, Common Wealth of Independent States and India to name

a few countries. A FCG is a device which is a competent of producing electrical energies of tens of

MegaJoules in tens to hundreds of microseconds of time and is quite a compact package. The power

peak levels of the order of TeraWatts to tens of TeraWatts. The current that is produced is ten to a

thousand times greater than that produced by a typical lightning stroke. A start current produces the

magnetic field before the explosive initiation. A high voltage capacitor bank or a smaller FCG or a MHD

device gives the initial start current. The helical FCG is most commonly used as; its cyndrical form factor

lends itself to packaging into munitions. The following diagram shows the helical FCG and how the

explosion takes place inside the cylindrical chamber over time.



The cylindrical copper chamber forms the armature and the tube is filled with fast high

energy explosive. The FCG could disintegrate due to the intense magnetic fields produced during its

operation. This problem is dealt by adding a structural jacket of a non magnetic material such as concrete

or a fiberglass in a epoxy material. The explosive will be initiated when the start current peaks. This can

be done with a explosive lense plane wave generator which will produce a uniform wave burn front in the

explosive. The front then propagates through the explosive in the armature, thereby distorting it into a

conical shape. A short circuit is formed between the ends of the stator coil thereby isolating the start

current and trapping the current within the device. This compresses the magnetic field whilst reducing the

inductance of the stator winding, which will ultimately result in the generator producing a ramping current

pulse, which will peak before the final disintegration of the device. In adapting the FCG to weapons

application the main technical issue lie in packaging, the supply of the start current and matching the

device to the intended load.

Explosive and Propellant Driven MHD Generators

The design of the explosive and propellant driven Magneto-Hydrodynamic

generators is much less complex than that of the FCG. Their potential mainly lies in the start current

generation of the FCG devices. The MHD device consists of a conductor that is moving through a

magnetic field which will produce an electric current across the direction of the field and the conductor

motion. A plasma of ionized explosive or propellant gas acts as the conductor, which travels through the

magnetic field in an explosive or propellant driven MHD device.

High Power Microwave Sources- The Vircator

A HMP overcomes the limitations of the FCG, its output power is tightly focused and

its ability to couple energy into many targets is much better. There are a wide range of HMP devices that

exist. A few examples of the available technology base are Relativistic Klystrons, Magnetrons, Slow Wave

devices, Reflex triodes and Vircators. The Vircator is ideal as a device for a bomb, the reason being that

the Vircator is a one shot device capable of producing a very powerful single pulse of radiation and is

mechanically quite simple, robust, small and can operate over a relatively broad band of microwave

frequencies. In the Vicrator a high current electron beam is accelerated against a mesh anode, many

electrons pass through the mesh anode, thereby forming a bubble of space charge behind the anode

which will oscillate at microwave frequencies. High peak powers can be achieved by placing the space

charge region in a resonant cavity.

The Axial Vircator (AV) and the Transverse Vircator(TV) are the two

configurations of the Vircator. The best power outputs in experiments is produced by the Axial Vircator. It

has a cylindrical wave guide structure. The power is extracted by transitioning the waveguide into a

conical horn structure, which functions as an antenna. It oscillates in the Transverse Magnetic (TM)

modes. On the other hand the Transverse Vircator will inject cathode current from the side of the cavity

and will oscillate in a Transverse Electric (TE) mode. There are certain technical issues in the Vircator

such as output pulse duration and stability of oscillation frequency. These can be overcome by limiting

anode melting, controlling cavity mode hopping, conversion efficiency and total power output.



segment of the cable run is cable run is likely to be oriented so that good coupling efficiency can be

achieved. The defense that is provided to the target equipment by the transformer and cable pulse

arrester once breached voltages even as low as 50 volts can inflict substantial damage upon the

computer and communications equipment. The ability to directly couple into equipment through

ventilation holes, gaps between panels and poorly shielded interfaces is offered by HPM weapons which

operate in the centimetric and millimetric bands. Microwave weapons can be more lethal than low

frequency weapons as they can couple more easily than low frequency weapons and in many cases

overcome the protection devices designed to stop low frequency weapons.

The figure shows a low frequency E-Bomb in a MK.84 packaging. The helical FCG is present in 2

stages, the coaxial load is present in the front of the weapon just in front of the explosive switch.

Wiring and cabling related back door coupling is dealt with to determine the known lethal voltage level

and using this, the required field strength is found to generate this voltage. The lethal radius of theweapon can be calculated using the known field strength. The following figure shows the E-Bomb lethal

radius.



Targeting Electromagnetic Bombs

Identifying targets for attack with E-Bombs can be complex. Buildings, military

bases, known radar and communication nodes are all targets that can easily be identified and engaged

in. Hidden targets that do not radiate too much, may present a problem particularly if conventional means

of targeting is employed.

The Delivery of Conventional E-Bombs,

The conventional E-Bomb can be fitted to a range of delivery vehicles. A

conventional aircraft can offer a better ratio of electromagnetic device mass to total bomb mass. A missile

borne electromagnetic warhead will consist of a electromagnetic device, an electrical energy converter

and an onboard storage device such as a battery. With the advent of the GPS satellite navigation

guidance kits for conventional bombs and glide bombs, delivering such weapons has become quite

cheap.



Defense Against Electromagnetic Bombs

The most effective way to defend against electromagnetic bombs is to destroy the launch

platform or the delivery vehicle. This option however is not possible always and the equipment is then

susceptible to the electromagnetic waves. The holistic way to protect the equipment against the E-Bomb

is a electrically conductive closure called a Faraday cage, which will prevent the electromagnetic field

from gaining access to the protected equipment.

The following figure contains of a computer room hardened against an EM attack, which

has taken its concept from the Faraday cage. It consists of an electrically conductive lining on the border,

a mesh shield with electromagnetic seal, an airlock, doors with electromagnetic seals and radiation trap.

The facility should not readily radiate detectable emission.



Limitations of Electromagnetic Bombs

The limitation of the E-Bomb is determined by the weapon delivery and means of

delivery. The implementation will determine the electromagnetic field strength attainable at a given radius

and its special distribution. The means of delivery will consist of the accuracy with which the weapon is hit

on the target. Also the lethal coverage of the weapon is extremely important and for that the atmospheric

propagation can be a limitation.

Uses of the E-Bomb

The E-Bomb can be used in Electronic combat operations, strategic air attack operations,

Offensive counter air operations and maritime air operations by the military against terrorists. The bomb is

economically quite feasible as few terrorists organizations claim that it can be made for approximately

$400. Though the government don’t accept that.

Conclusions

Electromagnetic bombs are weapons of electrical mass destruction and have varied

applications, spanning both strategic and tactical. The E-Bombs cause hard electrical kills over much

larger areas than conventional explosive weapons of similar mass. As it doesn’t cause bloodshed and kill

people the use their use is far less politically damaging and conventional bombs and therefore broadens

the range of military options available. They can thrust a civilization backward to 200 years with no kind of

technology available to man.



References

1) http://cryptome.quintessenz.org/mirror/ebomb.htm

2) http://www.lizmichael.com/ebomb.htm

3) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hpm.htm

4) Wikipedia

5) Google

http://cryptome.quintessenz.org/mirror/ebomb.htm


http://www.lizmichael.com/ebomb.htm


http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hpm.htm





E-Bomb Souryojit Ghosh B10032

Documents

Transcript of E-Bomb Souryojit Ghosh B10032