From: CMitch5046@a...
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 18:21:33 -0500
Subject: Re: EMP was Why big ships are too good...
> Alpha patticles would not pass through a ship's hull (alpha is stopped Yes but remember gamma particles will tend to collide with atomic nuclei within the ships hull and components thus ejecting high energy alpha particles and slow neutrons and this would be enhanced by the presence of armour especially if depleted uranium is used to give increased mass for the volume. It is these slower but still high energy particles which will harm unprotected systems (including the crew) However this is only the particle stream and ignores the effect of electro-magnetic pulse. When the EMP magnetic flux lines intersect a moving magnetically susceptible lump of metal massive eddy currents will be induced (of the order of thousands of amps). these will melt the gold connections within ICs swamp the depletion layers within semiconductors vapourise electrical insulation etc. Not to mention magnetising any metal around the ship. This would probably also result in emission of free electrons and other charged particles into everything within the ship. However did the ship designers really forget about Faraday cages!!!