How hard will it be to make Aptera hardened against Electromagnetic pulse?
Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 5:05 pm
Posted by george-hughes on December 30, 2024 at 3:09 pm
https://aptera.us/community/discussion/ ... tic-pulse/
If you have heard of the Carrington event back in 1859 you have some idea of the danger of EMPs …or electromagnetic pulses. EMPs can come from both natural and man-made causes; the 1859 event being caused by a massive solar flare aimed directly at earth. It has been predicted that a “Carrington-level event” will occur once every 150-500 years, which, at 185 or so years since 1859, means we are due now and into the foreseeable future.
That event was early in the development of electronic tools and about the only thing using electricity in those days was the telegraph. The EMP created current in the telegraph lines and shocked telegraph operators and caused some of the wire to ignite from the increased energy.
Experts expect an event the magnitude of the 1859 event would largely devastate the electric grid on which ever side of the earth is facing daylight at the time of the event.
Experts are also aware of the danger of man-made EMP events, although the aftermath of such an attack would probably make the EMP attack the least of our problems.
Still, the insanity of unleashing such an attack might not end in nuclear winter; although the region so-attacked would have a long, hard recovery.
The purpose of this discussion is to suggest that the inclusion of a Faraday cage around the critical electronic components could be a life-saver for those who have the powered by the Sun Aptera. And because the Aptera is designed as a multi-generational vehicle with a useful lifespan of 60 or more years with upgrades, of all the vehicles on the road, the Aptera is most likely to encounter an EMP in its extended life. Compared to an ICE vehicle, the likelihood of impact by an EMP is at one-fifth that based on the longevity of the platform.
So, the real question is how easy might it be to harden the Aptera against EMP?
First, Carbon Fiber does conduct electricity so there is a lot of faraday cage material in play with the Aptera so hardening against an EMP may be comparatively simple to accomplish. Indeed, a test of some 50 ICE cars back in 2002 by an EMP study committee found that most cars are capable of withstanding such an attack with minimal disruption of service. The report I saw said something like 10 percent of the vehicles tested stopped running during the EMP used in testing. Seems the metal body and frame coupled with the insulation afforded by the tires, created, along with the shielding to minimize interference, acted as a faraday cage. Of the five cars impacted, one remained running but had an interruption of the radio signal and the four that stopped running in the test, were able to restart immediately.
This suggests that EMP protection may be as close as testing, but that is going to take engineers to contemplate what additional actions, if any, would ben necessary to isolate the electronics in the Aptera fro’l;k;’lk
Given the standard risk of EMPs is magnified by the Aptera’s long projected life, this potentially simple test may point out any simple to add hardening.
While Ford may have opted to roast their customers instead of installing a ten-dollar fix to the exploding gas tank of the Pinto, discovering and implementing a ten-dollar EMP fix, may be the smartest thing Aptera Motors did. ”cause if they’re the only vehicle running on not the day after an EMP, but two weeks later as the grid will still likely be toast causing real issues with both EV charging and ICE fueling as pumps and stations remain closed.
As suggested by the 2002 study of EMPs on cars of that era, most will likely survive such an attack and given that carbon fiber, like sheet steel, conducts electricity, it may be that Aptera is already able to survive an event. But, I would recommend Aptera be tested and be modified, if necessary, to survive an EMP incident for no other reason it makes the long-term life of Aptera more certain.
https://aptera.us/community/discussion/ ... tic-pulse/
If you have heard of the Carrington event back in 1859 you have some idea of the danger of EMPs …or electromagnetic pulses. EMPs can come from both natural and man-made causes; the 1859 event being caused by a massive solar flare aimed directly at earth. It has been predicted that a “Carrington-level event” will occur once every 150-500 years, which, at 185 or so years since 1859, means we are due now and into the foreseeable future.
That event was early in the development of electronic tools and about the only thing using electricity in those days was the telegraph. The EMP created current in the telegraph lines and shocked telegraph operators and caused some of the wire to ignite from the increased energy.
Experts expect an event the magnitude of the 1859 event would largely devastate the electric grid on which ever side of the earth is facing daylight at the time of the event.
Experts are also aware of the danger of man-made EMP events, although the aftermath of such an attack would probably make the EMP attack the least of our problems.
Still, the insanity of unleashing such an attack might not end in nuclear winter; although the region so-attacked would have a long, hard recovery.
The purpose of this discussion is to suggest that the inclusion of a Faraday cage around the critical electronic components could be a life-saver for those who have the powered by the Sun Aptera. And because the Aptera is designed as a multi-generational vehicle with a useful lifespan of 60 or more years with upgrades, of all the vehicles on the road, the Aptera is most likely to encounter an EMP in its extended life. Compared to an ICE vehicle, the likelihood of impact by an EMP is at one-fifth that based on the longevity of the platform.
So, the real question is how easy might it be to harden the Aptera against EMP?
First, Carbon Fiber does conduct electricity so there is a lot of faraday cage material in play with the Aptera so hardening against an EMP may be comparatively simple to accomplish. Indeed, a test of some 50 ICE cars back in 2002 by an EMP study committee found that most cars are capable of withstanding such an attack with minimal disruption of service. The report I saw said something like 10 percent of the vehicles tested stopped running during the EMP used in testing. Seems the metal body and frame coupled with the insulation afforded by the tires, created, along with the shielding to minimize interference, acted as a faraday cage. Of the five cars impacted, one remained running but had an interruption of the radio signal and the four that stopped running in the test, were able to restart immediately.
This suggests that EMP protection may be as close as testing, but that is going to take engineers to contemplate what additional actions, if any, would ben necessary to isolate the electronics in the Aptera fro’l;k;’lk
Given the standard risk of EMPs is magnified by the Aptera’s long projected life, this potentially simple test may point out any simple to add hardening.
While Ford may have opted to roast their customers instead of installing a ten-dollar fix to the exploding gas tank of the Pinto, discovering and implementing a ten-dollar EMP fix, may be the smartest thing Aptera Motors did. ”cause if they’re the only vehicle running on not the day after an EMP, but two weeks later as the grid will still likely be toast causing real issues with both EV charging and ICE fueling as pumps and stations remain closed.
As suggested by the 2002 study of EMPs on cars of that era, most will likely survive such an attack and given that carbon fiber, like sheet steel, conducts electricity, it may be that Aptera is already able to survive an event. But, I would recommend Aptera be tested and be modified, if necessary, to survive an EMP incident for no other reason it makes the long-term life of Aptera more certain.