The Trestle Electromagnetic Pulse Simulator
A B-52 bomber sits atop the TRESTLE electromagnetic pulse (EMP) simulator at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico The facility is the largest wood-and-glue laminated structure in the world. Aircraft tested here are subjected to up to 10 million volts of electricity to simulate the effects of a nuclear explosion and assess the "hardness" of electrical and electronic equipment to the EMP pulse generated by a nuclear burst. Taken from
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project. What are Electromagnetic Pulses? One of the effects of a nuclear detonation is a nuclear electromagnetic pulse(EMP), an invisible field able to destroy every unshielded electronic device.
Enrico Fermi calculated the various parameters of the field before the first nuclear explosion but without much success. The gamma rays, travelling radially from the center of the detonation, produce positive ions and
Compton-recoil electrons that escape faster than the remaining ions, creating a strong electric field. Depending on the altitude of the explosion, the effect will have different consequences: for example, it is widely known that a nuclear explosion over the center of the US at 400-500 km could destroy any electronic and electrical device, including power lines and communication networks. And it is possible to produce the same effect without nuclear explosions, a fact that has already been used by the US Army to produce armament. Trestle was one of the first efforts to test equipment and devise protections against EMP, like metallic shielding or tailored hardening of the most susceptible circuits.
A satellite view of the facility
