EMP Environments from Surface and High-Altitude Nuclear Explosions

In a previous paper¹, this author briefly reviewed the theory of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) produced by nuclear explosions. The present paper will be devoted to describing typical EMP environments resulting from nuclear bursts at very high altitudes and at low altitudes within a few hundred meters from the ground. These two cases appear to comprise the most important ones for practical concerns about EMP effects on electrical and electronic systems. The results presented are obtained from calculations, but the general validity of the calculations rests on experimental data as well.