(*Apologies to Qwest)

Hi Jacob,

All military components used for combat or military purposes are generally shielded from emp effects, with a few COTS purchased (commercial off the shelf) exceptions.

The protection against EMP pulse is really a protection against a simultaneous wave of amplified frequencies. I have worked on projects which protect military assets from EMP.

Without revealing anything classified, I can tell you that our assets can be defended from EMP not just by shielding but by circuit architecture and a fundamental understanding of what the wave does to electronic devices as it hits.

The US assets have been shielded for some time and our civilian assets are increasingly backed up by integral shielded computers which have been in usage since 1961. (An interesting read is FORTUNE magazine of November 1961 and the article "How the Economy can Survive a Nuclear Attack." by Gilbert Burck. An equally foreshadowing article in that same issue is "We're Drowning in Phony Statistics." Perhaps a nearby major library or university has this issue on microfiche? These old issues of FORTUNE were so much more honest and informative than today's issues!)

As mentioned below fiber optics and other light based data are narly impervious to EMP effects. These are becoming commonplace in some industries where data backup is a fundamental issue to survivability of the business. Exposed unshielded relays utilize FO connections for sustained data integrity.

(hence the title ride the light ;-)

I hope your ankle is feeling much better! 600 lbs is nothing to toy with!

Best wishes,

SDAI-Tech1