Could a microwave save your electronics during an EMP attack?

Not sure if I am posting this in the right forum, but thought you guys might find this interesting.
I came across an article today that seems to prove that you can use a microwave oven as a Faraday box; saving any electronic equipment placed inside in the event of an EMP attack.

Source

The walls of the microwave are made of conductive metal, with the viewing hole similar to a mesh wall in a Faraday cage, making a microwave a hybrid Faraday cage. I measured the holes on my microwave and they come out to 1 milimeter; small enough to theoretically block a pulse with a frequency of up to 300 GHz. An electromagnetic pulse would give off energy with a variety of frequencies, but your microwave should block the bulk of them.

In the article they are attempting to debunk this theory, but they do not succeed.

So does anyone think this is possible? Would an electromagnetic pulse be likely to emit frequencies higher than 300GHz?

That is very interesting indeed! My physics knowledge is only superficial unfortunately

I know this is slightly off-topic because it doesn't involve a microwave but would it be possible to turn a house into a faraday cage?

Wouldn't that protect most of the electronics in the house?

Its a very interesting concept, the only down side to this knowledge is timing.

To get the positive effect of protecting your items from a EMP attack, you would have to house them full time inside the microwave, and then you have to remember they are there and not accidently cooking them

If there would be an EMP attack, there would be no warning and therefore no time to protect your loot.

Originally posted by Swizzy
That is very interesting indeed! My physics knowledge is only superficial unfortunately

but would it be possible to turn a house into a faraday cage?

Wouldn't that protect most of the electronics in the house?

Absolutely. However, who would wish to live in a cage? Perhaps shield only a room.

reply to post by Swizzy

I have very limited knowledge of physics as well so I couldn't answer that.
It would be a lot more useful though. That's a very nice Warwick collection you have there by the way, if you have no luck converting your house into a Faraday box you will need a pretty large microwave to save those babies

reply to post by Swizzy


what about the windows???

good idea on first thought, but when you think of the practicality of it, doesn't work.

however, doing one room in the house (computer room) might not be a bad idea.

here's the other thing to consider... if you're the only one with a computer or cell phone, but the infrastructure to make these things work is destroyed, what good will they be. you could still play games on your phone until the juice runs out maybe, and how would you turn on the computer without power. Certainly, the internet would be down.

reply to post by TetsuoIronMan


Since a microwave is designed to keep its microwave radiation inside, it would make sense it would work in reverse. I'd say this is pretty plausible.

microwaves as the new safe in times of war.

Sure it might work, but, unless you have an exceptionally large microwave, it doesn't seem to be a very practical idea.

reply to post by Swizzy


that is possible i have spoken to electricians who were contracted to make rooms for a home in build; whom the home builder wanted a room done this way.

While the article makes it seem impractical, you can always use an older microwave that may be sitting in your basement or garage that hasn't been used in ages.

And you could always store older electronics that rarely see use, like an old smartphone or even the components of an old, no longer in use computer disassembled without the case.

my friend said something about a layer of styrofoam and tinfoil...(we were talking about how to protect cars from EMPS)
no joke xD.
I was like. REALLY, TINFOIL? even my CAR needs a tinfoil hat now?
yes, I'll make a HUGE tinfoil/styrafoam box to keep my car in until that day comes.

you beat me to it...what about cars? does anyone have any clues on protecting them from emp? think its more important than most other things...however am planning on getting another compact laptop or maybe another ipad just to download maps,medical data,essential manuals etc.
but first and foremost how to i protect my madmax toys from the zap?

hmm maybe fiberglass in-wall insulation with built-in thick foil layer...

and tin foil roofing

might be promising invention?

reply to post by Jason Paul

Yes this is more along the lines of what I was thinking too. You could store any spare equipment that might come in handy in a SHTF scenario. Not necessarily any thing like a phone, as this would be useless after an EMP, but something like a solar battery charger or something else useful like that.
When you come to think of it there aren't many electrical devices that you would actually need in this scenario, but I am sure others could think of a few things.

reply to post by vipertruck99

I am not sure about how you would modify a car to protect from EMP but as far as I am aware any old cars or trucks with points ignitions and carburettors are already EMP proof as they are fully mechanical with no electrics for the engine. An old Chevy 4x4 for example would be ideal in a survival situation.

reply to post by TetsuoIronMan


Yes, pre-1984 vehicles are already fairly safe against EMP, and if you have any advance warning, the battery can be disconnected, the terminal leads touched together or grounded to something else to relieve any stored capacitance, and that is a pretty good safeguard against EMP.

If I was really, really concerned with having a vehicle after an EMP, then I would rig a large disconnect switch to a pre-1984 4x4, and I would rig an alligator clip to a grounding pole driven in the ground, and then I could be 99.9% sure that the vehicle would fire up after reconnecting everything.

The way EMP is being depicted here is not exactly the way it works.

The effect EMP has on electronic devices depends greatly on how large of an "antenna" (for lack of a better word at this time) a device has to collect the EMP. By most standards I have read, a device needs around a 3m "antenna" to collect enough EMP to start destroying electronics.
Most household electronics would be destroyed because they are plugged into the electrical grid, that is quite a large "antenna"!!

If one had enough warning to put stuff in a microwave oven (which in theory should work, just unplug it first. ), one could also go around and unplug everything else thus effectively reducing the amount of EMP those devices receive exponentially.

There is also some question as to how EMP would effect electronic ignitions, as they are already shielded to some degree. Remember, it is the job of the electronic ignition to generate electrical impulses in the 10,000 to 20,000+ volt range, so it already has to withstand some degree of EMP to operate. That said, the car body that it is grounded to has a awful lot of metal surface area to collect EMP. So, much of it would be dependent on distance and whatever barriers exist between the car and the initial blast point.

I guess what i am trying to say is that it is not so black and white, there are multiple factors involved and quite honestly not enough real world examples to draw hard conclusions on.

reply to post by Dreamwatcher

There is also some question as to how EMP would effect electronic ignitions, as they are already shielded to some degree. Remember, it is the job of the electronic ignition to generate electrical impulses in the 10,000 to 20,000+ volt range, so it already has to withstand some degree of EMP to operate. That said, the car body that it is grounded to has a awful lot of metal surface area to collect EMP. So, much of it would be dependent on distance and whatever barriers exist between the car and the initial blast point.

You are exactly right. Except EMP's also amplify existing power sources. So, for your car, you would want the body and the main power supply and grounding cable all grounded outside the vehicle directly to the ground, and you would want the 12-volt battery disconnected. If you did those things, the majority of the solid-state electronics would probably survive, but the less electronics the better your chances are. That is why you want to go back to a pre-1984 vehicle if possible.

There are also lists of parts one can buy and have on hand. If stored in a faraday cage, they can be quickly swapped out with the effected parts to get a modern vehicle running again.

Ive heard this theory before. I think you can even use an old metal lunchbox, lined with something like styrofoam.
Ive been wondering about our house. We live in a duplex, and a neighbor said these buildings were made with chicken wire in the walls. He said "theyre practically Faraday cages."
I recently watched the movie "The Darkest Hour." And in the movie they made a faraday cage for their apartment, the cat, themselves, and a horse. Yeah, "its only a movie." But it was interesting. They even made "microwave guns" to fight the alien invaders.
hmmm.....