Rodman99999...You ask..."Is there a way around the effects of an EMP bomb yet?"
Yes, but if I told you all the details I would have to kill you :-)
Actually there are multiple techniques; some obvious like shielding, but lead is heavy (bad) so we use as little as possible. As I was a systems engineer the exact details of making ICs "rad-hard" are not my expertise, but the general idea is that the runs and other parts of the chip are larger (less miniaturized) than non-rad-hard parts, and they run slower (more current). Computer memory is the worst problem, but there are some types of memory that will not only remain operable after exposure but also will not lose data. That is, unless you are reading or writing when the blast hits, so data is stored multiple times to assure a good set will be available for use when the system recovers. Also, there is an ultra-fast radiation detector which turns off much of the circuitry power so it won't destroy itself with runaway turned-on transistors. Recent generations of guidance systems have included a star tracker which observes a preselected star once we are in space, and development of a solid state video chip (CCD) that is rad hard was not easy, and an old fashioned vacuum tube!!! vidicon which is inherently rad-hard was still used in systems that were otherwise very sophisticated.
The radiation which the system must tolerate is not primarily from the enemy, but rather from our own bombs going off in a massive retaliation. (Horrible thought).
Interestingly the spec rad levels for this military application are not as high as exists in the Van Allen belts (which is why satellites don't orbit at that altitude) or inside nuclear reactors, or for some spacecraft missions.
Finally, the underground nuclear tests that we used to do were not primarily to make sure the bomb went off (as most people assume) but rather to verify under real conditions the radiation hardening of various military electronics. We know the stuff works. And so do the Ruskies, which is the whole point of the exercise.
Yes, but if I told you all the details I would have to kill you :-)
Actually there are multiple techniques; some obvious like shielding, but lead is heavy (bad) so we use as little as possible. As I was a systems engineer the exact details of making ICs "rad-hard" are not my expertise, but the general idea is that the runs and other parts of the chip are larger (less miniaturized) than non-rad-hard parts, and they run slower (more current). Computer memory is the worst problem, but there are some types of memory that will not only remain operable after exposure but also will not lose data. That is, unless you are reading or writing when the blast hits, so data is stored multiple times to assure a good set will be available for use when the system recovers. Also, there is an ultra-fast radiation detector which turns off much of the circuitry power so it won't destroy itself with runaway turned-on transistors. Recent generations of guidance systems have included a star tracker which observes a preselected star once we are in space, and development of a solid state video chip (CCD) that is rad hard was not easy, and an old fashioned vacuum tube!!! vidicon which is inherently rad-hard was still used in systems that were otherwise very sophisticated.
The radiation which the system must tolerate is not primarily from the enemy, but rather from our own bombs going off in a massive retaliation. (Horrible thought).
Interestingly the spec rad levels for this military application are not as high as exists in the Van Allen belts (which is why satellites don't orbit at that altitude) or inside nuclear reactors, or for some spacecraft missions.
Finally, the underground nuclear tests that we used to do were not primarily to make sure the bomb went off (as most people assume) but rather to verify under real conditions the radiation hardening of various military electronics. We know the stuff works. And so do the Ruskies, which is the whole point of the exercise.