EMP threat

Scientists Invent Concrete That Could Stop an EMP

EMP became a key concern for nuclear war, and it was often assumed the opening shot would be a gigantic nuclear bomb detonated in low-earth orbit over the United States, to cripple the Pentagon's ability to fight back. As a result military power systems, communications, and weapons were "hardened" against its effects. This involves placing whatever you want to protect in a so-called Faraday cage, a metal enclosure that prevents the pulse from getting in. Those fancy new wallets you've seen that claim to block RFID hacking? Faraday cages.

Now, UNL engineers Christopher Tuan and Lim Nguyen and have come up with a concrete mixture that would also block an electromagnetic pulse. The researchers were originally attempting to come up with a concrete that would melt snow and ice from infrastructure such as roads and bridges. It was only after they had invented the concrete they realized it had the ability to block electromagnetic energy.