Question

What is the theory behind EMP?

Community Answer

The idea is that any conductor passing current creates a magnetic field around it (yes, even a simple wire). Also, a magnetic field near a conductor induces a current through said conductor. The EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) device creates a strong magnetic field in a coil of some sort so the nearby electronics are induced current from that magnetic field. Since all ICs are basically transistors, and the transistor is switched by current, the ICs affected by the EMP stop working, and behave unexpectedly (like resetting, sending signals when they're not supposed to, etc.). If the EMP is strong enough, it can completely fry them.