A Note on EMP Safety Hazards

The character of transient electric fields induced in spherical homogeneous tissue models of man and animals by incident electromagnetic fields similar to that originating from lightning and EMP generators has been theoretically determined. The magnitude of the induced fields is found to be approximately proportional to the time rate of change of the incident field and independent of the pulsewidth. It was also found that maximum EMP induced field in spherical shaped bodies is nearly proportional to the radius of the body. Therefore, for EMP safety standards, more consideration should be given to the time rate of change of the incident field rather than to the pulsewidth, and when laboratory animal data are used as a guide they should be extrapolated to account for body size.