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Comment by cordite | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how many would die because freezers and microwaves stopped functioning.

It's not just that; transportation and production would be affected as well.

The trucks that move food and the tractors that plant it would stop working just the same as the freezers and microwaves. In addition, payment networks would be dead so you'd be left with the cash in your pocket and no way to get more. Not hard to see how quickly society would start to collapse at that point.

You have low standards for society if you it would crumble that quickly.

Granted there would be some chaos, but I really don't think people would so rapidly 'devolve'.

I propose that GP is closer to the truth than you may believe. All of the modern logistical systems in place (in the US) are based on embedded controls. Train switching is hugely important for freight, and there hasn't been an 18-wheeler manufactured in the last 15 years (at least) without electronic engine and braking controls. Those together are the lifeblood of American logistics. If these control systems are simultaneously borked and not repaired/replaced, grocery stores would show empty shelf sections within weeks and would have to adjust their business models quickly to stay open.

Industrial food machinery would be likely disabled by anything strong enough to affect logistical systems. No more pasteurized milk from automated systems, there goes >80% of supply. Anything not driven by a belt or shaft would be taken out. That means that the farming machines in use today which allow a farmer to produce orders of magnitude more food than a century ago "may" work, depending on how they're controlled. Most modern systems have electronic controls of ancillary systems, but many farmers can get around that sort of thing in a pinch.

Also, anyone on life support would die. Anyone requiring dialysis would likely die. Hospitals would have power from generators, but their power distribution and control systems would be fried. Doctors are able to use modern knowledge but have to look everything up in books. Digital patient records are inaccessible. Medicine supplies are restricted to what is on hand, which likely amounts to less than a month's stock. This is due to logistics, but also to the control systems in place at pharma manufacturing plants being fried.

This is just food and medicine. All programmers who can't hardware hack become farmers and traffic control officers until power comes back, which could take time considering the machinery to make modern transformers has digital controls.

This assumes that factories have inadequate EMF shielding, which is the premise of the situation.

Does this assumption also include the other half of the World ignoring the affected? You raise some excellent points, but I think for chaos levels to reach society-crumbling status, it'd need to stop the whole World.

Then absolutely, it would be devastating and the resulting power-struggle when trying to maintain order within so many ranks of authority throughout various Governments would end in disaster.

However, if the other half of the World is relatively unscathed, I don't think they would let the other half just fall into oblivion.

New Orleans, post-Katrina. Cash would have less necessity, but if you have a gallon of gasoline, or water, or a can of soup ... you can barter for whatever you need.

... or if you have lead.

I wasn't there, but from the pictures it looked like televisions and beer were the commodities in highest demand (followed closely by lead).

> microwaves

wat.

There exist people who basically cannot cook without a microwave.

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