What Is An
EMP?
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) has the potential to disrupt, degrade and damage technology, electronics and critical infrastructure systems.
In 1859 an EMP hit America. It was absolutely devastating to the telegraph lines, the only kind of electrical device they had. Some lines were seen to be smoking, and in some instances, telegraph operators actually received shocks. The U.S. government says if the same EMP hit America today, it would be an absolute catastrophe. At least 95% of all vehicles would stop operating because they have very sensitive computers on board. Approximately 5000 computer-controlled aircraft flying over America at any given time would fall from the sky. The EMP would fry the electronics and render them useless. As a matter of fact, the U.S. government estimates that if an EMP hit America today as it did in 1859, 90% of Americans could starve to death because there would be no vehicles to bring food to the supermarkets.
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Whether man-made or naturally occurring, EMPs can affect large geographic areas, disrupting elements critical to the nation’s security and economic prosperity. An EMP could also adversely affect global commerce and stability. The Federal Government has ordered that states must foster sustainable, efficient and cost-effective approaches to improving the nation’s resilience to the effects of EMPs.
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In late 2019, the Trump Administration issued an EXECUTIVE ORDER concerning preparedness for electromagnetic pulses.
WHAT IS AN EMP?
FONTAINEUM™
GAMe
CHANGER
Our patented material, Fontaineum™ is a game- changer. Current protection methods involve “hardening” of electronic components – surge protectors and Faraday cages – which, at best, will protect 30% of the critical components.
EASY
ASSEMBLY
Fontaineum™ is much simpler, considerably less expensive, and 100% effective. The material is 1 ½” thick and when assembled in 12” X 12” blocks essentially “boxes in” any electronics.
SHIELD
TECHNOLOGY
When covering large
pieces of electronics, such as cell tower receivers or transmitters, the material is placed a few inches above and around the sides covering the electronics from all angles in the event of an EMP.
FONTAINEUM™
in action
FONTAINEUM™
WHO CAN USE
CELL
TOWERS
The more than 100,000
cell towers throughout America
ENERGY
GRID
The more than 300,000
power utilities on our energy grid
OIL & GAS INDUSTRY
The more than 100,000 miles of pipeline within the oil & gas industry
BANKING &
FINANCIAL
SECTOR
MILLIONS of square feet of
data storage
AIRLINE
INDUSTRY
The more than 16 Million flights
domestically every year
MILITARY
The more than 225,000 vehicles and
430 ships in the U.S.military fleet
PROTECTING
THE GRID
If an EMP from a solar flare or a nuclear bomb were to hit the American grid with the intensity of the 1859 Carrigan event after it had been hardened using traditional protection devices, would the grid go down?
The answer to that question is “yes”. The grid has two Achilles' heels: transformers and routing computers. In 1989 Quebec was struck by a minor EMP. The province was plunged into darkness for a number of days. It cost billions of dollars in repairs. High voltage and step-down transformers were mostly destroyed. Some even exploded.
The traditional method of protecting a transformer is to place a metal cover over it; however, the majority of the pulse will pass through the cover. In 1859 the transatlantic cable was destroyed after the EMP passed through an average depth of two miles of water. It penetrated a braided steel wire that surrounded the copper conductor. The braided steel did not protect it. A steel cover on transformers will only partially protect them. A strong EMP will pass through the steel, induce a DC current in the windings, and - because of internal resistance - the transformer will be destroyed.
There are approximately 350 large, high-voltage transformers in America. Even the loss of a small percentage of these would cause the entire grid to fail. We must protect them, as they could take as long as two years to replace.
The other Achilles' heel of the grid is its routing computers. The traditional method of protecting them from electricity induced into the grid is utilizing voltage suppressors and covering them with a Faraday cage. Both of these systems are inadequate. According to the Lightning Protection Institute, all voltage suppressors - including gas tubes, silicon avalanche diodes, etc - will not stop an EMP pulse of 1.5 nanoseconds. They only react after 3-4 nanoseconds. As a result, the EMP passes through and destroys the computer.
The Faraday cage will stop an AC impulse from passing through, as that is what it is designed for. An EMP, however, is DC and will pass through and destroy the electronics. There are many privately owned grids in the country. None of them is hardened using traditional methods. Perhaps they realize they would be spending a lot of money for inadequate protection.
How then do we protect the grid? The transformers and computers must be covered with our EMP Protection Shield. Like a bullet proof vest, our product stops the EMP halfway through its 1.5 inch thickness. This is half the battle. The EMP will induce electricity into the line. It must be prevented from entering the transformers and computers. This is accomplished by placing in series capacitors on the input and output of all transformers. All power going to the computer must pass through capacitors.
This method allows AC to pass through in order to power equipment. But capacitors block and will not allow the DC of an EMP to pass through. Sometimes a difficult problem has a simple solution.
All the technology we have recommended has been proven in a circuit-killer EMP simulator.
PROTECTING THE GRID
Jack Fontaine
Inventor of the Fontaineum™ Shield
Jack Fontaine
Inventor of the Fontaineum™ Shield
The Fontaine family patent portfolio is literally “all around you” each and every day. When you jump in your car and grab your retractable seatbelt – you just used a Fontaine patent. When you turn the key and the door locks automatically – that too is a Fontaine patent. And if you forget to fasten that seat belt and a beeper warns you that you need to buckle up – that is also a Fontaine patent.
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Jack Fontaine spent his formative years in a family of inventors. With over 160 patents to their name, Jack assisted his father, John Fontaine, in the invention of such products as an automatic answering machine (originally named the "Code-a-Phone" and marketed by AT&T) and the automatic door lock for automobiles. Jack has individually received 4 patents, including one for a portable home security system marketed as "Safe House" by Tandy Corp., and another for a pool alarm system designed to prevent children from straying too near to the pool's edge when alone. His most recent product, Fontaineum™ Shield, is patent pending.
Jack has also been a Christian radio broadcaster for 35 years, hosting a Bible program overseas called The Discipleship Hour. The program is heard internationally and translated into four languages. His broadcasts are facilitated through the satellite and transmitter sites of Trans World Radio. Jack’s proceeds from the sale of Fontaineum™ will be used by his non-profit ministry to continue broadcasting God’s Word and assisting the poor.
JACK FONTAINE
Inventor of the Fontaineum™ Shield
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Nicholas William Betzold, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
Advisory Board Member
Velocity Wireless, LLC
Board Member
CBMC South Florida
Born in Tallahassee, Nick’s family moved from Tampa to Chicago at an early age. After attending University of Illinois and Trinity Christian College, he founded Betzold Research & Trading, a Chicago-based broker/dealer and investment bank, back in 1994. After selling his interests in 2004, Nick finally came home to Florida where he lives and works in Boca Raton. He recently accepted the position of CEO at Universal EMP Shield Corporation where he is building a company around the first 100% effective atmospheric shield against a High Atmosphere Electromagnetic Pulse attack--which poses an existential threat to America. Additionally, he is an Advisor to Velocity Wireless, LLC, helping them develop their site and lease management business in the 5G space throughout North America. Nick is also a Board member of Christian Businessmen’s Connection (CBMC) South Florida and is passionate about bringing God's love to people in the workplace and doing that, specifically, by building into Christian Business Owners and CEOs—who are also committed to teaching, and in some cases mentoring, Young Professionals.
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T: 773-600-5350
Nicholas William Betzold, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
Nicholas William Betzold, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
FAQ
Would a Faraday cage protect electronics from an EMP like the one that hit America in 1859?
The answer is no, for two reasons:
In the first place, the Faraday cage uses electricity to operate and is connected to the grid! The 1859 EMP came in two waves separated by hours. When it happens again, the first wave will take down the grid even if it’s hardened (it will blow the fuses). When that happens the cage will be without power and unprotected. The second EMP will destroy everything in the cage. In the event of a nuclear EMP attack it is likely that more than one bomb will be used, with the same result.
The second reason the Faraday cage will not protect electronics is because it was never designed to. In 1836 Michael Faraday discovered that by putting an electric charge on the outside of a metal cage, the shield would prevent another field from passing through; however, this is only true if the offending field is alternating in nature, like a radio wave.
The cage IS useful for certain applications of shielding, such as microwave ovens and isolation of radios from outside interference. An EMP, however, is a direct current in nature and will penetrate even a thick cage. The 1859 pulse destroyed the transatlantic cable deep under the ocean. The Soviets in the 1960s detonated a nuclear device in outer space above one of their own cities. It destroyed underground power lines and even fried electric generators that had no electronics!
Our Universal EMP Shield requires no electricity and will protect even the most sensitive electronics from the worst case scenario. The US government has stated that the only safe place in America from an EMP is 2,000 feet beneath Cheyenne Mountain where their NORAD facility is located. This emphasizes the importance of a reliable system of protection which is not yet in use.
In summation, a Faraday cage would help mitigate an EMP to some degree; but in the case of another 1859 event, everything in the cage would be destroyed. This conclusion was reached through extensive testing using a powerful 40,000 volt EMP simulator that creates a broad spectrum E1 arc most similar to a nuclear explosion. We would be happy to demonstrate the effectiveness of our Universal EMP Shield to any interested parties in order to verify that all the information contained herein is true.
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Will Fontaineum™ Shield protect electronics from lightning?
The answer is yes!
Cell, radio and television towers are the most susceptible to lightning strikes. Although the tower itself acts as a lightning rod, the destructive EMP created by the strike fries the sensitive transistors in three ways:
1. Induction into the feeder lines connected to the antenna
2. Induction into the grid supplying power to the tower
3. Induction directly into the transceiver and computers
The first two avenues of induction are for the most part already solved by existing
suppression and transient diodes. We would add our own transient suppressors to the existing ones to make all wires going into the electronics 100% EMP proof.
The third avenue of destructive induction is eliminated by covering all electronics (either individually or the entire room) with our Universal EMP shielding.
Closing these three avenues will fully secure the tower and its systems from lightning or any other EMP event.
CONTACT
For product information or technical questions, please call Jack Fontaine at (954)-540-0822
For a demonstration of our product, or for any financial questions, please call our Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Betzold at
(773) 600-5350 or email him at: nbetzold@betzoldcapital.com
You can also contact us through the form below. We would love to hear from you!