Hereinafter, electromagnetic disturbance (EMD) is any natural phenomenon that produces a magnetic change in or around a network such that the magnetic change is sufficient to cause a disturbance, an undesirable operation, or an unintended consequence in the network. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is an adverse effect caused by an EMD on a network, such as the disturbance, the undesirable operation, or the unintended consequence caused in the network by an EMD. A non-terrestrial EMD is EMD occurring away from the surface of Earth, such as in the upper atmosphere of the planet, in the vacuum of space outside Earth's atmosphere (outer space), or in deep space.
A variety of networks are adversely affected by EMDs. For example, an electrical power distribution network may experience a power surge in a transmission line, a communication network may experience data corruption in a network link, or a control network of other types—such as for controlling a natural gas line, an oil pipeline, water treatment facility, power generation plant, and the like—may experience a disruption or corruption of the signaling.
It is generally understood that an EMD, such as those caused by solar winds or solar storms, corona mass ejection from the sun, supernovae and other cosmic events, and the like, are disruptive to a variety of networks on Earth. The disruptions can range from transient effects to long term or even permanent damage. A transient effect adversely affects a network for a short duration and then allow the network to resume normal operations. An example of a transient effect is a tripped circuit breaker, which can be reset quickly to resume operations.
A long term or permanent damage adversely affects a network in such a way that recovery from the damage takes a significant amount of time and often requires replacement of equipment or reconstruction of a facility. Burnt transformers, burnt boards in data processing systems, burnt power lines are some examples of long term or permanent damage.