Faraday Cage conceptual question 1

[dalcazar]

Hi guys

I'm active on some of the other forums, but I have little to no knowledge of electrical engineering so I don't know enough to figure out the answer to my question. This is for a story I am writing so I'll break it down into some logical steps.

1) Will an EMP or high frequency radio pulse set off inside a Faraday cage affect any electronic components outside of the cage?

2)If the answer to question 1 is no, if a hole were to be cut into the cage, say of an area that is about 5 to 10% of the total area of one of the sides of the cage, and electronic circuits were placed in front of this hole, within line of sight of the source; would the EM or radio pulse be capable of damaging those circuits? And if so, would the wave that escapes through that hole be diminished in any way by the size of the hole?

3)Independantly of the other two questions, would a small magnetic field generated at a point on the wall of the cage be in any way impeded or dissipated by the cage? I know that static magnetic fields penetrate Faraday cages, but I'm unsure as to whether their generation on the cage wall would affect this principle.

thanks for your help!

 

[IRstuff]

1) Possibly, depending on how the cage is physically constructed. Many cages use a mesh screen, which may allow penetration at higher frequencies. Only a solid, seamless metal structure will block all transmission.

2) Without a doubt. Any hole that you can physically put things through will pass even relatively low frequency RF and microwave. The smaller the hole, the less penetration. Anything frequencies above 100 MHz will penetrate any hole larger than about 1 mm.

TTFN

FAQ731-376