What exactly happens to an electronic device when hit by an EMP? Can it be turned on again?
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If you move a magnet along a wire, it generates electricity. An EMP is an electromagnetic pulse. It is a large, powerful magnetic field that appears and disappears very quickly. If this electromagnetic pulse passes over a wire, it will also generate electricity.
So when an EMP occurs near an electronic device, it generates electricity in every conductor inside the device. If the EMP is weak, this just disrupts the device’s operation. Imagine you have a sensor that detects 0.5V coming from a switch and triggers a motor. An EMP might induce 0.5V in the wire that goes to the sensor, even when the switch is closed. The 0.5V is literally generated *in* the wire by the magnetic field that passes over it.
If the EMP is very strong, it can generate a lot of voltage. Components inside electronic devices are only rated to handle specific amounts of voltage. Beyond that rated voltage, they fail in various ways. For example, a component called a capacitor is able to store a small amount of electric charge, kind of like a tiny rechargable battery. If you supply too much voltage, the insulation inside the capacitor will fail, and it will no longer be able to hold a charge, making it useless.
The distance between the origin of the EMP and the device matters a lot. Magnetic fields lose strength *very* quickly as you move away from the source. They follow something called the inverse square law. In order to effectively deploy an EMP, you need a *very* powerful pulse, or you need to be *very* close to the target.
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