http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml

I have read about these things several times in the past... Can anyone with a little more knowledge of electronics tell me how they work? I understand they use powerful microwave pulses, but how does that cripple electronics? Is the damage temporary or permanent?

It creates a massive electromagnetic field that induces huge voltages across conductors. (Remember that this is basically how generators work. They move physical magnets that induce electricity in coils of wires. The e-bombs replace the magnets with a microwave pulse, and it only happens once instead of continuously.) It should basically fry any electronic system, as they're generally not going to have the capacity to deal with kilovolt or megavolt sized EMFs.

They say that the effective range is fairly small and nearly impossible to direct, though.

technical paper on e-bombs

They say that the effective range is fairly small and nearly impossible to direct, though.

I dunno, sounds like this one worked... For a few hours at least. I guess the enemy has backup systems... CNN said that when they restored it, the signal was a lot weaker.

That doesn't mean that it won't work; it's just that the placement has to be fairly precise (no Patriot delivery systems) and even then it might not work, as the microwaves could conceivably be reflected off of stuff that seems innocuous. (As I understand it; I'm not an EM expert by any means.)

(It's pretty hard to direct the explosion of a hand grenade, but they're pretty effective. )

I rather like the glittery-bomb thingies. They basically drop a lot of metal filings in the air, shorting out LOTS of stuff. I'll see if I can find a link.

Well, here's a link that further explains e-bombs.