Seismologists Monitor North Korea Nuclear Blast
February 25, 2013
North Korea this month set off its third nuclear test device of the past decade. And like the previous tests, this one created vibrations in the earth that could be detected around the world. Now, seismologists - scientists who normally study earthquakes - are analyzing the explosion's impact.
It’s been almost 70 years since the atomic age was unleashed. The United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to the end of World War II. While the memories of the devastation still linger, the events also opened up an international race for nuclear superiority.
Eight countries today consider themselves nuclear-weapon states. A ninth, Israel, neither confirms nor denies it possesses the bomb. The most recent entry is North Korea. It conducted its third nuclear underground test on February 12th.
Seismologists around the world had their monitors almost literally light up when the latest North Korean nuclear test took place. Won-Young Kim and Paul Richards have monitored all three.
“The first one was magnitude 4.3, the second one was 4.7, and this one was 5.1. When it becomes greater than five there is a good chance a lot of seismographic stations throughout the world will be able to record it," said Kim.
North Korea is the only country to test nuclear weapons in the 21st Century. These scenes show North Korean engineers working in a nuclear lab. According to seismologists, the latest test is still smaller than the weapons dropped on Japan in 1945.
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