It’s no secret that atomic bombs are incredibly powerful. We’ve all seen images and videos of mushroom clouds laying waste to anything and everything in its path.
But what happens when an atomic bomb detonates below ground?
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You might be thinking it’s just a huge explosion of dirt into the air, right? Nope, not quite.
Watch this intriguing video from YouTube channel, AtomCentral:
According to IFLScience blog, “[The blast] subsequently causes the earth beneath the bomb to become compressed, while most of that above it is displaced by the force of the blast, causing a massive hollow to develop beneath the surface.”
In other words, a crater is formed because the soil above the bomb redirects the blast into the earth that gives the perception that space is collapsing in on itself.
Nuclear Vault posted a similar video back in 2010 from a different angle that better exemplifies the earth “collapsing,” similar to how it might look if a black hole emerged and began swallowing everything in its path.
You’re welcome, science nerds.
