SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
North Korea's nuclear test site at risk of imploding, Chinese scientist says
The single mountain under which North Korea most likely conducted its five most recent nuclear bomb tests, including the latest and most powerful on Sunday, could be at risk of collapsing, a Chinese scientist said.
By measuring and analyzing the shock waves caused by the blasts, and picked up by quake stations in China and neighboring countries, researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, said they were confident that they were all carried out from under the same mountain at the Punggye-ri test site.
[...] Another test might cause the whole mountain to cave in on itself, leaving only a hole from which radiation could escape and drift across the region, including China, he said. "We call it 'taking the roof off'. If the mountain collapses and the hole is exposed, it will let out many bad things."
[...] Based on the fact that North Korea has a limited land area and bearing in mind the sensitivity of its nuclear program, it most likely does not have too many suitable peaks to choose from. How long the mountain would continue to stand would also depend on where the North Koreans placed the bombs, Wang said. "If the bombs were planted at the bottom of vertically drilled tunnels, the explosion would do less damage," he said.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday September 07 2017, @04:36AM (7 children)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 4, Funny) by aristarchus on Thursday September 07 2017, @04:51AM (6 children)
Are you aware that both the United States, The Soviet Union, and China, conducted open air surface tests of nuclear weapons, which caused fallout which resulted in radioactive fallout that probably explains the Bundy's? So North Korea has not done much harm, yet, unless their mountain collapses. I am picturing small, rabbit-like animals, Pikas? Growing to enormous size, and eventually attacking Pyongyang, and then Seoul, and eventually, with that sort of eventual that only the Japanese can pull off, Tokyo. What would you call a 120 foot/ 40 meter tall Pika? Sir? Pikachu? Pikazilla! OMG! It all makes sense now. Pokemon, the doom of humans.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday September 07 2017, @05:08AM (1 child)
It should be an army of giant mutated Tangrowth, come to take vengeance for all their cousins processed into delicious spicy kimchi.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Informative) by aristarchus on Thursday September 07 2017, @05:28AM
Naruhodo! Or なるほど
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 07 2017, @05:51AM (1 child)
Maybe the USA should start a big-badass-fighting-robot program... you know... just to be sure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 07 2017, @06:23AM
Way ahead of you. [megabots.com]
The battle [theguardian.com] is scheduled for this month, but I couldn't find the exact date.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 07 2017, @06:31AM
The app alone caused enough destruction, I don't think they'd bother with all the resources required to pull off such a world ending event.
(Score: 2) by Hawkwind on Friday September 08 2017, @02:33AM
And the world will turn to Ash.
Been wanting to make that Pokemon joke for a while.