Posted on 04/25/2018 9:58:22 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
North Korea’s nuclear test site has collapsed ... and that may be why Kim Jong-un suspended tests
The mountain’s collapse after a fifth blast last fall has led to the creation of a massive ‘chimney’ that could leak radioactive fallout into the air, researchers have found
North Korea’s mountain nuclear test site has collapsed, putting China and other nearby nations at unprecedented risk of radioactive exposure, two separate groups of Chinese scientists studying the issue have confirmed.
The collapse after five nuclear blasts may be why North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared on Friday that he would freeze the hermit state’s nuclear and missile tests and shut down the site, one researcher said.
The last five of Pyongyang’s six nuclear tests have all been carried out under Mount Mantap at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea’s northwest.
One group of researchers found that the most recent blast tore open a hole in the mountain, which then collapsed upon itself. A second group concluded that the breakdown created a “chimney” that could allow radioactive fallout from the blast zone below to rise into the air.
A research team led by Wen Lianxing, a geologist with the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, concluded that the collapse occurred following the detonation last autumn of North Korea’s most powerful thermal nuclear warhead in a tunnel about 700 metres (2,296 feet) below the mountain’s peak.
The test turned the mountain into fragile fragments, the researchers found.
(Excerpt) Read more at scmp.com ...
Uh...no...
You care to elaborate then, or do you just like to negate?
The North Koreans
I just ran across two highly interesting Persons while researching “Rods from God”. One of my finds was Dr. Jerry Pournelle (deceased)(http://jerrypournelle.com ) and from that website, Bob McCarty (http://bobmccarty.com ). Both published/blogged some highly interesting things, and seemingly Pournelle was involved with the Rods from God.
The 100KT test was probably what did it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost key people including some Pakistani who happened to be there.
Since all the basic information for this article comes from highly controlled Chicom sources, it looks like Little Kim really freaked the Chicom big brother out and big brother started pressuring him into making a deal.
Even a few Iranians..........................
Is that what the new code name for HARP is?
I saw a blurb it was being fired up the other week or so.
A fifth-world country like North Korea is not competent to develop nuclear weapons, missiles, etc.
It was inevitable that something like this would happen!!
And it serves Little Kim right for not enabling the development of an economy and a country that would be a decent place for its citizens to live in!!!!
Is that a scene from a G.I. Joe movie? The movie depiction was pure fantasy.
The large RFG might tip the energy scale at 100 ton TNT equivalent. One important point to consider is that the RFG energy delivery is highly focused similar to a self-forging anti-armor munition. The RFG either punches a through-hole, or hits sufficient resistance to generate an impact shatter cone through a barrier.
There has been a LOT of casual speculation about the “Rods of God vs Fat Boy” theory.
Problem is we don’t/didn’t have the lift capacity to get ‘em into orbit. A tungsten telephone pole is HEAVY - about 20 tons. A SpaceX Falcon 9 (current common-lift rocket) can only take _one_ up; the Falcon Heavy could lift 3.
So while the prospects of that scenario are tantalizing, the ugly fact is we can’t lift any up there without getting noticed.
The Soviets had a similar massive disaster with their space program: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe
The story behind the story is that the Nedelin was vainfully confidant enough to watch the test close up, maybe as a way to sort out those not “with the program”, but as such, all the suck-ups as well as the ones afraid of Nedelin more than the hurriedly built rocket, joined Nedelin up close and personal.
Or else
(Dang scamming refinancing commercials...)
See #36 - it would take an entire SpaceX Falcon 9 to put just _one_ “tungsten telephone pole” RFG into low orbit. Hard to hide that.
Deployed by the XB37 maybe???
Er, #52
Er, #52
I am actually a proponent of RFG, I think its a powerful idea. But I know a few practical things that will for the foreseeable future prevent us from deploying such a system.
First, space systems are really expensive, and in most cases, once you launch its impossible to update anything but software. So what goes on orbit has to last for many years in the future using yesterdays technology.
Second, orbit dynamics means it takes lots of satellite to cover the globe with a capability to respond anytime and anywhere. Combine that with the expense of the system, and you can probably get a lot more by investing in Earth launched hypersonic systems. If I can get anywhere on the globe with hypersonics in 20 minutes, that’s as good as having to wait possibly hours for a satellite to get where the orbit mechanics are favorable to launch RFG. And its easier to maintain the hypersonic vehicle in the hanger.
Third, none of this is going to happen without someone knowing we have the capability or that we used it. If we had RFG’d the NK site, both Russia and China would know, and that would lead to all kinds of other problems.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.