underground testing
Below-surface nuclear trials
Underground testing refers to the detonation of nuclear weapons in deep shafts or tunnels beneath the earth's surface.
This method became standard after the 1963 treaty banned atmospheric tests, containing radioactive fallout within the surrounding rock.
The facility conducted underground testing for decades before the moratorium.
The term occasionally applies to other concealed trials—of products, software, or drugs—conducted secretly before public release.
- nuclearOf atomic energy
- nuclear armsWeapons using atomic fission
- bunkerReinforced subterranean stronghold
- secretConcealed information
- top secretHighest classification level
subterranean · explosion · fallout · Nevada · Cold War · arms race · bomb · radiation · seismic · classified · tunnel · concrete · blast · shock wave · test site · contamination · covert · desert
- Nuclearnuclear reactor, atomic bomb, nuclear energy, atomic bombs, uranium
- nuclear radiationradiation exposure, radiation poisoning, radioactive isotopes, fallout, nuclear meltdown
underground, testing, under, ground, undergrounds, grounds, grounded, grounding, groundless