Ground zero
Ground zero is the exact location on the ground where any
explosion occurs. The term has often been associated with
nuclear explosions, but is also used in relation to earthquakes, epidemics and other disasters to mark the point of the most severe damage or destruction. Damage gradually decreases with distance from this point.
The term may also be used to describe the impact point of any exploding
bomb. In the case of a bomb which explodes above ground, the term refers to the point on the ground directly below the bomb at the moment of detonation (see
hypocenter).
The term was military slang—used at the
Trinity site where the weapon tower for the first
nuclear weapon was at point 'zero'—and moved into general use very shortly after the end of
World War II (see
Manhattan Project).
Relating to a specific event, the term was first used to refer to the devastation caused by the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki [
1].
Many journalists applied the term to describe the former site of the
World Trade Center of
New York City, which was destroyed in the
September 11, 2001 attacks. Rescue workers preferred the phrase "
The Pile", referring to the pile of rubble that was left after the buildings collapsed.
The term has loosely been applied to several of the cities and towns struck by
Hurricane Katrina in August
2005, such as
New Orleans,
Slidell,
Louisiana,
Gulfport,
Biloxi, and
Waveland,
Mississippi, and
Mobile,
Alabama.
*
History of the Word Ground Zero
