Ground zero

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For other uses, see Ground zero (disambiguation)}}}.

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).

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Relating to a specific event, the term was first used to refer to the devastation caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki [link].

World Trade Center

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[[Citing sources citation needed]]. Rescue workers preferred the phrase "The Pile", referring to the pile of rubble that was left after the buildings collapsed.

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