The blast rattled buildings on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, about 100 miles (160 km) away. A shock wave goes from zero pressure to its absolute maximum pressure in literally zero seconds. George, a boy that was born as the blast wave hit the hospital, is seen after birth in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media. Itâs a pressure wave, and that key difference affects the number of casualties expected. George, a boy that was born as the blast wave hit the hospital, is seen after birth in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media. Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, said damage from the blast extended over half of Beirut, with the cost of damage likely to be above $3bn. On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion blasted deadly waves through downtown Beirut. Blast damage assessment in Beirut is being carried out using two-dimensional satellite imagery. An explosion in the port of Lebanon’s capital on Tuesday devastated the city, Thu 6 Aug 2020 11.35 BST These approaches underestimate damage by failing to capture damage done to the sides of buildings. As an aside, nuclear weaponry is set to detonate several hundred feet above ground level, and therefore doesnât exert enough force directly on the soil to create a crater. “We have enough inventory and boats on their way to cover the needs of Lebanon on the long term.”. Then, video of the fireball rippled around the world almost as quickly. The speed of sound in air is 343 meters per second. Wired may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Thankfully, we know this blast did not produce a shock because the speed of the water-vapor-filled white dome can be measured. Germany, too, knows the destructive power of improperly stored ammonium nitrate, and an accident in that country reinforces the calculation of the charge size. © 2020 Condé Nast. This hemisphere is the pressure wave produced by the explosion. A MASSIVE explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday. ... shock wave and the mushroom cloud. Just after 9 am on December 6, 1917, in Halifax, mustachioed 45-year-old train dispatcher Vincent Coleman knew the lazy plume of smoke coming from the explosive-laden vessel in Halifax harbor was a terrifying portent of worse to come. Analysis of the aerial photographs of the pier shows a crater in the range of 120 to 140 meters in diameter; blast physics mixed with history tell us that to carve a chunk that size from the side of the planet requires a charge equivalent to 1.7 to 5.4 million kilograms of TNT (thatâs 3.8 to 11.8 million pounds for any Americans dragging their feet on converting to metric). The Halifax explosion resulted in the same series of events that, according to Duke University Hospital emergency room physician Dan Buckland, still occurs in emergency rooms today after mass casualty incidents. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. We spoke to promoters and DJs picking up the pieces, Signs of life detected in remains of building by port in Lebanon’s capital were of fellow rescuers, Available for everyone, funded by readers. For reference, the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 used the equivalent of 1.8 thousand kilograms of TNT. According to Brad Wojtylak, a special agent bomb technician and certified explosive specialist with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, when smoke plumes are large enough, they begin to catch the sunlight, and refraction will darken the normal colors produced by any explosion. From Beirut too, will gradually emerge stories of heroism and savvy, along with the final accounting of lives lost. In the 6 million-pound Halifax explosion of 1917, the propagation of the shock wave through downtown left a swath of fatalities reaching 1.5 miles from the center of the blast, killing an estimated 1,950 and leaving another 8,000 with devastating injuries. The explosion did trigger a powerful blast wave that apparently shattered windows across Beirut, and it was briefly visible as an expanding, shell-like cloud – something often seen in historical footage of nuclear detonations. Then by the time the audible crash and mayhem reached the formerly peaceful and picturesque outdoor bar, it had slowed to at most 289 meters per second. But their excess energy has to go somewhere. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. Wojtylak is not directly involved in the Beirut investigation but has 16 years of experience investigating blast accidents. Early reports of the blast revealed that the building that sparked the eruption may have been storing large quantities of ammonium nitrate, a flammable chemical that has relatively harmless manifestations as fertilizer but has also been experimented with as a rocket fuel. To a blast expert, the videos, with their roiling cloud of black and red curling over the pier of Beirut, scream âammonium nitrate.â. As reported earlier by Cristina Laila The National News Agency reported that the explosion was at a warehouse for firecrackers near the port.. A Powerful explosion has occured in Beirut. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesâfrom culture to business, science to design. When a smoke plume happens on such a large scale, only the longest wavelengths, the red shades, persevere all the way through to the viewer on the other side. Hospitals that were already dealing with the coronavirus crisis were quickly filled beyond capacity, and issued pleas for blood donations and generators to keep the lights going. On August 4, the world was rocked by footage of a fearsome explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Thanks to modern technology that charge size can be calculated scientifically too, even while waiting for more complete information to trickle out, using the size of the telltale crater. The warehouse that authorities claim was the site of the blast had been the subject of warnings going back to 2014, he said. The third wave is made up of those at the core of the site, too injured to walk, whom the emergency responders combing the wreckage medically prioritize next. The pressure wave, slower than the 343 meters per second speed of sound, caused destruction, horror, confusion, shattered glass, torn-apart flat surfaces, and disorientation for onlookers as their ears were subjected to the rapid pressure fluctuations. Flat, delicate, frangible, and installed in large sheets, glass is the perfect target for a blast wave of even minuscule magnitude; it shatters and flies easier than any other substance. An unspecified number of port officials have been ordered to be placed under house arrest pending an investigation, which is scheduled to take five days. After a blast in a civilian area, emergency responders arenât the only heroes. On Tuesday evening in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut, two huge explosions in its port sent an enormous blast wave across the city, killing at least 137 … In an explosion, however, the devilish little instigator that is oxygen shoves the process into overdrive. 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