The term ground zero (sometimes also known as surface zero as distinguished from zero point) describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ground zero refers to the point on the ground directly below the detonation (see hypocenter).
The term has often been associated with nuclear explosions and other large bombs, but is also used in relation to earthquakes, epidemics and other disasters to mark the point of the most severe damage or destruction. The term is often re-used for disasters that have a geographic or conceptual epicenter.
Read more about Ground Zero: Trinity, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, The Pentagon, World Trade Center
Famous quotes containing the word ground:
“On every tree a bucket with a lid,
And on black ground a bear-skin rug of snow.
The sparks made no attempt to be the moon.
They were content to figure in the trees
As Leo, Orion, and the Pleiades.
And that was what the boughs were full of soon.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)