Using Physics:
Bombs and
Explosions
O
ne of the most infamous days in American history surrounds the
largest bomb blast ever detonated on American soil. American
citizens Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols placed the bomb in
Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The 5,000-pound bomb
was designed to do one thing: kill people. The explosion blew away the north
side of the building and resulted in 168 deaths. This building was chosen for
a reason—it was the location of many government agencies, the target of these
homegrown terrorists.
On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh drove a rented moving truck to the
front of the building and parked it, knowing the effect it would soon have on
the lives of the people inside, and around the country. At 9:02 a.m., late enough
in the day that the building would be filling with people, the bomb exploded,
tearing apart the building and shaking the entire city. The blast damaged more
than three hundred buildings in the surrounding area.
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