The Nation - News from Dec. 26, 1986

Analysis of shock waves from tests on the Arctic island of Novaya Zemlya indicates that the explosive force of the Soviet Union’s most powerful strategic weapons may be one-third to one-half less than published estimates derived from military sources, two seismic experts said. The finding indicates that U.S. silo-based missiles may be less vulnerable to a Soviet missile attack than commonly thought, Lynn R. Sykes of Columbia University and Dan M. Davis of the State University of New York said in the January issue of Scientific American magazine.