A nuclear weapons test with an explosive yield of less than 20,000 tons of TNT was conducted in the Nevada desert Thursday, the Energy Department reported.
"It looks like a very good test, with no problems at all," DOE spokesman Jim Boyer said as he watched monitors in a control facility 11 miles from ground zero. "The test has gone off as expected. I see nothing to indicate any kind of problems."Boyer said he felt a gentle swaying motion following the underground blast, compared with previous tests that have produced jolts for observers at the control point.
The test registered 4.4 on the Richter scale at the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., according to spokesman Waverly Person.
The test was pre-announced Tuesday as having an explosive yield of 20 kilotons to 150 kilotons of TNT, the largest test allowed under the Limited Test Ban Treaty.
The nuclear weapon was buried 1,600 feet beneath the surface of Yucca Flat, 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas.