To Crack a Mountain: The physics behind the Fordow strike

To Crack a Mountain: The physics behind the Fordow strike

The mountain The mountain was meant to be eternal. Like the strongholds of Tolkien’s Middle-earth, it was carved not merely from stone but from belief, the belief that depth meant safety, that granite was stronger than intent, that what lay buried could be made untouchable. Near the holy city of Qom, Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility was sealed beneath nearly eighty meters of rock and reinforced concrete, a modern Erebor built to outlast war, sanct…