Sept. 4, 1961 - A new Soviet nuclear test took place early today over Central Asia, the Atomic Energy Commission announced. It was the second Soviet nuclear explosion in three days. It appears that the device today was considerably smaller than the one detonated Friday. The estimate of Friday's detonation placed that device in the power range of between 100 and 500 kilotons. Although Premier Khrushchev has said the Soviet Union can develop a bomb in the 100 megaton range - equivalent to 100 million tons of TNT - the current Soviet tests appear to be confined to "conventional size" atomic devices. However, some specialists think that the small devices now being tested might be intended as trigger mechanisms for the super-bombs.
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