Created in 2012 by Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science and nuclear weapons and professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, the Nukemap site shows you which nuclear weapon attacks a city or place of your choosing is within range. The map lets you choose from a wide range of nuclear bombs, from the 20 kiloton Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki in 1945 to the 100 kiloton “Tsa Bomb”, the largest bomb ever designed by the Soviet Union.
The map shows the radius of the first fireball created by the bombs, as well as the so-called heavy blast radius, where radiation caused death in about a month. In addition, it shows the area where serious burns occurred.
Nukemap has started to attract great attention recently due to the nuclear threat that came to the agenda during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Recently, it has been visited by so many users that there have been problems in accessing the site. In order to handle the heavy traffic load, a mirror of the site had to be created.
Wellerstein also says that by examining the way the map is used, people’s thoughts about nuclear attacks can be seen. Common usage is, “If there is a nuclear attack, will it touch me?” emerges as a search for the answer to the question.
You can access the Nukemap site here and run the simulations.
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