Nuclearsecrecy.com is an online map that can help calculate the radius of damage from various types of nuclear weapons at any location. AIN.Capital tells about the creators of NUKEMAP and how to use it.
- This map was created by Alex Wellerstein from Stevens Institute of Technology, the author of Restricted data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the USA. He specializes in the history of nuclear weapons. The map itself has existed since 2011, but now, unfortunately, it has been actualized.
- In order to calculate damage from a nuclear explosion, you must first select a location on the map. Then, move the marker there (the atom symbol).
- After that, you must choose either the power of the yield (in megatons), or its type from the prepared list. There are no Russian weapons on the list, only the Soviet ones. But you can use analogues for calculation.
- For example, the power of the intercontinental nuclear warhead of the Topol-M missile complex reaches up to 1 Mt, the X-101 — from 300 kilotons to 1 megaton. Most tactical nuclear weapons yield several kilotons. 1 kiloton means the energy of the explosion, compared to the explosion of 1000 tons of TNT.
- You can also choose where exactly the imaginary bomb will explode: in the air, on the ground. As well as choose other effects, such as radioactive fallout.
- After that, you can click “Detonate” and witness the damage radius from its various effects. The map displays all of the effects: from the fireball damage to the light blast damage. For example, for the explosion of a bomb with a power of 1 kiloton, the damage radius will be around 1.18 km.
