You Can Now See What A Nuclear Detonation Over Manhattan Looks Like In This New VR Simulation

Nukemap VR simulates a nuclear bomb explosion in New York City to educate people about atomic weapons. Christopher Manzione; Reinventing Civil Defense/Stevens Institute of Technology

Business Insider: I just nuked Manhattan in a realistic new VR simulation, and the experience changed how I understand the bomb

* Nukemap VR is a new virtual-reality experience that lets users detonate a nuclear weapon in New York City.
* The simulation is designed to educate the public about the scale and scope of atomic explosions.
* The project is part of a $500,000 project called Reinventing Civil Defense at the Stevens Institute of Technology, which aims to "restore a broad, cultural understanding of nuclear risk."
* Future iterations of Nukemap VR, which is based on the interactive Nukemap tool, may let users simulate any nuke and location in the world.

Nuking the city of New York was terrifyingly easy and disturbingly informative.

From the bank of the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey, while gazing out at the Manhattan skyline, I simply moved my hand over a giant red button, and then pushed it in.

A bright white flash temporarily blinded me. About half a second later, a deafening blast akin to 1,000 thunderclaps pounded my ears. Next came an ominous and murmuring roar: the audible lingering aftermath of the nuclear explosion. The noise bounced around the area for what seemed like an eternity, yet was no more than a minute.

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WNU Editor: It looks like they still have a lot of work to do on this simulation. But once the rough edges are smoothed out, this simulation should be watched by everyone.