click link for wider views http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/15/article-2101508-11BF02C3000005DC-326_308x185.jpg

Since the end of the Cold War more than 20
years ago, the prospect of nuclear
Armageddon has gradually faded from the
popular consciousness.

But with approximately 23,000 nuclear
warheads still thought to be in existence,
there is still more than enough nuclear
firepower available to basically end life on
Earth.

Now those interested in finding out how
much damage a nuclear strike would cause in
their home town can find out, thanks to a
new online app.


click link for wider views http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/15/article-2101508-11BF01FB000005DC-579_634x626.jpg


This picture, taken from the Nukemap, shows
the level of destruction that would be caused
if the Tsar Bomba - the largest USSR bomb
designed - was dropped on London

A wider view shows just how apocalyptic the
circle of destruction would be



CIRCLES OF DEVASTATION: A KEY TO THE
NUKEMAP DATA

These figures are for the proposed
100megaton Tsar Bomba, the biggest bomb
ever designed.

Fireball radius: 3.03 km / 1.88 mi
Maximum size of the nuclear fireball;
relevance to lived effects depends on height
of detonation.

Radiation radius: 7.49 km / 4.65 mi
500 rem radiation dose; between 50% and
90% mortality from acute effects alone; dying
takes between several hours and several
weeks.

Air blast radius: 12.51 km / 7.77 mi
20 psi overpressure; heavily built concrete
buildings are severely damaged or
demolished; fatalities approach 100%.

Air blast radius: 33.01 km / 20.51 mi
4.6 psi overpressure; most buildings
collapse; injuries universal, fatalities
widespread.

Thermal radiation radius: 77.06 km / 47.88
mi
Third-degree burns to all exposed skin; starts
fires in flammable materials, contributes to
firestorm if large enough.

Source: nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap
Alex Wellerstein, historian of science at the
American Institute of Physics, has designed
the Nukemap to show the scale of destruction
nuclear weapons can cause.

The app, which uses Google Maps, allows
users to choose any destination in the world
and then drop a nuclear bomb of their choice
on it.

Dragging the marker to London and
detonating the Russian Tsar Bomba - at 100
megatons, the biggest bomb ever designed -
shows just how terrifying the prospect of
nuclear war would be.

A 100 megaton nuclear bomb would be equal
to the effect of exploding 100milllion tons of
trinitrotoluene (TNT).

According to Dr Wellerstein's calculations, the
radius of the fireball would be 1.88 miles,
obliterating everything from St Pancras in the
north to Kennington in the south.

The radiation radius would stretch to 4.65
miles, coating the whole of London transport
zones one and two with a 500 rem radiation
dose, which would kill up to 90 per cent of
people within weeks.

But most of them would already be dead
thanks to the air blast radius of 20.51 miles,
which would demolish even most heavily built
concrete buildings as far afield as Enfield,
Woking and Slough.

And even though the bomb was dropped in
central London, the thermal radiation radius
stretches to 47.88 miles - meaning people as
far south as Eastbourne and as north as
Cambridge would suffer third-degree burns
and be trapped by firestorms.


This Nukemap image shows how a Tsar
Bomba H-bomb would pretty much wipe the
entire North West region off the face of the
planet

Other shocking results in other parts of the
country show how even the Yorkshire Dales
and Sheffield could be wiped out with a blast
in Manchester and Nottingham and
Northampton affected by one in Birmingham.
Thankfully, Russian engineers lost their nerve
before building the Tsar Bomba. Afraid of the
global effects of such a massive explosion,
they only ever tested a version of half the
strength.

Nevertheless, that still caused an explosion
bigger than would have been caused by a
conventional bomb packed with all the
explosives used in the Second World War.
Dr Wellerstein, who is a Ph.D graduate from
Harvard University, says he uses the
'Nukemap' to bring help his students
understand the implications of nuclear
warfare.

'I've done different types of map based
teaching for the students because I've found
that students don't really have a sense of
how big a nuclear explosion is,' said the 30-
year-old, who lives with his wife in
Washington, DC.

'What I like about the map is it makes the
explosions look large and impressive but it
shows it isn't the end of the world.
'I think a lot of people think a nuclear
weapon goes off and everybody gets blown
up or disappears.

'The reality is the buildings would collapse
and you would be set on fire, which makes it
real and scarier.'

If a Tsar Bomba were exploded over the
centre of Birmingham, almost the entire
Midlands would suffer

Dr Wellerstein, who specialises in the history
of nuclear weapons, says because of Google
Maps' limitations it isn't possible to calculate
the scale of the death toll.

But he thinks it wouldn't be that hard to work
out by taking into account the population
sizes of the area you destroy.

'The calculations match historic events well.
It matches Hiroshima almost exactly but they
are approximations,' added Dr Wellerstein.
'You're talking about the effects it could have
on different landscapes and whether the
buildings are built from wood or concrete,
but the map does give you a very good idea
of what the major effects would be.'

A Tsar Bomba dropped in Glasgow would
cause devastation from coast to coast in
Scotland

Of course, jokers will choose their least
favourite town and drop the bomb just to see
the effects, and Dr Wellerstein says humour is
a good defence given the dark subject
matter.

He said: 'It has a response from people who
say, "Haha I've just nuked my home town".
But on the other hand you have the dread
and that's very potent.

'It's a dark realisation, I've plotted a terrorist
bomb at the capital where I live and thought
"that's not very good for me" quite a few
times.'

If Cardiff were to be targeted with a
mammoth bomb, the effects would be felt
across Devon and Cornwall

The Nukemap's reception has taken the
historian by surprise - with a staggering 700
people using the app and 1,500 individual
detonations within its first three days online.

And while people could accuse the 'Nukemap'
of promoting violence, Dr Wellerstein says he
only created the app to display facts and
insists there is no political motive involved.

'Most of the people who talk about it are
anti-nuclear protesters,' he said.

'They like it because it highlights the danger
they create. I'm sort of in the middle on all
this so I don't see it as having a particular
message.

'I don't think nuclear weapons will be go any
time soon but I hope we don't use them. The
map is just laying out the facts of it, there is
no political message from me.'

www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2101508/Want-know-effect-nuclear-bomb-home-town-Theres-app-that.html

Just one Tsar bomba can destroy a country.

daprince098:
Just one Tsar bomba can destroy a country.

if TSar bomb in dropped in center of Lagos. attached pic is damaged covered area.

Joel3:
if TSar bomb in dropped in center of Lagos. attached pic is damaged covered area.

I concour with you but there are some less populated countries like Dominica, Bermuda that are not even up to a street in Lagos

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