NUKEMAP lets you model the effects of a nuclear detonation anywhere on Earth

Simulate the impact of an antimatter bomb around the world

Using "Total Annihilator," users can click on a location on the map, select the antimatter mass, and the observation altitude before detonating the bomb. Scrolling through the left sidebar reveals the impacts of the detonation, including the sizes of the resulting fireball and thermal pulse, the spread of ionizing radiation, and the atmospheric effects.

Visualizing the chemistry of nuclear weapons

Nuclear weapons have devastating effects, but the science of how they work is atomically small. There are two main types of nuclear reaction: fission and fusion. The fission bomb produces immense energy by splitting an atom, the result of firing a...

Build atomic nuclei to explore their instability and resulting radioactive decay

In this simulation, users can add protons and neutrons to create an atomic nucleus, view its half-life and decay options, and identify patterns in how specific combinations of particles create extremely stable nuclei, from which the nuclear shell model of stability emerged.

Study pinpoints where to hide during a nuclear blast

There’s no surviving the fireball of a nuclear bomb, but beyond that, there are certain spots indoors where you can try avoid the destructive shockwave.

The origin of atmospheric science while testing nuclear weapons during the Cold War

The arms race between the US and the Soviet Union saw both countries stockpiling and detonating hundreds of bombs underground, underwater, and in the atmosphere. To better predict where nuclear fallout would travel after these tests, scientists developed models that would serve as a foundation for those used to explain atmospheric circulation.

Explore an interactive map of historical volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis

The Natural Hazards Viewer allows users to map the locations of major natural hazards from 2150 BCE to the present. Advanced filters allow for various refinement methods, including volcano morphology, earthquake magnitude, tsunami height, deaths, and damage.

Nuclear weapons in WWII

This 14-minute interactive documentary broaches the subject of the human cost of nuclear warfare. Comparing the number of deaths during World War II with the projected deaths of a nuclear exchange, the video can be paused to delve deeper into individual statistics, historical tidbits, and more data that shows the terrible price humanity would pay.

Calculate your estimated yearly dose of ionizing radiation

This calculator from the EPA provides a value in millirems—the US unit for effective dose—based on a variety of exposure parameters, including the state a user lives in and travel-related sources of ionizing radiation, such as passing through screening machines.

View a list of the worst nuclear meltdowns before 2013

Nuclear meltdowns occur when a reactor overheats and radioactive materials leach into the surrounding environment. While rare, the reasons for each occurrence—as detailed in this piece—can help establish new safety protocols for future reactors.

The Gasbuggy Project detonated a nuclear bomb to fracture underground rock formations

Part of Project Plowshare—a program aimed at finding peaceful uses for nuclear devices—the 1967 experiment sought to extract natural gas trapped within shale in underground New Mexico. Gas radioactivity was found to be excessively high for use without expensive processing, and the project was deemed an economic failure.

Chernobyl pushed the world to create rapid-alert systems for nuclear accidents

In the aftermath of the disaster, nations adopted new agreements requiring immediate international notification of nuclear accidents. They coordinated emergency assistance—efforts led by the International Atomic Energy Agency to prevent future disasters from being concealed when radiation emergencies occur.

Experiments suggest nuking a metal-rich asteroid may strengthen it

Scientists exposed meteorite samples to proton irradiation at CERN to mimic the effects of a nuclear detonation. The material exhibited greater resistance to breaking after the exposure, suggesting nuclear weapons may better serve to deflect asteroids, not break them.

Manage the control room of a virtual nuclear power plant

This interactive takes you on a tour of a virtual plant before handing you the keys to the control room. Challenge yourself to produce enough energy to meet demand while avoiding a nuclear meltdown.

Small modular reactors can provide nuclear power with reduced risks and logistics

Their factory-built design allows them to be quickly installed underground, reducing their exposure to future extreme weather. They can provide power to small towns and major cities with much smaller start-up costs and reduced siting requirements.

An 800-ton shake table is the world's largest earthquake simulator

After the 1995 Kobe earthquake killed over 6,000 people, Japan created E-Defense to reproduce the force of earthquakes and test them against structures as tall as 10 stories, leading to changes in Japanese building codes to reduce collapse rates.

Isodope is the world's first nuclear energy influencer

Isabelle Boemeke, a Brazilian fashion model and social media personality, began promoting the benefits of nuclear electricity in 2015. She now debunks common objections to it through her TikTok persona Isodope—which has more than 34,000 followers.

See how populations across the world could change in the 21st century

This tool lets you model the populations of individual countries by adjusting key demographic inputs. See how changes in birth rates, mortality, and migration affect the size and structure of future populations.

A collaborative map lets anyone rename the entire world in real time

Rename.world is a playful, community-driven project where users discover, claim, and rename locations across a live global map. It's kind of like Wikipedia meets Google Maps, filtered through the internet's love of chaos and whimsy.

Scientists use ground-based radar data to detect turbulence within clouds

NCAR developed the NEXRAD Turbulence Detection Algorithm and the Graphical Turbulence Guidance system to provide forecasts up to 18 hours ahead using ground-based Doppler radar data. Software systems also utilize an automated observation and reporting package—the EDR system—found on Delta, United, and Southwest Airlines aircraft.

The US Navy used The 'Harvard Calculator' to solve advanced physics problems

Designed in 1937 by Harvard graduate student Howard H. Aiken, the IBM Mark I was a groundbreaking machine used to solve ballistic trajectories and other mathematical problems whose solutions were needed for the design of the atomic bomb in World War II. The device was one of the first mechanical computers.

Experts ponder nuclear rockets to send humans to Mars

Nuclear rocket technology might be the fastest, safest way to get to the red planet. But if NASA wants to go, it should start development now.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Visualize energy sources and uses across the US

Want to understand the basics of America’s current energy situation? The National Academies, advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine, provides objective information about the United States’ current energy sources and uses, as well as a look forward to the future of energy.

Mapping NATO's 32 countries across North America and Europe

See an updated map with the option to learn more about each country's membership and role in the alliance. The map shows the borders of its member countries with extra filters capable of locating its many civilian structures, nonmember partners, positions of missile sites, and more.

Citizen scientist volunteers can help identify invasive species in wilderness areas

Launched in 2005 by the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia, EDDMapS allows users can document invasive species sightings in the US and Canada in a web-based mapping system. As of February 2026, EDDMapS has over 8.6 million records, all freely available for querying.

Tracking the accuracy of past and future predictions of the apocalypyse

Religious figures, scientists, technologists and others have long heralded the ending of the world in what in some traditions is called the apocalypse. This site tracks those failed predictions in the past and charts those coming up in the future.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Planeterrellas create artificial auroras that mimic the atmospheric displays of light by setting up an electric field between two metal balls in a jar filled with a small amount of air.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'