Experience a classic nuclear weapons test up-close in VR

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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/04/29/experience-a-classic-nuclear-w.html

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That is actually a pretty cool use of vr.

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Sounds interesting. Will it work with cheap knockoff VR Goggles?

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There’s a couple of weird things, no sound of the explosion once the shockwave reaches the camera (it’s oddly silent) and i noticed that the nearby vegetation scorched but an island in the distance that’s closer to the explosion appears to remain fairly green. Unsure if these things would be more apparent if experienced in VR but this is certainly the kind of thing that i would be keen to check out if i had a set.

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I am currently reading “A trail through time” in the evenings to calm my nerves (seriously!) during these stressful days. And the first-person narrator Max just experienced Pompeji first hand. I’m a little bit annoyed that I do not have access to a VR headset, but I’ll go for the next best thing and will stream the Pompeji vid on a borrowed projector. If anyone knows of a more recent version of this (hires? new physics engines? a lot has happened since 2009…), I would appreciate a link.

ETA, @beschizza:

The nuclear blast effects were modeled as realistically as possible by Teatime Research.

That’s surely pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh, right?

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I noticed that, too - also they left the sound effect of placidly-lapping waves running throughout.

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Also greenery blasted away like fresh cut grass but the sand and water stay calm

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I could not see the Wilson cloud, which should have been pretty clear at that scale. The flash would have lit the palm trees miles away (there is some dramatic footage of this from Castle Bravo).

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yes. there is a direct download on their website ( yle.fi/paradise) for the 4K-mp4-video for offline use. I usualy use the great and completly free app “VR Theater for Cardboard” to play such videos.

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Uh…thanks but no thanks. Many years ago I read a compilation of essays by Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors. I had nightmares, cold sweat style, for many months afterwards. Not going back there.

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Just to note that the guy doing the countdown says “fiver” which is a no-no. The reason to say “niner” is to avoid confusion with “five” by making it two syllables.

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Yeah, but the gamer in me wants to see what the explosion looks like if I am standing on top of the bomb.

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Does it turn me into a 50’ giant in VR?
Asking for a friend.

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It doesn’t look like anything, as your brain evaporates before the nerve impulses from your eyes even get there.

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Yeah, I mean, probably.

But what if the Dev’s didn’t consider that situation, and something else happens?

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Wow! That was cool!

What struck me about it was suddenness of the flash and the vegetation catching fire. In my imagination there was a delay between the flash and the next thing to happen - That they would be separate events. I thought the flash would provide some warning.

Apparently not…

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You might find this interesting…

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Now that sounds interesting.

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