Nuclear security

What happens if New York gets nuked? Scientists simulate 20 MILLION people in massive computer system to see how state would respond to a nuclear attack

Scientists are conducting a massive computer simulation to work out how New York would respond to a nuclear attack in the heart of Manhattan.

The three-year, $450,000 project will simulate two nuclear detonations and their effects on up to 20 million virtual 'agents' each representing  civilian, first responder or other official over the course of 30 days.

But first they need to input data - a lot of data, taken from disaster reports across the US - to figure out how individuals really react to catastrophe.

'Computational social science is not experimental.' Professor William Kennedy of Virginia's George Mason University told The Atlantic. 'We don’t terrorize people and see how they behave.'