Jdbrown – Looking Outwards 7 – Data Visualization

Here is a piece that I found a while ago – it’s a progressive visualization of all nuclear detonations since 1945 on the world map. It’s a very stark piece of work, especially given the accompanying soundtrack. While most of these detonations are tests, there’s something unsettling about the “co-ordinate-like visuals,” as if you’re in the room where they’re deciding whether or not to drop the bombs.

From what I can tell, the data set is comprised of dates and locations, with the geographic co-ordinates mapped onto a flat surface, then the algorithm goes through the timeline, and each time it hits a node corresponding to a bomb’s explosion, it draws a little reticle on the location of the explosion.

http://digg.com/video/nuclear-bomb-data-visualization