PublishedJohn Murray, September 2022 |
ISBN9781473680630 |
FormatSoftcover, 368 pages |
Dimensions23cm × 18cm × 2.7cm |
WHAT IF... one man decided to answer all the unanswerable questions, using science. The Sunday Times-bestselling author and xkcd creator, Randall Munroe is here to provide the best answers yet to the important questions you probably never thought to askThe millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger.
Planning to ride a fire pole from the moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone's freezer doors at the same time? Maybe it's time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-storey building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist. Welcome (back) to the mind-blowing world of What If? Unfazed by absurdity, Randall consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airplane-catapult design to clearly and concisely answer his readers' questions. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances. Filled with bonkers science, boundless curiosity, and Randall's signature stick-figure comics, What If? 2 is sure to be another instant classic adored by inquisitive readers of all ages. "Why would a galaxy of soup collapse time? Why do you need a planets worth of pigeons to carry you up a building? The questions are stupid, but the science behind the answers is intriguing. By that XKCD comics guy. A lovely, light read for science geeks!" - Tom
