The amount of laser light required to illuminate the Moon would cause the Earth to catch fire, killing everyone.Ī periodic table of the elements made of bricks of each element would quickly catch fire and then explode with the force of a nuclear bomb. The odds of finding one’s soul mate are one in 10,000. The New York City area, 500 million years ago, was a lifeless set of islands off the coast of Africa. For protection from radiation, it’s safer to swim at the surface of a pool of water that contains spent nuclear fuel rods than to walk around outside. A questioner wonders what would happen if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning the answer is that the atmosphere, continuing to spin, would become a giant wind storm that would destroy everything in its path and kill nearly all humans, except those living near the poles or in underground tunnels.Ī baseball pitched at 90% of the speed of light would cause an explosion that would wipe out the stadium and much of the surrounding city. However, most chapters focus on a single question, with fairly elaborate discussions that lead to several minor conclusions and one major one. Munroe warns readers not to try the activities described in the book, most of which are dangerous or lethal, illustrating the physics of extreme situations.Įach chapter begins with at least one question, although some address more than one. Readers are cautioned that some of the descriptions of unusual physical effects on humans are slightly gruesome. The ebook version of the original 2014 edition forms the basis for this study guide.

For his work on xkcd, he was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 20, then won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in 2014. Author, cartoonist, and engineer Randall Munroe is the creator of the popular web comic xkcd, whose stick figures also illustrate the text of What If? After earning a degree in physics, Munroe worked for NASA as the Langley Research Center in Virginia.

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