An edition of What If? (1980)

What if?

serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions

  • 4.32 ·
  • 88 Ratings
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  • 19 Currently reading
  • 114 Have read

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  • 4.32 ·
  • 88 Ratings
  • 269 Want to read
  • 19 Currently reading
  • 114 Have read

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Last edited by bitnapper
September 26, 2023 | History
An edition of What If? (1980)

What if?

serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions

  • 4.32 ·
  • 88 Ratings
  • 269 Want to read
  • 19 Currently reading
  • 114 Have read

Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by signature xkcd comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with updated and expanded versions of the most popular answers from the xkcd website.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
303

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: What If?
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Jul 26, 2015, H&S, imusti
Paperback in English
Cover of: What if?
What if?: serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions
2014, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
in English

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Book Details


Table of Contents

Global windstorm
Relativistic baseball
Spent fuel pool
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #1
New York-style time machine
Soul mates
Laser pointer
Periodical wall of the elements
Everybody jump
A mole of moles
Hair dryer
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #2
The last human light
Machine-gun jetpack
Rising steadily
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #3
Orbital submarine
Short-answer section
Lightning
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #4
Human computer
Little planet
Steak drop
Hockey puck
Common cold
Glass half empty
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #5
Alien astronomers
No more DNA
Interplanetary Cessna
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #6
Yoda
Flyover states
Falling with helium
Everybody out
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #7
Self-fertilization
High throw
Lethal neutrinos
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #8
Speed bump
Lost immortals
Orbital speed
FedEx bandwidth
Free fall
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #9
Sparta
Drain the oceans
Drain the oceans : part II
Twitter
Lego bridge
Longest sunset
Random sneeze call
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #10
Expanding Earth
Weightless arrow
Sunless Earth
Updating a printed Wikipedia
Facebook of the dead
Sunset on the British Empire
Stirring tea
All the lightning
Loneliest human
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #11
Raindrop
SAT guessing
Neutron bullet
Weird (and worrying) questions from the What if? inbox, #12
Richter 15.

Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-303).

Copyright Date
2014

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
500
Library of Congress
Q173 .M965 2014, Q173.M965 2014

The Physical Object

Pagination
xii, 303 pages :
Number of pages
303

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL26327044M
Internet Archive
isbn_9780544272996
ISBN 10
0544272994, 0544456866
ISBN 13
9780544272996, 9780544456860
LCCN
2014016311
OCLC/WorldCat
872620028, 2014016311
Wikidata
Q105845479

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
September 26, 2023 Edited by bitnapper Merge works
September 26, 2023 Edited by bitnapper merge authors
March 29, 2023 Edited by Ruslana Binko Edited without comment.
November 7, 2022 Edited by bitnapper Merge works
April 4, 2015 Created by Wade Watts Added new book.