What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

What If? 2 presents serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions. Randall Munroe, creator of xkcd and author of What If? and How To, addresses unusual questions from readers worldwide, exploring scenarios like riding a fire pole from the Moon, cooling the atmosphere by opening freezers simultaneously, riding a helicopter blade, constructing a billion-story building, making a lava lamp from actual lava, and jumping on an erupting geyser. Munroe consults current research on topics ranging from swing-set physics to airliner catapult design to answer these questions clearly and concisely. Each response includes illustrations that illuminate—and occasionally unsettle—the concepts involved. The book demonstrates how examining extreme circumstances and specific scenarios can reveal insights about how the world functions.