101 Problems for the Armchair Scientist

Is running always faster than walking? If you froze your hand in liquid nitrogen and hit it with a hammer, would it shatter? Could you survive in a falling elevator by jumping as it hit the ground? Why can’t a fly get out of the toilet? This fascinating foray into the world of science tackles some perplexing problems that have baffled even the brainiest of scientists. It presents you with 101 imaginative scenarios—from everyday life to the human body, and from the natural world to outer space—and provides the scientific reasons or theories behind why they are possible. Including: why an ant can survive in a microwave; why some people sneeze when they see bright light; and why it takes longer for a ball to come down than go up.