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

Although Munroe studied physics in college, he now feels anxious when he’s asked serious scientific questions to which he is expected to know the answer. He enjoys ridiculous scientific questions because no one can be expected to know the answers off the top of their head, so it’s okay for him to feel confused and take the time to research or calculate the answer. He notes that some seemingly simple questions can have difficult answers, and that silly questions can sometimes deal with serious science.

Question: “What would happen if the Solar System was filled with soup out to Jupiter?” (1).

The pressure of gravity would immediately crush everyone on Earth. The soup would be so dense that it would form a giant black hole pulling everything it covers to the center of the solar system within half an hour. Over the next few thousand years, the black hole would consume much of the Milky Way. The type of soup would be irrelevant because black holes don’t retain the characteristics of what they consume.

Question: “What if you were hanging on a helicopter blade by your hands and then someone turned it on?” (6).

Centrifugal force would increase the weight dangling from your hands so that you would have to let go before the blade finished its first, slow rotation.