The Speed of Nearly Everything: from tobogganing penguins to spinning neutron stars
ISBN 9781741961362, written by Peter Macinnis, published 2008 by Murdoch Books in Australia, released November 17, 2008 in the UK, November 1 in Australia
NOTE: the title was previously The Fast Book, changed before publication.
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For information from the publisher, see LINK TO COME.
This book is written for general readers, and my aim was to take a look at speed, and explore how we find out, and what we know. Here are just a few of the things I played with:
Learn the real story about the bumblebee that couldn't fly but did.
How long would a snail take to do a mile?
If you jump off the Empire State building, will you splatter or pierce the pavement?
How fast do cockroaches run?
What really happens when things go faster than the speed of light? (It is possible!)
What was special about the earliest land speed records?
How fast is a chameleon's tongue and how does it do it?
How fast is a volcano?
What was the world's fastest book?
How high can a high jumper leap on the Moon?
Can you play golf on the asteroid Eros?
Can you outrun the Pamplona bulls?
Who wanted to spin women in labour at high spped, and why?
What happens to a dijeridu on a hot day?
Is it safer to be hit in the eye with a 0.22 bullet or a squash ball?
What was the world's longest skid in a vehicle?
Could a human outrun a T. rex?
Can you survive falling from an aircraft without a parachute? (Yes, three people did.)
This file is http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/writing/fastbook.htm
It was created on February 19, 2008 and last revised August 21, 2008.
If you email me at macinnis at ozemail.com.au, you will reach a spam trap, but be read, eventually. If you put my first name in front of that address, you will reach me direct. This low-tech solution is to make email harvesting difficult.
This book is written for general readers, and my aim was to take a look at speed, and explore how we find out, and what we know. Here are just a few of the things I played with: