what if?

Not to be confused with 17: What If.

what if? is a blog hosted on the xkcd.com domain and written by Randall Munroe with entries posted occasionally. Before publishing the what if? book, articles were posted weekly.

On the blog, Randall uses his degree in physics and strong scientific background to discuss hypothetical physics questions apparently submitted by readers. Since 2014, there's also a book of the blog.

Unlike other sites which answer readers' questions, what if? typically takes the question beyond the original scope likely intended by the reader and takes it to some extreme for humorous effect. For example, in the first article, he discusses what would happen if a baseball were pitched at 90% of the speed of light. After effectively describing what would occur as a nuclear explosion, leveling the stadium and the surrounding mile radius, he concludes with the note "A careful reading of official Major League Baseball Rule 6.08(b) suggests that in this situation, the batter would be considered 'hit by pitch', and would be eligible to advance to first base."

The questions Randall tackles range from realistic possibilities (e.g. the probability of achieving a perfect SAT score by guessing) to completely fictional questions (e.g. How much Force power can Yoda output?). In his explanations, Randall, often uses diagrams in an xkcd style. Regardless of the context, Randall tends to take the questions extremely literally and responds seriously to them, even if they are whimsical (such as the Yoda question). This is clear from his response to the question of what would happen if everybody on Earth stood together and jumped at the same time. After acknowledging that the question has been answered elsewhere, he recaps the result, but then focuses more intently on the unasked resulting issue of the aftermath of everyone on Earth being magically transported to one location as they all try to return home.

This site is not under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License like xkcd is.

For the first 136 articles there where never more than 3 weeks between releases, with almost one out every week. But then Randal took a hiatus from updates from May 2015 to July 14th 2015 with a note stating "What If updates are temporarily on hold, and will resume on July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT." This was the date and time that the New Horizons probe achieved its closest approach to Pluto. The article for July 14th was about the New Horizons probe. He then began again releasing two more over three weeks, but then there where two more breaks, son only one more article where released in 2015 after August, and then first in January 2016 did the articles begin to come back regularly with 9 releases before the end of March 2016. But since then only two have been released with about 8 weeks between, so at the moment of writing this, summer 2016, it seems it is down to about one release every two months. (See more details for breaks in the release in the table with articles down below).

The book

Randall announced his what if? book on 12 March 2014 in the blag. It was published on September 2, 2014, and the UK edition of the book was published on September 4, 2014. It is the 2nd book published by Randall.

The general cover of the book

It is just like 'xkcd:volume 0' a compilation of some questions from the website, but half of them are new.

In the UK edition of the book, Randall included a preface about his thoughts on the units used in the UK. (The Metric System)

Summary

The summary on the back of the book reads:

Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. 'My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning, and we agreed that you should resolve it . . . ' He liked these questions so much that he started up What If.

• If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive?
• How dangerous is it, really, to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm?
• If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce?
• What if everyone only had one soulmate?
• When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British empire?
• How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live?
• What would happen if the moon went away?

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, studded with memorable cartoons and infographics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read.

The summary on the back of the UK edition of the book reads:

Hey! Thanks for looking at my book. If you're thinking about buying it, here are some things you might want to know:

Humans can't digest the cellulose in paper, but if we could, eating this book would give you about 2,300 calories (including the cover).

This book can't stop most bullets; if you want to use it for armour, you may want a lot more than one copy.

If you have a good arm, you could probably throw this book about 45 feet. With practice, it's possible to throw a book every 800 milliseconds, which means that if human attackers are sprinting towards you, you'll have three or four chances to hit them before they reach you. If, on the other hand, you're being attacked by a coyote, it's higher top speed means you'll have only one chance to hit it. Aim carefully.

HIDDEN FEATURE: The inside of this book has words and pictures, plus a special UK foreword. It answers many important questions, including whether you could jump from a plane with a helium tank and inflate balloons fast enough to slow your fall and survive (yes) and whether you could hide from a supersonic windstorm in Finland (yes, but it won't help).

Trivia

• There is an easy way to link to a given what if? story by using a template. For instance write the following:
  • See the [[what if?]] ''{{what if|147|Niagara Straw}}''.
• Copy paste the above text and correct the number and the title to get this result:
  • See the what if? Niagara Straw.

Articles

• Below is a list of the articles released in the what if? blog.
  • This list can also be found in the acrhive section on the what if? blog.
  • But here more data can be added...

?{| class="wikitable" | ! No. ! Title ! Release date ! Weeks since last release ! Comment/Short note on subject |- | 1 || Relativistic Baseball || July 10, 2012 || || The very first what if? released is about what would happen it trying to hit a baseball flying with 0.9c (c = speed of light). Hitting it will be your least (and last) problem in this world. |- | 2 || SAT Guessing || July 10, 2012 || 0.0 || This second article was released on the same day as the first, probably to get the blog going, and let users of xkcd see that there was going to be more. After that they were released weekly without fail (except a few days) for more than two years, and for almost three years without more than 3 weeks between releases. After that it has been more unstable. |- | 3 || Yoda || July 17, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 4 || A Mole of Moles || July 24, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 5 || Robot Apocalypse || July 31, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 6 || Glass Half Empty || August 7, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 7 || Everybody Out || August 14, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 8 || Everybody Jump || August 21, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 9 || Soul Mates || August 28, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 10 || Cassini || September 4, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 11 || Droppings || September 11, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 12 || Raindrop || September 18, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 13 || Laser Pointer || September 25, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 14 || Short Answer Section || October 2, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 15 || Mariana Trench Explosion || October 9, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 16 || Today's topic: Lightning || October 16, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 17 || Green Cows || October 23, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 18 || BB Gun || October 30, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 19 || Tie Vote || November 6, 2012 || 1.0 || The release date in the archive is the wrong year 2013. |- | 20 || Diamond || November 13, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 21 || Machine Gun Jetpack || November 20, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 22 || Cost of Pennies || November 27, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 23 || Short Answer Section II || December 4, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 24 || Model Rockets || December 11, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 25 || Three Wise Men || December 18, 2012 || 1.0 || |- | 26 || Leap Seconds || December 31, 2012 || 1.9 || |- | 27 || Death Rates || January 8, 2013 || 1.1 || |- | 28 || Steak Drop || January 15, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 29 || Spent Fuel Pool || January 22, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 30 || Interplanetary Cessna || January 29, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 31 || FedEx Bandwidth || February 5, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 32 || Hubble || February 12, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 33 || Ships || February 19, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 34 || Twitter || February 26, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 35 || Hair Dryer || March 5, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 36 || Cornstarch || March 12, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 37 || Supersonic Stereo || March 19, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 38 || Voyager || March 26, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 39 || Hockey Puck || April 2, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 40 || Pressure Cooker || April 9, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 41 || Go West || April 16, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 42 || Longest Sunset || April 23, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 43 || Train Loop || April 30, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 44 || High Throw || May 7, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 45 || ISS Music Video || May 14, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 46 || Bowling Ball || May 21, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 47 || Alien Astronomers || May 28, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 48 || Sunset on the British Empire || June 4, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 49 || Sunless Earth || June 11, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 50 || Extreme Boating || June 18, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 51 || Free Fall || June 25, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 52 || Bouncy Balls || July 2, 2013 || 1.0 || The release date in the archive is the wrong month June. |- | 53 || Drain the Oceans || July 9, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 54 || Drain the Oceans: Part II || July 16, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 55 || Random Sneeze Call || July 23, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 56 || Restraining an Airplane || July 30, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 57 || Dropping a Mountain || August 6, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 58 || Orbital Speed || August 12, 2013 || 0.9 || |- | 59 || Updating a Printed Wikipedia || August 20, 2013 || 1.1 || |- | 60 || Signs of Life || August 27, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 61 || Speed Bump || September 3, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 62 || Falling With Helium || September 10, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 63 || Google's Datacenters on Punch Cards || September 17, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 64 || Rising Steadily || September 24, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 65 || Twitter Timeline Height || October 1, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 66 || 500 MPH || October 8, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 67 || Expanding Earth || October 15, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 68 || Little Planet || October 22, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 69 || Facebook of the Dead || October 29, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 70 || The Constant Groundskeeper || November 5, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 71 || Stirring Tea || November 12, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 72 || Loneliest Human || November 19, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 73 || Lethal Neutrinos || November 26, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 74 || Soda Planet || December 3, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 75 || Phone Keypad || December 10, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 76 || Reading Every Book || December 17, 2013 || 1.0 || |- | 77 || Growth Rate || December 31, 2013 || 2.0 || |- | 78 || T-rex Calories || January 7, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 79 || Lake Tea || January 14, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 80 || Pile of Viruses || January 21, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 81 || Catch! || January 28, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 82 || Hitting a comet || February 5, 2014 || 1.1 || |- | 83 || Star Sand || February 11, 2014 || 0.9 || |- | 84 || Paint the Earth || February 18, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 85 || Rocket Golf || February 25, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 86 || Far-Traveling Objects || March 4, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 87 || Enforced by Radar || March 11, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 88 || Soda Sequestration || March 18, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 89 || Tungsten Countertop || March 25, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 90 || Great Tree, Great Axe || April 3, 2014 || 1.3 || |- | 91 || Faucet Power || April 8, 2014 || 0.7 || |- | 92 || One-Second Day || April 15, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 93 || Windshield Raindrops || April 22, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 94 || Billion-Story Building || April 29, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 95 || Pyramid Energy || May 6, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 96 || $2 Undecillion Lawsuit || May 14, 2014 || 1.1 || |- | 97 || Burning Pollen || May 20, 2014 || 0.9 || |- | 98 || Blood Alcohol || May 27, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 99 || Starlings || June 3, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 100 || WWII Films || June 11, 2014 || 1.1 || |- | 101 || Plastic Dinosaurs || June 18, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 102 || Keyboard Power || June 25, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 103 || Vanishing Water || July 2, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 104 || Global Snow || July 9, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 105 || Cannibalism || July 16, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 106 || Ink Molecules || July 23, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 107 || Letter to Mom || July 30, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 108 || Expensive Shoebox || August 13, 2014 || 2.0 || |- | 109 || Into the Blue || August 20, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 110 || Walking New York || August 27, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 111 || All the Money || September 2, 2014 || 0.9 || |- | 112 || Balloon Car || September 17, 2014 || 2.1 || |- | 113 || Visit Every State || September 24, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 114 || Antimatter || October 1, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 115 || Into the Sun || October 8, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 116 || No-Rules NASCAR || October 15, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 117 || Distant Death || October 23, 2014 || 1.1 || |- | 118 || Physical Salary || October 30, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 119 || Laser Umbrella || November 13, 2014 || 2.0 || |- | 120 || Alternate Universe What Ifs || November 20, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 121 || Frozen Rivers || December 11, 2014 || 3.0 || |- | 122 || Lava Lamp || December 18, 2014 || 1.0 || |- | 123 || Fairy Demographics || January 1, 2015 || 2.0 || |- | 124 || Lunar Swimming || January 8, 2015 || 1.0 || |- | 125 || Bowling Ball || January 15, 2015 || 1.0 || |- | 126 || Stairs || January 22, 2015 || 1.0 || |- | 127 || Tug of War || January 28, 2015 || 0.9 || |- | 128 || Zippo Phone || February 5, 2015 || 1.1 || |- | 129 || Black Hole Moon || February 12, 2015 || 1.0 || |- | 130 || Snow Removal || February 19, 2015 || 1.0 || |- | 131 || Microwaves || February 27, 2015 || 1.1 || The release date in the archive is the wrong year 2014. |- | 132 || Hotter than Average || March 7, 2015 || 1.1 || |- | 133 || Flagpole || March 17, 2015 || 1.4 || |- | 134 || Space Burial || March 28, 2015 || 1.6 || |- | 135 || Digging Downward || April 5, 2015 || 1.1 || |- | 136 || Spiders vs. the Sun || April 12, 2015 || 1.0 || |- | 137 || New Horizons || July 14, 2015 || 13.3 || |- | 138 || Jupiter Submarine || July 28, 2015 || 2.0 || |- | 139 || Jupiter Descending || August 4, 2015 || 1.0 || |- | 140 || Proton Earth, Electron Moon || September 18, 2015 || 6.4 || |- | 141 || Sunbeam || January 12, 2016 || 16.6 || |- | 142 || Space Jetta || January 20, 2016 || 1.1 || |- | 143 || Europa Water Siphon || January 26, 2016 || 0.9 || |- | 144 || Saliva Pool || February 2, 2016 || 1.0 || |- | 145 || Fire From Moonlight || February 9, 2016 || 1.0 || |- | 146 || Stop Jupiter || February 16, 2016 || 1.0 || |- | 147 || Niagara Straw || February 26, 2016 || 1.4 || |- | 148 || Eat the Sun || March 12, 2016 || 2.1 || |- | 149 || Pizza Bird || March 26, 2016 || 2.0 || |- | 150 || Tatooine Rainbow || May 23, 2016 || 8.3 || |- | 151 || Sun Bug || July 21, 2016 || 8.4 || How many fireflies is needed to outshine the sun. And what if we only made one big firefly instead of (not so) incredibly many? Again that would be the end of our galaxy... The release date in the archive is the wrong month June. It was released between 18-20 July, as the link here was posted on the 20th. But on the archive page is says it was released on June 21, which should probably have been July 21. |}