How Many Pikachus Would It Take to Power a Lightbulb?

byThomas Crawford

The Real Maths of Fantasy Worlds

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The world's most powerful mathematics. Applied to the world's most absurd questions.

'Absolutely splendiferous' TIM HARFORD
'Hugely entertaining' SUSIE DENT
'Bonkers, but in a brilliant way' MARCUS DU SAUTOY
'Brilliant' RACHEL RILEY

***

Discover the weird and weirdly compelling maths behind Pokémon, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and more . . .

Could the Death Star's laser actually blow up a planet?
What is the half-life of the Incredible Hulk?
Which Harry Potter broomstick is the most aerodynamic?
And is the meaning of life really '42'?

Join Dr Tom Crawford on a tour through the real-world maths behind science fiction and fantasy. Drawing on a decade's research at some of the world's leading universities, he answers all the most bamboozling maths questions raised by Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars and more: from calculating Frodo Baggins' life insurance premium for his journey to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, to establishing how rich Mario would be after he'd collected all those coins.

The result is both a dizzying compendium of 'did you know?' facts and a guide to the mathematics of life, the universe and everything.

'The maths teacher we all wish we’d had.' BOBBY SEAGULL, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers

'Delightful . . . If you ever thought that maths is dry and incomprehensible, this will make you reconsider!' MARTIN HAIRER, recipient of the Fields Medal

'I loathe fantasy, and even I can’t help admiring this book.' DAVID SPIEGELHALTER, author of The Art of Statistics

Bonkers, but in a brilliant way. Tom Crawford has taken the Venn diagram of all the things he’s passionate about, and the intersection is this fun journey through imaginary worlds via his clever mathematical perspective.

Marcus du Sautoy, author of The Music of the Primes

About Thomas Crawford

Dr Tom Crawford first became interested in the mathematics of fantasy when he calculated that, to keep a Charizard as a pet, he would need to feed it 23,071 calories per day; equivalent to 61 tins of Pedigree’s wet dog food. So began a decade-long journey into whether the mathematics of other fictional worlds made any more sense. (It turns out they don’t.)


Tom is both a fellow at Robinson College, University of Cambridge, from where he holds a PhD in fluid mechanics, and Public Engagement Lead at University of Oxford Lifelong Learning. His work has been featured on the BBC, Channel 4’s Countdown and in the New Scientist, and he is the creator of the popular YouTube channel ‘Tom Rocks Maths’, where he answers important questions like: how many ping-pong balls would it take to raise the Titanic? And can I bake a pi-shaped pie using ingredients only in multiples of pi?


Tom also has a lot of tattoos: fifteen are maths themed but, to his embarrassment, he does not yet have a Pikachu. If this book sells really well he promises to rectify this immediately.
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Details
  • Imprint: Hutchinson Heinemann
  • ISBN: 9781529154290
  • Length: 384 pages
  • Dimensions: 243mm x 35mm x 165mm
  • Weight: 593g
  • Price: £22.00
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