Fireworks in Zero G

...'Fireworks Theory', which suggested that the universe began as a geometrical point, a 'primeval atom', which burst into glory and had been moving apart ever since...

- A Short History of Nearly Everything, P173

Having read this I started to imagine how fireworks would behave under zero gravity conditions.

Since there would be no gravity to pull the sparks into a downward curve, they would radiate out from the intial point, like spikes on a sea urchin. (not considering the force from ejecting it out in the first place)

And if a lone firework was ignited in a vast space of vacuum in 0G, then the sparks would travel outward for ever and ever...expanding the boundary at incredible rates.

So much for the Big Bang!

A Short History Of Nearly Everything

Why is it that progress can sit in constipation for aeons...then all of a sudden...come whooshing in leaps and bounds - merely a month after the Motion Mountain discovery, another rare life-changing gem comes into view: A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson.

It was love at first sight. Honestly. (And that's coming from me who never judges a book by it cover, me who let HP sit moulding on the shelf for a whole year before prising it open.) Mum and I were in Carrefour at the Deira City Centre, Dubai, scanning the books section, and its pinkish cover just jumped out from shelves of rubbish, screaming to be read. A split-second later I realised this was the original version of that terrible weighty tome Mabel had picked up years ago - it was called Wanwu Jianshi in Chinese. I bought it anyway.

Lucky, lucky me! It kept me engrossed for the full 7-hour flight back home...didn't sleep a wink (our flight was at two in the morning, so that's saying something). As a bonus I witnessed one of the most mind-blowing sunrises I've ever seen.

It's the Holy Grail I never knew existed.

It's a book that makes my blood boil.

Enough said.