Q: Oh, no, the Little Rascal of Metropolis has been up to his tricks of late, falling behind in his schoolwork, and so receives only a lump of coal in his Christmas stocking.
Dejected, he decides to e-mail Superman to see if the hero can be of assistance.
"I'll consider it," the Man of Steel responds, "but only on two conditions: that you mend your ways and that you write a paper for your science class describing the natural process behind what I'm about to do."
What did the boy end up writing?
A: "Just like he's done in the movies," the boy began, "Superman took the lump of coal and squeezed it with his super strength, compressing it to the point where the coal became a tiny sparkling diamond.
Now this may seem like magic, like turning lead into gold, but pure coal and diamond are both made of carbon, with the arrangement of their atoms determining many of their properties: Coal is truly 'black as coal,' diamond is transparent.
Also, coal is soft enough for artists to draw with, while diamond can cut glass and steel (but not our Superman!).
Fact is, diamond is one of the hardest known substances. If you squeeze sheets of graphite (a superhigh grade of coal) together with enough pressure and heat, the bonds rearrange into tetrahedrons and prest — diamond!" (From "The Science of Heroes," by Yvonne Carts-Powell)
Our tale has a happy ending: The teacher gave the boy an "A" and Superman gave him the tiny diamond, which he proudly presented to his Mom and Dad. Bad boy no more.
Q: Resident of one of Earth's chillier locales, you invite your new fiancee from down South to join you in your igloo for the winter holidays. "But it's freezing there," she protests. "But we'll be inside," you correct. Is there anything you can tell her scientific mind to put her more at ease?
A: In spite of its dome-shaped structure, the snow-and ice-block igloo can keep you pretty warm regardless of the weather, says Jearl Walker in "The Flying Circus of Physics." Not only will you be shielded from the wind but the walls provide thermal insulation, meaning that any heat energy radiated from your body will stay inside.
A well-made igloo is squat with an elevated "sleeping bench" across much of the interior floor, so warmer (lighter) air inside will rise and collect there, the reason why igloos are built without very high peaks.
Other thermal safeguards: The thicker walls or walls with loosely packed snow (having plenty of air pockets) decrease conduction and so maintain interior warmth. Also the spaces between the blocks are sealed with hard-packed snow, both outside and inside, that tends to melt and then refreeze into a protective ice layer.
"Now, my love, I trust you are feeling warmer already."
Q: Can you explain the biological symbolism behind lighting a candle on a Christmas tree?
A: It honors the cycle of living things, the wheel of life, says Roger Highfield. The chemical energy generated by photosynthesis in plants is passed up the food chain, for instance, to grazing cattle and then to a tallow candle.
When the candle is lit during this most light-starved time of year, it releases its "cryptic sunlight" and returns the complex fat, or wax, molecules to their original form — water and a hot breath of carbon dioxide that can again be incorporated into even more living things.
Send STRANGE questions to brothers Bill and Rich at strangetrue@compuserve.com