What did the Flash know about the Special Theory of Relativity that you do not? Why did Ant-Man have so much difficulty with a half-filled bathtub? Kakalios (physics and astronomy, U. of Minnesota) combines his love for comic books and the startling accurate ways they present physics with his love of explaining physics to undergraduates and those of us destined to never get beyond the comic book stage. While filling us in on why spending your allowance on x-ray glasses is a poor investment, Kakalios covers mechanics (including Newton's Law of Gravity, the properties of matter and the cube-square law) energy (including conservation and Ampere's Law), and modern physics (including quantum mechanics, solid-state physics and tunneling phenomena). In a final section, Kakalios also contemplates a series of superhero bloopers, proving that sometimes having mutant powers and three bucks is only good for a small cappuccino. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less