CHAPTER 10: The Flash: The Fastest Man on Fire

Barry Allen, forensic scientist at Central City, is tidying up his lab one evening before leaving work. He places the chemicals on a shelf, more-or-less at random. But then, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning streaks through the window, hitting Barry and his shelf of chemicals. He wakes up to discover that he can connect to the ‘Speed Force’ – a mystical force that allows him to be the fastest man alive! That, by the way, is a good reason to study chemistry – you might get superpowers. Having become The Flash, Allen can now run at incredible speeds, which is a pretty cool superpower. Imagine it, you’d never be late! Or, more likely, you’d put off leaving the house for so long that you’d still be late, but even superheroes like a lie-in. Yet, the Flash actually has another, secret, secondary power that makes his super-speed possible. So, let’s look closely and see if we can work out what this secret power is and so describe the science that explains this capacity.