Why is it that the UK don't want to have any knowledge in regards to what will happen in 2012? Yet in America & Asia they are fully aware of what will happen in 2012, I also know that scientists are fully aware of what may happen.

Why aren't the public aware & how can we destroy what is coming towards planet Earth? This meteor willl destroy every satellite known to government, knock the power grid in USA.  Leaving us all in darkness.

No phones, No network, No Internet, No freedom, what is going to happen?

Prematurely overcome by the holiday spirit, we failed to send a round-up last week. Apologies for that. One of the most popular questions from that week – also with a holiday flavour – was what to do during a lightning storm at the beach. Are you safer on the beach or in the water? The discussion contains a fair bit of disagreement, but some great tips for optimum lightning-avoidance behaviour.

This week's questions started with whether the wind affects sound waves (it does, but not in the way you might expect), and whether the foods we crave are the ones our bodies actually need (let's hope so).

Here's one for the physics-minded: ever wondered why most rocket launch pads are sited near the equator? It's to make the most of the rotational velocity of the Earth's surface, which is greatest at the equator. But can you think of any other ways we exploit this tremendous energy source? So far, not many readers can.

If you've ever been caught by brambles while walking in the countryside, you might be curious why the thorns of roses and blackberries are designed to catch animals rather than repel them. Could it be that roses are actually carnivorous?

Finally, August is the month for… meteor-hunting. The Perseid meteor shower is at its height on 12 August. One of our readers reckons he can hear meteors. Is that possible?

Enjoy your weekend.

Michael (acting for Kat)

The Perseid meteor shower is at its height on 12 August. This reminds me of a strange phenomenon when I took part in "The Sky At Night" Leonids survey sometime around 1997.

I found the darkest accessible place I could in central Scotland: Ordnance Survey grid ref NN 583 062, GoogleMaps (56.225,-4.29). Just north of Loch Venachar, between Ben Ledi and the Menteith Hills, no houses in sight. This is sheep country: lots of long barbed-wire fences and few people. I was about 100 metres from the shore of the Loch, which is about 5km long and 1km wide.

I recorded about 120 meteor trails. But I also clearly heard at least ten of these meteors too. There was a kind of "zing" sound at the same time as the meteor trail appeared. It was enough to make me think "Wow! That was close!".

That can't be true. The chances of even one close meteor is tiny. And most activity is 10km to 60km up - a sound delay in the order of minutes. So I dismissed it.

Since then, I formed a theory. Meteors are ionised by their high speed through the air, and they are moving very fast through a (weak) magnetic field. Do they emit an electromagnetic pulse that would be detectable at the surface? My idea is that pairs of parallel conductors (barbed wire strands on the fences) get an induced current that attracts them to each other, making them twang. Alternatively, could a large body of water convert an EMF pulse to audible sound? Both these phenomena might depend crucially on the angle at which the pulse reaches the plane of the conductor.

Does anybody have an explanation? Is there any similar observation being investigated? And, crucially, if anybody is going out next week to observe the Perseids, would you try to be near long metal fences, or large bodies of water, and see if you can confirm my observation?