Illustrating science for all

Imagine that you can understand the basic theories of relativity and quantum mechanics by simply reading funny comics created by professionals.

Li Jianlong, who has a doctorate in theoretical physics, has dedicated himself to promoting scientific knowledge, especially frontier technology, via comics that can be understood by children.

"To impress readers and promote scientific knowledge in a simple way, you need to talk about the ins and outs of a happening and how it-an invention, formula or incident-solves an urgent problem," says the 36-year-old, who lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

He has over 1.43 million followers on Sina Weibo.

"It's essential to put oneself in the children's shoes and spread knowledge in a thinking pattern that they can understand," he adds.

Once, a 6-year-old asked Li why living plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Instead of talking about the complicated process of photosynthesis, he asked the child what his favorite food was. Li then elaborated that when a plant is hungry, it needs to eat its food-sunshine, carbon dioxide and water. "Just like you need to have enough food to grow taller, so does the plant."