As I see it the base-collector junction is forward biased, so you would
expect to see the base sitting at about 0.7V positive wrt the collector
(ground).

There is also a diode equivalent between the base and emitter, which would
normally drop 0.7V if conducting.  The base is at 0.7V wrt ground, so I
would expect to see 0V wrt ground at the emitter.

I set up the circuit as described, and got something very similar: the base
sits at 781mV, and the emitter (which is dangling in the air) has 2.5mV on
it, as measured by my digital multimeter.  The transistor I used was a
2N2222A.

The only bit I'm puzzled about is why Russell said it appears to break the
laws of physics.  In my view, it is doing just what you'd expect.  Is my set
up behaving differently to his?

Regards,

Steve Thackery
Suffolk, England.
Web Site: http://www.btinternet.com/~stevethack/