The Thermodyanics of Pizza

By Harold J. Morowitz

Book Overview

Why do pizzas stay hot? Why are olives edible? How does ice carry electricity? Why is blood redder in the tropics? How much is a fingertip worth? Why do camps require health forms? What do drooping eyelids, electric eels, and curare have in common? What was the secret of the Sphinx? In fifty-plus essays, Harold J. Morowitz, a distinguished biophysicist with a very active sense of curiosity, muses over these and other questions that arise in the course of his daily life, his scientific research, and his miscellaneous reading. Morowitz's wit, warmth, and ability to make the most surprising connections will delight every reader. Praise for Morowitz's earlier collections of essays: "Morowitz is a pleasing cracker-barrel philosopher of biochemistry and biophysics. . . . [His] scientific musings both illuminate and safeguard what we are accustomed to call the mystery of life. You can't ask for more than that."??Anatole Broyard, The New York Times "Morowitz can handle the profoundest bits of information with the lightest and best-humored of touches."??Lewis Thomas "Bite-sized essays in the biological sciences . . . a delight to read."??Carl Sagan "Morowitz is . . . one of those scientists with a passion for explaining his field to laymen. Happily, he has the wit to elucidate the Big Questions underlying the most trivial-seeming of facts. . . . With admirable brevity (few of his . . . essays are more than four pages), Morowitz ranges wide."??Newsweek

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813517745
• ISBN13: 9780813517742
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Entertaining essays on science

The only reason I bought this book was because of the title. Saw it in the bookstore and I just had to have it. Fortunately I wasn't disappointed. The title essay is an entertaining read on modeling heat transfer of a pizza. For young scientists, it's a very good tutorial on the process of developing models of real life situations. Worth the price of the book by itself. The remaining essays diverge to cover a wide range of sciency topics, most of which are worth a read.

Thought provoking antidotes that will amuse and enlighten

This collection of essays has something for everyone, interested in the sciences. Harold Morowitz's wit and wisdom make hard to understand subjects easy to comprehend. From brownian movement as it relates to the stock market to as the tittle suggests the insulating value of pizza crust this book is a winner.