Fifty-plus essays by Harold J. Morowitz, a biophysicist. He reflects on questions that arise in the course of his daily life, his scientific research, and his miscellaneous reading.
Take some heat off the complexity of thermodynamics Does the mere thought of thermodynamics make you sweat? It doesn't have to! This hands-on guide helps you score your highest in a thermodynamics course by offering easily understood, plain-English explanations of how energy is used in things like automobiles, airplanes, air conditioners, and electric power plants. Thermodynamics 101 — take a look at some examples of both natural and man-made thermodynamic systems and get a handle on how energy can be used to perform work Turn up the heat — discover how to use the first and second laws of thermodynamics to determine (and improve upon) the efficiency of machines Oh, behave — get the 411 on how gases behave and relate to one another in different situations, from ideal-gas laws to real gases Burn with desire — find out everything you need to know about conserving mass and energy in combustion processes Open the book and find: The laws of thermodynamics Important properties and their relationships The lowdown on solids, liquids, and gases How work and heat go handin hand The cycles that power thermodynamic processes Chemical mixtures and reactions Ten pioneers in thermodynamics Real-world applications of thermodynamic laws and concepts Learn to: Master the concepts and principles of thermodynamics Develop the problem-solving skills used by professional engineers Ace your thermodynamics course
A simple but transformative product that supercharges your home oven, Baking with Steel offers a whole new way to cook and bake that blows pizza stones and stovetop griddles away. With Baking with Steel, you'll harness this extraordinary tool to bake restaurant-quality baguettes, grill meats a la plancha, and enjoy pizza with a crust and char previously unimaginable outside a professional kitchen. "Every decade or two, a revolutionary idea turns into a revolutionary product that actually does change the way we make our food."-from the foreword by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, bestselling author of The Food Lab "Baking With Steel is a fantastic companion for anyone with a Baking Steel, as it showcases its range of applications in the kitchen. From producing gorgeously cooked pizzas to perfectly seared steak and ice cream in minutes, Andris Lagsdin once again shows that there are many reasons to love the power of steel."-Nathan Myhrvold, lead author of the award-winning Modernist Cuisine series
This textbook gives a thorough treatment of engineering thermodynamics with applications to classical and modern energy conversion devices. Some emphasis lies on the description of irreversible processes, such as friction, heat transfer and mixing and the evaluation of the related work losses. Better use of resources requires high efficiencies therefore the reduction of irreversible losses should be seen as one of the main goals of a thermal engineer. This book provides the necessary tools. Topics include: car and aircraft engines, including Otto, Diesel and Atkinson cycles, by-pass turbofan engines, ramjet and scramjet; steam and gas power plants, including advanced regenerative systems, solar tower and compressed air energy storage; mixing and separation, including reverse osmosis, osmotic power plants and carbon sequestration; phase equilibrium and chemical equilibrium, distillation, chemical reactors, combustion processes and fuel cells; the microscopic definition of entropy. The book includes about 300 end-of-chapter problems for homework assignments and exams. The material presented suffices for two or three full-term courses on thermodynamics and energy conversion.
Make homemade pizza that exceeds your wildest expectations—yet couldn’t be simpler—with Jim Lahey’s groundbreaking no-knead dough and inventive toppings. Jim Lahey, the baking genius behind New York City’s celebrated Sullivan Street Bakery and Co. pizza restaurant, has developed a brilliant recipe that requires no kneading and produces an irresistible crust in any home oven—gas or electric—in fewer than five minutes. The secret to incredible pizza is a superb crust—one that is crisp yet chewy, and slightly charred around the edges. My Pizza shares this revolutionary technique and the creative pies that put Co. on the map, as well as recipes for salads, soups, and desserts to make a meal complete. The pizzas in this book aren’t your usual, run-of-the-mill pies. In fact, Jim’s unique topping pairings—such as Corn and Tomato, Coppa and Fennel, and Potato and Leek—reinvigorate this American favorite. His whimsy is apparent in his Pepperoni Pie, which doesn’t include the cured meat we have all come to expect; instead, riffing on “pepperoni” as the Italian plural for “pepper,” Jim offers a pie with red pepper puree, ground lamb, and pecorino cheese. To round out dinner, My Pizza also has recipes for starters and side salads—such as Cannellini Bean Toast, Pea Soup, and Bibb and Roasted Squash Salad—and sweet finishes, from Milk Chocolate Sundae to Banoffee Pie. With gorgeous color photographs and helpful tips on equipment and techniques, My Pizza unlocks the secrets of great, easy pizza for home cooks everywhere.
Destined to be a leader in the field, this Encyclopedia is a full-colour, A to Z guide that sets a new standard for science reference. It contains 1000 entries, combining in-depth coverage with a vivid graphic format.
Distinguished physicist examines emotive significance of time, time order of mechanics, time direction of thermodynamics and microstatistics, time direction of macrostatistics, time of quantum physics, more. 1971 edition.
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year From an obesity and neuroscience researcher with a knack for engaging, humorous storytelling, The Hungry Brain uses cutting-edge science to answer the questions: why do we overeat, and what can we do about it? No one wants to overeat. And certainly no one wants to overeat for years, become overweight, and end up with a high risk of diabetes or heart disease--yet two thirds of Americans do precisely that. Even though we know better, we often eat too much. Why does our behavior betray our own intentions to be lean and healthy? The problem, argues obesity and neuroscience researcher Stephan J. Guyenet, is not necessarily a lack of willpower or an incorrect understanding of what to eat. Rather, our appetites and food choices are led astray by ancient, instinctive brain circuits that play by the rules of a survival game that no longer exists. And these circuits don’t care about how you look in a bathing suit next summer. To make the case, The Hungry Brain takes readers on an eye-opening journey through cutting-edge neuroscience that has never before been available to a general audience. The Hungry Brain delivers profound insights into why the brain undermines our weight goals and transforms these insights into practical guidelines for eating well and staying slim. Along the way, it explores how the human brain works, revealing how this mysterious organ makes us who we are.
When the whole is greater than the sum of the parts--indeed, so great that the sum far transcends the parts and represents something utterly new and different--we call that phenomenon emergence. When the chemicals diffusing in the primordial waters came together to form the first living cell, that was emergence. When the activities of the neurons in the brain result in mind, that too is emergence. In The Emergence of Everything, one of the leading scientists involved in the study of complexity, Harold J. Morowitz, takes us on a sweeping tour of the universe, a tour with 28 stops, each one highlighting a particularly important moment of emergence. For instance, Morowitz illuminates the emergence of the stars, the birth of the elements and of the periodic table, and the appearance of solar systems and planets. We look at the emergence of living cells, animals, vertebrates, reptiles, and mammals, leading to the great apes and the appearance of humanity. He also examines tool making, the evolution of language, the invention of agriculture and technology, and the birth of cities. And as he offers these insights into the evolutionary unfolding of our universe, our solar system, and life itself, Morowitz also seeks out the nature of God in the emergent universe, the God posited by Spinoza, Bruno, and Einstein, a God Morowitz argues we can know through a study of the laws of nature. Written by one of our wisest scientists, The Emergence of Everything offers a fascinating new way to look at the universe and the natural world, and it makes an important contribution to the dialogue between science and religion.