THE RAINBOW AND THE WORM

This highly unusual book began as a serious inquiry into Schrodinger39s question What is life and as a celebration of life itself It takes the reader on a voyage of discovery through many areas of contemporary physics from nonequilibrium thermodynamics and quantum optics to liquid crystals and fractals all necessary for illuminating the problem of life In the process the reader is treated to a rare and exquisite view of the organism gaining novel insights not only into the physics but also into the poetry and meaning of being aliveThis muchenlarged third edition includes new findings on the central role of biological water in organizing living processes it also completes the author39s novel theory of the organism and its applications in ecology physiology and brain science