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Universal Foam: From Cappuccino to the Cosmos
Connects the ordinary properties of foam to its deeper scientific meanings as well as the doors it opens to human culture in food, art, and practical applications.
- GenresScienceNonfictionPhysics
194 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2000
3 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Sidney Perkowitz
22 books21 followersSidney Perkowitz is Candler Professor of Physics at Emory University. Author of many research papers and books, hes also written the popular science books Empire of Light, Universal Foam, Digital People and Hollywood Science which have been translated into six languages and Braille; articles for the LA Times, Washington Post, and other outlets; the stage works Albert & Isadora, Friedmann's Balloon and Glory Enough, presented in Atlanta, New York, and Chicago; and the screenplay The Second Obsession. He has appeared on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and elsewhere. Sidney Perkowitz is Candler Professor of Physics at Emory University. Author of many research papers and books, hes also written the popular science books Empire of Light, Universal Foam, Digital People and Hollywood Science which have been translated into six languages and Braille; articles for the LA Times, Washington Post, and other outlets; the stage works Albert & Isadora, Friedmann's Balloon and Glory Enough, presented in Atlanta, New York, and Chicago; and the screenplay The Second Obsession. He has appeared on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and elsewhere. Sidney Perkowitz is Candler Professor of Physics at Emory University. Author of many research papers and books, hes also written the popular science books Empire of Light, Universal Foam, Digital People and Hollywood Science which have been translated into six languages and Braille; articles for the LA Times, Washington Post, and other outlets; the stage works Albert & Isadora, Friedmann's Balloon and Glory Enough, presented in Atlanta, New York, and Chicago; and the screenplay The Second Obsession. He has appeared on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and elsewhere. "
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 24, 2019
More like 4.5, maybe even 4 (the writing wasn't fantastic or anything, and he definitely could've delved deeper), but I learned a ton of cool information, so that bumps it up.
For the sometimes complex subject that he writes about, Perkowitz explains it in an easy-to-grasp way. Of course my favourite part was when he talked about cosmic foam, but the whole thing was quite a fun enlightenment on bubbles and foam.
I always thought it was fun to play with, and now I can marvel and wonder at how it is so much more.
For the sometimes complex subject that he writes about, Perkowitz explains it in an easy-to-grasp way. Of course my favourite part was when he talked about cosmic foam, but the whole thing was quite a fun enlightenment on bubbles and foam.
I always thought it was fun to play with, and now I can marvel and wonder at how it is so much more.
July 8, 2018
This book was delightful, I learned so much from it. Sidney Perkowitz took a subject a seemingly laughable subject and made it fascinating.
The first section lays down the basics of foam. There is far more than just three states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas - and foam is a important type of "soft matter," a substance that is neither rigid like a solid nor completely free flowing like a liquid, and generally contains large amounts of a gas. Perkowitz points out simple observable facts about foams, that in their simplest definitions they are generally bubbles of gas distributed throughout a liquid or a solid; that liquid foams tend to be white, are usually short-lived, and move differently than either a pure gas or a pure liquid; and that foams within solids usually start out as liquid foams. The geometry of the bubbles within foam is discussed as well, with reference to a set of universal laws, Plateau's rules, devised by the 19th-century Belgian physicist Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau. Vital to an understanding of the physics and geometry of foam are knowledge of surface tension, the minimumizing principle, and surfactants (an acronym for surface-active agent), all of which Perkowitz discusses with clarity and precision.
Chapter two goes into the tools used to examine foams. Over the years the methods of studying foam have ranged from cells made from transparent glass half an inch wide to much more complex methods such as diffusing-wave spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging with computer simulations playing a role of increasing importance.
Next we get to examine edible foam, my favorite. Foam is found in a variety of foods, from mousse (French for "foam") to meringue (which we learn was invented by the Swiss chef Gasparini in 1720 and named after his hometown of Meringen) to bread and beer, all of which are highly reliant upon foam in their formation. We find that the study of foam in a head of beer is a much a science as it is an art, which the brewing industry has done research into, determining what type of glass is the best and on the importance of the foam to beer drinkers. Even more research goes into the foam in crema, important to lovers of espresso. Perkowitz analyses the art and science of foam in cappuccino (where the type, brand, and temperature of the milk are critical), whipped cream (we learn that aerosol whipped creams are propelled by nitrous oxide or laughing gas), carbonated soft drinks (arising originally from drinks believed to have medicinal value), champagne, and that ultimate expression of edible foam, the soufflé (from the French verb souffler, which translates into "to blow or to puff").
The fourth chapter looks at practical foam, from cork to aerogel to shaving cream. We first look at natural foams that have daily value, such as pumice (foamy volcanic rock), sponges, and cork (where we learn why cork is both a great insulator against heat, why it is great in sound proofing, and why it has been used by wine producers for so long). Plastics, particularly foamed plastics, are analyzed in great detail, from their formation and chemistry to their many uses (and disposal of in landfills as well). Perkowitz looks at foamed plastic in everything from packing peanuts to Styrofoam cups to insulation for the space shuttle to bizarre furniture. Fascinating was his description of aerogel, so-called "frozen smoke," a ghostly substance as much as 98 percent or more air, an ounce of which contains the area of several football fields. Difficult to manufacture, we learn about its uses particularly in the space program. Liquid foams are also discussed, from shaving cream (which shares some similarities to whipped cream) to foam used in fire-fighting or in oil drilling. Foamed metal, another high-tech product, is also looked at.
Chapter five looks at "living foam," foam that is found in the world of nature. He describes a single cell as resembling a fluid-filled bubble, which crowd together like foam to form the parts of complex organisms. An understanding of foam has been crucial in the study of cells, body tissues, cell division, and reproduction. Foam, in solid form, gives many bones both strength and light weight. Foams are quite common in animal reproduction and in parental behavior, from frogs to insects to fish to even quail. Foams are also important in medicine, from the days when carbonated water was thought to have value to today when they are important in ultrasound therapy, in birth control, and - negatively - in some ailments such as the bends and altitude sickness, which he writes "has been called a disease of bubbles," as well as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
Chapter six looks at foam in meteorology and geology, from pumice, which reveals important information on the subsurface geologic actions of the earth, to sea foam, an understanding of which is important in climatology and an accurate understanding of storms and waves.
The book closes with a look at "cosmic" foam, which exists as part of the very bedrock of the universe in which we live, both at the level of the incredibly small and the incredibly huge. At the smallest possible level of analyses, at the quantum level of subatomic particles, the very space-time continuum is possibly made up of something known as quantum foam. Perkowitz brings into the discussion the research of Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Max Planck among others. On the larger side of the equation foam describes in a startling way the distribution of galaxies throughout the universe. The very galaxies themselves appear to be distributed in a foam-like pattern, the universe a vast series of cosmic bubbles, the film of which is made up of galaxies which enclose a volume of space up to 200 million light-years that is virtually void of galaxies. This finding has profound implications for the origin of the universe and for the Big Bang.
I highly recommend this book.
The first section lays down the basics of foam. There is far more than just three states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas - and foam is a important type of "soft matter," a substance that is neither rigid like a solid nor completely free flowing like a liquid, and generally contains large amounts of a gas. Perkowitz points out simple observable facts about foams, that in their simplest definitions they are generally bubbles of gas distributed throughout a liquid or a solid; that liquid foams tend to be white, are usually short-lived, and move differently than either a pure gas or a pure liquid; and that foams within solids usually start out as liquid foams. The geometry of the bubbles within foam is discussed as well, with reference to a set of universal laws, Plateau's rules, devised by the 19th-century Belgian physicist Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau. Vital to an understanding of the physics and geometry of foam are knowledge of surface tension, the minimumizing principle, and surfactants (an acronym for surface-active agent), all of which Perkowitz discusses with clarity and precision.
Chapter two goes into the tools used to examine foams. Over the years the methods of studying foam have ranged from cells made from transparent glass half an inch wide to much more complex methods such as diffusing-wave spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging with computer simulations playing a role of increasing importance.
Next we get to examine edible foam, my favorite. Foam is found in a variety of foods, from mousse (French for "foam") to meringue (which we learn was invented by the Swiss chef Gasparini in 1720 and named after his hometown of Meringen) to bread and beer, all of which are highly reliant upon foam in their formation. We find that the study of foam in a head of beer is a much a science as it is an art, which the brewing industry has done research into, determining what type of glass is the best and on the importance of the foam to beer drinkers. Even more research goes into the foam in crema, important to lovers of espresso. Perkowitz analyses the art and science of foam in cappuccino (where the type, brand, and temperature of the milk are critical), whipped cream (we learn that aerosol whipped creams are propelled by nitrous oxide or laughing gas), carbonated soft drinks (arising originally from drinks believed to have medicinal value), champagne, and that ultimate expression of edible foam, the soufflé (from the French verb souffler, which translates into "to blow or to puff").
The fourth chapter looks at practical foam, from cork to aerogel to shaving cream. We first look at natural foams that have daily value, such as pumice (foamy volcanic rock), sponges, and cork (where we learn why cork is both a great insulator against heat, why it is great in sound proofing, and why it has been used by wine producers for so long). Plastics, particularly foamed plastics, are analyzed in great detail, from their formation and chemistry to their many uses (and disposal of in landfills as well). Perkowitz looks at foamed plastic in everything from packing peanuts to Styrofoam cups to insulation for the space shuttle to bizarre furniture. Fascinating was his description of aerogel, so-called "frozen smoke," a ghostly substance as much as 98 percent or more air, an ounce of which contains the area of several football fields. Difficult to manufacture, we learn about its uses particularly in the space program. Liquid foams are also discussed, from shaving cream (which shares some similarities to whipped cream) to foam used in fire-fighting or in oil drilling. Foamed metal, another high-tech product, is also looked at.
Chapter five looks at "living foam," foam that is found in the world of nature. He describes a single cell as resembling a fluid-filled bubble, which crowd together like foam to form the parts of complex organisms. An understanding of foam has been crucial in the study of cells, body tissues, cell division, and reproduction. Foam, in solid form, gives many bones both strength and light weight. Foams are quite common in animal reproduction and in parental behavior, from frogs to insects to fish to even quail. Foams are also important in medicine, from the days when carbonated water was thought to have value to today when they are important in ultrasound therapy, in birth control, and - negatively - in some ailments such as the bends and altitude sickness, which he writes "has been called a disease of bubbles," as well as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
Chapter six looks at foam in meteorology and geology, from pumice, which reveals important information on the subsurface geologic actions of the earth, to sea foam, an understanding of which is important in climatology and an accurate understanding of storms and waves.
The book closes with a look at "cosmic" foam, which exists as part of the very bedrock of the universe in which we live, both at the level of the incredibly small and the incredibly huge. At the smallest possible level of analyses, at the quantum level of subatomic particles, the very space-time continuum is possibly made up of something known as quantum foam. Perkowitz brings into the discussion the research of Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Max Planck among others. On the larger side of the equation foam describes in a startling way the distribution of galaxies throughout the universe. The very galaxies themselves appear to be distributed in a foam-like pattern, the universe a vast series of cosmic bubbles, the film of which is made up of galaxies which enclose a volume of space up to 200 million light-years that is virtually void of galaxies. This finding has profound implications for the origin of the universe and for the Big Bang.
I highly recommend this book.
March 25, 2019
Other than looking to learn random stuff, I got this impulsively just to see what type of person writes a whole book about foam. The author provided a fairly comprehensive history of foam, and discussed the importance of many of its uses today and the many ways and and places it's found naturally. Rare for a fairly dry, non-fiction science book, you could at times feel the authors excitement about the subject. The book was organized well, and while certain areas became boring at times, mostly it was pretty enjoyable.
February 21, 2019
Covers a very broad range. One of those books where you quote odd facts to people.
July 7, 2011
One of those odd books I picked up and really liked. Sort of trivia but educational and few people would not learn something from it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews