Mae-Wan Ho.
The Rainbow and the Worm: the physics of organisms: 3rd edn.
World Scientific. 2008
This highly unusual book began as a serious inquiry into
Schrödinger’s 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 non-equilibrium 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 alive.”