The Energy of Nature by E. C. Pielou, University of Chicago Press, published
in mid May, $25, ISBN 0226668061
THE trouble with geology is all the arm waving. Even the biggest, most
destructive earthquake loses something of its awe-inspiring might when you can鈥檛
say how big it was, or how it compares with a hurricane or a cometary impact. In
The Energy of Nature, E. C. Pielou rights this wrong by setting out the
fundamental physics behind the workings of the Earth, dead and alive, from
atmosphere to core.
Her ambitious goal is to write the balance sheet for natural processes using
energy (measured in joules) as a common currency to unite the disparate parts,
rather as Europe uses the euro. Overall it鈥檚 a sound idea but, as with the euro,
unfamiliarity can bring confusion. Who would have thought that there are 300,000
joules in a slice of bread, but that fewer than 100 joules used to lift 5
kilograms 2 metres upwards?
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If you are flummoxed by such details, don鈥檛 struggle alone. Buy this book. It
is a lively read for anyone interested in how physics underpins the natural
world, and for instilling a sense of proportion. It also provides the necessary
potted physics primer. Pielou has an instinctive feel for the subject and a
knack of finding the telling phrase, like this one on molecular structure:
鈥渄iamonds are well-knit, lead is rickety鈥�.
Her ideas demand attention. You鈥檒l have to concentrate as she draws
comparisons between the diverse components of the atmosphere, biosphere,
lithosphere and all the other 鈥渟pheres鈥�, but the reward is a much clearer
picture of how the world works.