322 books
—
30 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey” as Want to Read:
The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey
by
CAN REINDEER FLY? WHY IS SANTA CLAUS FAT? COULD SCIENTISTS CLONE THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE? WAS THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM REALLY A COMET? WHY IS RUDOLPH'S NOSE RED? HOW DOES SANTA MANAGE TO DELIVER PRESENTS TO AN ESTIMATED 842 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS IN A SINGLE NIGHT? WHAT COULD WE DO TO GUARANTEE A WHITE CHRISTMAS EVERY YEAR? These are among the questions explored in an
...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 303 pages
Published
November 1st 1999
by Back Bay Books
(first published 1998)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Physics of Christmas,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The Physics of Christmas
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey
I liked the book because it went into depth about topics that I wouldn't be able to learn about on a normal day to day basis. I enjoyed the dry humor in the book, especially in the part about thank you cards that said something about how people who send cards that make noise have no worth in society.
Normally, the goal of a "The Science of..." book is to entertain and educate. There was lots of education, but not necessarily a lot of entertainment...
Now, its possible that since I read a lot of it while having extensive, expensive repairs done on my car's engine coolant system (for the 3rd time in as many months), I wasn't in a fully receptive, holly jolly mood. Personally, I think a little too much time was spent on some rather picayune points, which pretty much killed the enjoyment, ...more
Now, its possible that since I read a lot of it while having extensive, expensive repairs done on my car's engine coolant system (for the 3rd time in as many months), I wasn't in a fully receptive, holly jolly mood. Personally, I think a little too much time was spent on some rather picayune points, which pretty much killed the enjoyment, ...more
Some good, like the biochemistry of food and drink. There is some stuff of questionable research like the faith-makes-you-well section.
Sadly, this was not the Christmas treat I was hoping for; I got this book over a decade ago thinking it would be a fun exploration of a holiday from a scientific perspective. After finally reading it I found it to be a boring hodgepodge of mostly nonsense.
For something that is called The Physics of Christmas, physics is not really discussed in great depth until chapter 11, "Santa's Science." Instead it contains snippets of anthropology, sociology, chemistry, religious studies, history, ...more
For something that is called The Physics of Christmas, physics is not really discussed in great depth until chapter 11, "Santa's Science." Instead it contains snippets of anthropology, sociology, chemistry, religious studies, history, ...more
I liked this book a lot. Of course, some parts were more interesting than others.
It explored all sorts of (mostly British and American) traditions in great detail. It was not at all limited to physics, but also took in the history, chemistry, and biology of various aspects of Christmas. The history reminded me of the little book I read for my Christmas book the year before last – 4000 Years of Christmas, but this author emphasized different aspects of the many pre-Christian myths that have ...more
It explored all sorts of (mostly British and American) traditions in great detail. It was not at all limited to physics, but also took in the history, chemistry, and biology of various aspects of Christmas. The history reminded me of the little book I read for my Christmas book the year before last – 4000 Years of Christmas, but this author emphasized different aspects of the many pre-Christian myths that have ...more
A collection of short speculative essays about the outstanding components of the Christmas celebration . Excellent bibliography . And not as full of postmodern irony as expected . Good demystifying research of holiday nostalgia but the familiarity does not breed contempt in this case . The index is an added referential bonus . Santa's delivery challenge ( p242 ) was the only part of the book I could not understand . Nice .
This book covers a lot of material, but does so in a way that is accessible to the average reader, for the most part. There were a few places where the science explanations were a little harder to understand. Personally, I thought a portion of the chapter titled Christmas Spirit where the author discusses efforts to recreate ancient Egyptian brewing techniques was particularly interesting.
Did I like it? Yes.
Would I reread it? Maybe.
Would I recommend it? Yes.
Did I like it? Yes.
Would I reread it? Maybe.
Would I recommend it? Yes.
Perfectly geeky, a good book to keep near the commode for leisurely, come n go reading. Anything you may have ever wondered about Christmas in its most science-y explanation available. Oh, snow, the Bethlehem star, why Santa is fat, why Rudolph is likely a female, Christmas smells....all things holiday, explained.
Great idea and a workman like book, dragged down by the magazine article style.
It started out good, then wandered. My borrowing expired before I finished, so I finished on Epiphany. Did my Xmas duty. Not just about physics. Meh.
I've always been curious behind the science of Christmas, so this book was supposedly up my alley. However, once I opened it's cover (at first I had it in paperback form), I thought it was too hard to read - it was too large and bulky to handle and I just didn't have the time to read it. However, then came along the purchase of all my Amazon Kindles - first, it was a Kindle Keyboard, then it was a Kindle Fire, then a Fire HD and even later an HDX and finally up to five years ago, I started to
...more
i obtained this a few Xmases ago, but put off reading it thinking it would be cheesy. it is actually quite good and the author puts off the most ridiculous topics like mach 6500 santa and flying quadrapeds for the final two chapters. before that is much science and most not physics. "The Science of Christmas" would be a more appropriate title. this includes the chemistry of cooking, brewing and its medical effects and much history including the role Coca-Cola had in shaping the appearance of
...more
This book is, literally the most entertaining physics book I have ever read. This was actually a gift for my son when he was into the space program hype a few years back. But I had to read it so I borrowed it and asked him if I could put it on my shelf of books in the physics section. He gladly obliged.
This is the physics of Christmas. From weather and the chrystal formation of snow to how it is, after all, possible for reindeer to fly to the time warp of gravitational power that could really ...more
This is the physics of Christmas. From weather and the chrystal formation of snow to how it is, after all, possible for reindeer to fly to the time warp of gravitational power that could really ...more
While reading, I thought this book was misnamed, and should have been titled: The Chemistry of Christmas. When I got to the last page, I understood why; the author has a PhD in Chemistry. He referred to other books I have enjoyed with similar titles of "The Science of _____" but this book is not at all as informative or interesting.
The author does break down complex scientific phenomenon into understandable layperson's language, but it then becomes boring. In addition, he gives a one-sided view ...more
The author does break down complex scientific phenomenon into understandable layperson's language, but it then becomes boring. In addition, he gives a one-sided view ...more
If you are a science geek, this book is for you. However, I don't fall into that category. While it was interesting reading about the first Christmas card, why Rudolf's nose is red, speculation on what exactly was the star the wise men followed and how the abbreviation Xmas came about, the deal associated with how our bodies metabolize alcohol at a cellular level and all the formulas to show exactly how Santa could deliver so many gifts to all those houses in one night just gave me a brain
...more
Fascinating... this is the third time I've read this book, and it still fascinates me. The chemistry and thermodynamics of the simple act of cooking a turkey... how alcohol takes its toll on the body... and best of all, how Santa gets to all those chimneys in one night by using quantum mechanics, quantum physics, and possibly even bioengineering! The science is solid, if the subject is ethereal. Great fun!
I enjoyed the book but felt that it could have been better written. My biggest complaint was that a lot of what was written was written in very repetitive manners, although I assume that comes from this book being based on the authors long history of science writing.
The science writing it self was also pretty hit or miss. At times it was really entertaining and easy to follow and at other times it felt very dry and hard to follow, almost like reading two different authors writing.
The science writing it self was also pretty hit or miss. At times it was really entertaining and easy to follow and at other times it felt very dry and hard to follow, almost like reading two different authors writing.
I want to stress that two stars means "It was OK." The subject should have led to a more "fun" read, (I can only imagine what Bill Bryson would have done with this,) but this was a pretty dry book. I learned quite a few things, but I probably spent years picking this up when I didn't have anything else to read and then putting it down again. So yeah, just ok.
This was a good book. It was informative, well-written and entertaining. My favorite part was discussing the search for the "Bethlehem Star". The section on snowflakes was also very good. I liked the variety of topics. It seemed like we went through every possible branch of science and some of the so-called soft sciences as well. This would make a great gift for science lovers.
This was a somewhat dry read insections, but utterly fascinating overall. The title misleads one into thinking this was a physics book, but there are a broad array of scientific fields represented here.
This book is full of a bunch of "gee-whiz" facts related to Christmas. Some of it is pretty interesting some of it not. I was really happy when, after three years of half hearted reading at Christmastime, I finished it.
An interesting overview of various symbols and associations with Christmas. Using physics, logic, science and history to learn about traditional customs from a different perspective. I enjoyed the read.
It's fun with physics. I love this sort of thing, especially when it is holiday-themed. Plus, it makes a nice change from all the holiday books telling you to do more, or to do less, although I also like those.
The first few chapters were fun and enlightening. The whole book is a bit of whimsy, actually. But Highfield obviously had a lot of fun writing and researching this book. But I don't know if you can really call it science. Not my favorite but a good holiday read.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11690816
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11690816
For any science geek - I recommend.
Dec 25, 2007
Rosa
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
read during thanksgiving and the month of december.
Borrowed this book from the public library. Very interesting to read and it is good to read just to get in the thanksgiving and christmas season.
Thanks to this book, I now understand the relationship between Santa Claus, flying reindeer, and the hallucinogens in fly agaric mushrooms.
A slight misnomer since it also goes into chemistry, sociology, and biology. A fun and interesting book however.
Read the first half of it (more or less) this year. Will read the rest of it next holiday season.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Retailers use various strategies, policies, and procedures in timing their markdowns of Christmas merchandise, adds Dale Lewison of the University of Akron. “Some retailers start taking small and early markdowns before Thanksgiving, while others wait until after the weekend following Thanksgiving —the biggest shopping weekend of the year. Still other retailers wait longer to mark down merchandise.”
—
0 likes
“some researchers have found that eating resin or oil from Commiphora or guggulu, lowers blood cholesterol levels. Chinese scientists have discovered that C. myrrha can reduce the development of arteriosclerosis —hardening of the arteries —in animals.”
—
0 likes
More quotes…
