Pizza Time!Rohan NairAward: Top 100
School: stratford high school This photo shows the work of thermodynamics on a pizza. A pizza oven primarily uses three different forms of heat: direct, convection, and radiant. The direct heat is from the floor of the oven, which heats the bottom of the pizza directly. While most pizza ovens have a dome shape to create convection currents, the one shown in the photo uses an L-shaped burner to cook all sides evenly. Finally, the radiant heat is caused by the dome-like shape concentrating heat onto the top of the pizza. The radiation is what leads to the steam in the picture, because it is heating up stored water in the dough. All this heat leads to another thing happening: the pizza dough turning into the pizza we all love. There are two main processes happening because of the heat: the Maillard reaction and caramelization. The Maillard reaction is between amino acids and sugars that can donate electrons due to having an unbonded aldehyde or ketone group. This reaction leads to the brown color and rich flavors in baked treats. Caramelization is when sugar is heated to a point where it decomposes into fructose and glucose, reacting with oxygen and itself, creating a dark, thick substance. This substance is the reason for the sweet flavors of pizza as well as contributing to the browning of pizza. 
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