degree and so on. However, when temperatures get to about 150 degree
organic chemistry is not necessarily racing 32 times as fast as
compared to 50 degree because many reactions engendered by living
things decline in efficiency at temperatures much over 110 degree.

This explanation is oversimplified and the numbers I have used to
illustrate the process are slightly inaccurate, however the idea
itself is substantially correct. You should understand that while
inorganic chemical reactions accelerate with increases in
temperature almost without limit, those processes conducted by
living things usually have a much lower terminal temperature. Above
some point, life stops. Even the most heat tolerant soil animals
will die or exit a compost pile by the time the temperature exceeds
120 degree, leaving the material in the sole possession of
microorganisms.

Most microorganisms cannot withstand temperatures much over 130
degree. When the core of a pile heats beyond this point they either
form spores while waiting for things to cool off, or die off. Plenty
of living organisms will still be waiting in the cooler outer layers
of the heap to reoccupy the core once things cool down. However,
there are unique bacteria and fungi that only work effectively at
temperatures exceeding 110 degree. Soil scientists and other
academics that sometimes seem to measure their stature on how well
they can baffle the average person by using unfamiliar words for
ordinary notions call these types of organisms _thermophiles,_ a
Latin word that simply means "heat lovers."

Compost piles can get remarkably hot. Since thermophilic
microorganisms and fungi generate the very heat they require to