"Version: 20171001"--Title page verso."A Morgan & Claypool publication as part of IOP Concise Physics"--Title page verso.Includes bibliographical references.Preface : why the physical microbe? -- 1. Introduction -- 1.1. Diversity -- 1.2. Size -- 1.3. Energy -- 1.4. Food -- 1.5. Diffusion versus size2. Growth -- 2.1. Exponential growth -- 2.2. Stationary phase -- 2.3. Lag phase and decline -- 2.…