Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

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Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

by Michio Kaku

4.03 · rating details · 2,679 ratings · 362 reviews

A fascinating exploration of the science of the impossible—from death rays and force fields to invisibility cloaks—revealing to what extent such technologies might be achievable decades or millennia into the future.

One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. In Physics of the

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Hardcover, 329 pages

Published March 11th 2008 by Doubleday

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May 07, 2008

Servius Heiner rated it

Recommended to Servius Heiner by: anyone who enjoys science

Shelves: science

This book is standard Michio Kaku. He starts off discussing the three classes of impossibilities. (Understand that much of what you would think of as impossible is not really impossible. In order to be proven impossible it must break a law of physics, there is not much that does.)

“Class 1 Impossibilities: These are technologies that are impossible today but that do not violate the known laws of physics. So they might be possible in this century, or perhaps the next, in modified form....moreThis book is standard Michio Kaku. He starts off discussing the three classes of impossibilities. (Understand that much of what you would think of as impossible is not really impossible. In order to be proven impossible it must break a law of physics, there is not much that does.)

“Class 1 Impossibilities: These are technologies that are impossible today but that do not violate the known laws of physics. So they might be possible in this century, or perhaps the next, in modified form. They include teleportation, anti-matter engines, certain forms of telepathy, psycho kinesis, and invisibility.”

“Class 2 Impossibilities: These are technologies that sit at the very edge of our understanding of the physical world. If they are possible at all, they might be realized on a scale of millennia to millions of years. They include time machines, the possibility of hyperspace travel, and travel through wormholes.”

“Class 3 impossibilities: These are technologies that violate the known laws of physics. Surprisingly, there are vary few such technologies. If they do turn out to be possible they would represent a fundamental shift in our understanding of physics.”

He also goes into detailing the classes of civilizations, which is important because there are just something you can’t do until you have the power to do them. We are a class “0” civilization.

Type 1 civilization: Those that harvest planetary power, utilizing all the sunlight that strikes their planet. They can, perhaps, harness the power of volcanoes, manipulate the weather, control earthquakes, and build cities on the oceans. All planetary power is with in their control.

Type 2 civilization: Those that can utilize the total power of their sun, making them 10 billion times more powerful then a type 1 civilization. The Federation in Star Trek is a type 2 civilization. A type 2 civilization in a sense, is immortal; nothing known to science, such as ice ages, meteor impacts, or even supernovae, can destroy it. (In the event their mother star is about to explode they can just move to another system, perhaps even move their planet.)

Type 3 civilization: Those that can utilize the power of an entire galaxy. They are 10 billion times more powerful then a type 2 civilization. The Borg in Star Trek, the Empire in Star Wars, and the galactic civilization in Asimov’s Foundation series correspond to a type 3 civilization. They have colonized entire star systems and can exploit the black hole at the center of their galaxy. They freely roam the galaxy.

Over all I was fascinated by this book, Michio has a way of explaining heavy physics without losing a reader without a doctorate. There are some things I wish he would have went into in greater detail, but I guess there are always more books.

I am growing tiered of this universe I think I will go check out the one next door.
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Apr 23, 2008

Doug rated it

Great introduction to current issues in Physics - without the pain of complex equations. Also, fun as the author esplores the plausibility of the physics in the Star Trek, Star Wars, and Time travel movies and books.

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Mar 26, 2010

Tom rated it

They speak only the truth when the haters call string theorist Michio Kaku desperately nutty but none who believes this would then impute him for writing a bad book. And good news for the equation-phobes as Dr. Kaku stays well clear of his pet subject in Physics of the Impossible, excepting a flip riposte to the current backlash against string theory in the final chapter (but if you're interested in the world of vibrating strings after all, I would recommend skipping The Elegant Universe by Bria...more

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Oct 22, 2010

John Stevens rated it

Dr. Michio Kaku is perhaps the or one of the most brilliant minds in theoretical physics living today. I've seen him present several concepts and theories on the Discovery Channel.
I am a man who truly appreciates the marvel of theoretical physics. The stuff of Albert Einstein. Although I have some education along these lines and have watched and read quite a lot, I still find it very difficult to follow.
In this book/audio book, Dr. Kaku takes us on a journey into all of those "...more

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Jul 16, 2008

Eric rated it

While I really liked this book, a lot, it felt incomplete to me in that much of the math and science behind these concepts is not very in depth. Sure, it's not a text book, but I would have liked to have seen equations or at least references to something that could explain the math.

Also, while there is a TARDIS on the cover, there is no TARDIS, and no mention of Doctor Who at all in the book. I felt slightly cheated, but not enough to not give it a five star rating.

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

Kaku (Parallel Worlds, Beyond Einstein, Hyperspace) introduces complex theories of physics to general readers. As The Economist notes, Kaku "makes a good stab at explaining difficult physics. But his grasp of his subject is perhaps trumped by his knowledge of science fiction." While Kaku writes in language designed to captivate nonscience readers, it's his references to pop culture��from Star Trek to Terminator 3��that clarify his fringe physics. (Those wishing to explore the topic fur

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Oct 19, 2011

Vladimir Vasquez rated it

· review of another edition

¿Qué significa Imposible?

En Fisica de lo imposible, el Doctor Michio Kaku se vale de conocidas series de televisión y de películas con temática de ciencia ficción, como Volver al Futuro, Star Trek y Star Wars, para presentarnos historias clásicas de la ciencia y darnos su opinión sobre el posible desarrollo de la ciencia en el futuro.

El autor intenta redefinir el concepto que nuestra sociedad actual posee de “Lo Imposible” y trata de ponernos en perspectiva en comparaci...more

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Jul 31, 2011

David rated it

A good book for fans of Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time,” POTI takes several concepts from the world of science fiction and speculates on the possibility of their eventual existence in real life. He explores the technology of force fields, invisibility, phasers, light speed, multiple/parallel dimensions, etc., all through the eyes of a physicist, and then, using the logic and tools of a physicist (while keeping in mind the layman audience) classifies each of these "impossibiltie...more

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Jul 29, 2011

Nilesh added it

A cracker of a topic. This is not just a vision of what the world may look like a few centuries hence but literally a discussion on what is possible in science. We are not going to be around to see it so the book provides a great fodder to create one's own impressions of what a human society may look like some time in distant future.

The book is not an easy one, though. Neither does it have any concrete answers. There are many scientific details and surely - like it would be the case for almost ...more

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Jul 24, 2011

NJMetal rated it

Dr. Michio Kaku's "Physics of the Impossible" is the type of book that blows you mind open with the possibilites. Dr. Kaku is one of the most prolific physicists on the modern age. In "Physics of the Impossible" he explores the realistic possibilities of the science fiction of today becoming the science fact in the not too distant future.

In fact, for the most part, the stuff of sci-fi novels will not only become the fodder for tomarrow's non-fiction novels but the fiction m...more

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Dec 15, 2010

Owen rated it

Michio Kaku is an interesting guy- I first heard him talk on one of the Royal Society for the Arts podcasts (free online, worth looking into, but I repeat myself). In the podcast he didn't mention that he was the first name in string theory (from the 70s. If memory serves there are 9 dimensions in string theory, 10 in M theory, but I could be wrong. And I can't be bothered to check). He did say that he built a particle collider in his garage using wiring donated by a failing Westinghouse corpora...more

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Aug 09, 2009

Trevor rated it

Shelves: science

There is no denying that this is an interesting book and one that presented many of the problems of physics in a way that is comprehensive, comprehensible and engaging. I think other people (people with a greater interest in science fiction, particularly) will find this book even more interesting than I did and more accessible than your standard pop science book on physics. I hadn’t realised I knew quite so little about science fiction – I hadn’t ever really thought about the fact that I hadn’...moreThere is no denying that this is an interesting book and one that presented many of the problems of physics in a way that is comprehensive, comprehensible and engaging. I think other people (people with a greater interest in science fiction, particularly) will find this book even more interesting than I did and more accessible than your standard pop science book on physics. I hadn’t realised I knew quite so little about science fiction – I hadn’t ever really thought about the fact that I hadn’t seen any of the Superman films or any of the Star Trek films or any of the Star Wars films after the first couple. If you’d asked me I would have said that my disillusionment with film had only really started a couple of years ago, but clearly it goes back much further than I realised.

I think it would have helped to have known more about popular culture and thereby to have gotten some of the references here – but really, I could make do without this knowledge. So, if you don’t know which end it is best to hold your light sabre or (and even though he doesn’t actually quote Dr Who) how to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow (sorry, that one always amuses me) you will still be able to follow what is going on.

This book looks at what it says it will look at – impossible stuff. It then tries to work out just how impossible this impossible stuff is. The answer generally being, not terribly. Basically, he identifies three levels of impossibility. Stuff that is impossible now, but might not be for all that long. Stuff that is impossible now and might remain so for the next couple of thousand years. And finally, stuff that is pretty damn well close to being totally impossible and is likely to stay that way unless there is a fairly impressive overturning of some of the fundamental laws of physics. (And do you know what, if I was killed by a bullet aimed under Newtons Laws and these ended up being proven to be wrong, well, I'd be asking for my money back)

What he doesn’t like to do is say stuff is completely impossible and will always remain impossible (even when discussing faster than light travel, for example, or perpetual motion machines – although he does point out that there are one or two fairly serious problems that need to be addressed if these are ever likely to work).

I really do understand that people don’t like it when other people (you know, like me) start talking about things being impossible. I know that they point back to past predictions of the impossible and smirk and tut or whatever they think is the best way to express their disgust. And look, all that is fine – but just because you’ve seen something rather cool happen on your favourite science TV show doesn’t mean that the world has to be made to conform to your desires. For example, it is pointed out in this book that to open a wormhole that might allow us to travel backwards in time might require all of the energy contained in a body the size of Jupiter. The wormhole still might not work, of course – it still might collapse as soon as we enter it – or it might not even open at all in the first place. Is there really ever going to be a time when we are likely to convert all of the matter in Jupiter into energy just so as to try out a wormhole that may or may not work? Look, I could be completely wrong (I have been known to be in the past) but I’d have thought we might have other uses for that amount of energy, even in some strange, undefined future. Margaret Wertheim’s criticism in Pythagoras' Trousers God, Physics, and the Gender Wars of the high priests of physics (ever noticed how often these boys talk about the mind of God?) and their preference for BIG science in a world were the majority of our species are barely scratching out an existence is apt and worth keeping in mind while reading this book, I think.

I know, I know, ‘where’s your sense of adventure and your desire to dream the dream, McCandless?’ But I want more than ‘there might not be anything in the laws of physics as we know them to stop us from …’ as a reason to believe my grandkids will be living on Mars. And he does a very good job in presenting the ‘problems’ here, even if he ends up being a bit more optimistic than I would be. Given I’ve rather strong doubts we will see out another century without destroying ourselves with nuclear weapons (a threat we seem to have ignored rather bizarrely as the threat increased following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the relative safety of the Cold War) many of these questions are likely to remain academic.

There is talk of interstellar flights (and this from a creature whose furthest adventures to date have been to the moon and who nearly kills astronauts (cosmonauts) whenever we leave them on space stations for any length of time). Still, we are talking millions of years into the future – so why not? Well, economics is probably one reason. If travelling away from Earth at near light speeds is necessary for those traveling to the stars it is hard to see why any future society would bother. The stars are an awfully long way away and by the time the people on the rocket would reach these far away places billions of years will have elapsed here on Earth. Why would the people on the Earth (the people paying the bills, after all) bother sending other people so far away only for us to never hear from them again? (Well, unless they are telephone hygienists, of course) I just can’t see how we would ever think that this would be the way to go. I’m not saying we never will go off to the stars, but if we do it will not be with the same sense of exploration that Columbus was sent off with. We will be sending off these ships with the certain knowledge that we will never hear from them again.

Despite Kaku being very interested in string theory, he does present it here as having many failings and also presents some interesting questions about the possibility of us ever developing a theory of everything, either made of strings or not. He discusses this concern on the basis of Gödel's incompleteness theorem in mathematics – and given physics is the most mathematical of the sciences this ought to provide some pause for thought. Gödel's theorem says that there will always be things in mathematics that we know must be true, but can never prove to be true within mathematics itself. The goal of mathematics throughout the ages (since the Greeks, in fact) has been to create a system of proven axioms that build upon each other to create the whole structure of mathematics as a logically complete whole – Gödel proved this dream could never be realised. The fear now is that this may also be true in Physics.

Kaku does not think that very much is impossible (given enough time, enough knowledge, enough energy). He also handles some of the philosophical issues in some of the impossibilities mentioned (teleportation is an interesting case – are you the same person on the other side of the teleportation device as you were on the side you entered or should Scotty be charged with your murder?) The stuff on lasers – and why light sabres might not be the weapon of choice for quite some time (a bit of a problem with the necessary power source) was very interesting.

There is a question I’ve always wondered about which is mentioned here, but not explained. We now have images of single atoms. In fact, I’ve seen pictures of atoms spelling IBM. All well and good (although I am rather surprised it didn’t spell Coke). But I’ve always wondered how this is possible given the uncertainty principle. The uncertainty principle says that we can’t know both the position and velocity of a particle with absolute certainty, I’d have thought a photo of an atom would violate that.

All the same, this book presents lots of material on many fascinating topics in a way that is very accessible (no maths required). My favourite was a discussion on how to point a star that is collapsing to form a black hole so that it becomes a kind of huge gamma ray weapon. I mean, you’d really have to hate the people you were aiming it at. I would say that to go to all that trouble you would really have to hate them rather a lot. Presumably they would need to be responsible for Vogon poetry or something equally atrocious.
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Aug 07, 2009

Khalid rated it

Shelves: audio-books, already-read

This book is one of the best books in science. The approach the author follows is really interesting. He would take things that are available in science fiction, and discuss how they can be possible in real life, using real physics. He starts with attainable things, until he gets to the really impossible things.

This book gives you a very interesting perspective on physics, and is definitely worth reading for any science fiction enthusiast. Part of what I read from it is that science ...more

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May 30, 2009

John rated it

Shelves: book-on-tape

Interesting exploration of what may someday be. Though Mr. Kaku is probably right in most of what he says, I am saddened to hear that he leaves little room for the discovery of additional laws of physics that will blow his timeline away.

I suppose that it is only to be expected when you speak to a scientist that only what is scientifically known now is appropriate for consideration. Still, he could have been a bit more flexible in how he worded some of his more absolute statements...more

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May 27, 2009

Kate rated it

This book was fantastic, and it really captured my attention! I've read enough 'the physics of Star Trek' and the 'physics of Indiana Jones' books to know that lots of them are written so that people can snag some of that bandwagon money with their smarts. There's nothing wrong with that, mind, if I had any great grasp of physics I'd be writing a book about how the magic of Harry Potter surely has a grounding in reality. But my point is that a lot of those books are dry and lengthy, and they req...more

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Jul 29, 2011

Russell Grant added it

I really enjoyed this one, he tackles pretty much every science fiction invention you could think of. So for light sabres for example, he explains how they are portrayed, the history of the science behind them, what we currently have that could be a bases, and what we require to actually achieve the item.

Unlike some books like this, Kaku explains and informs some incredibly abstract ideas and complex physics in such a way that you never feel like your getting bogged down, it's pretty easy to ...more

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Apr 12, 2010

Simon rated it

· review of another edition

I won't pretend to have properly understood more than a quarter of the theoretical physics covered in this book but you'd have to have a heart of stone not to enjoy a book that discusses topics such as nuclear fired x-ray lasers, ramjet fusion engines and nanobots.

What this book does brilliantly is to introduce the basics of theoretical physics (eg quantam theory, Newtonian mechanics, Maxwell's theory of light, how a laser works etc) and to survey the keenest cutting-edge of contemp...more

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Dec 08, 2011

Mangoo rated it

· review of another edition

There are people that turn to computer science because when young they were compulsive videogamers. And there are people who turn to be physicists because when young they wanted to believe in science fiction. Michio Kaku belongs to the latter, perhaps rarer, case and this book represents his attempts to check the status of technologies depicted in the likes of Star Trek or Star Wars according to the current scientific knowledge and outlook.
Kaku presents a rather wide range of topics in a fo...more

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Aug 04, 2009

Nicholas rated it

I like Michio Kaku. It's amazing that someone as intelligent and lost in the world of physics and mathematics to co-create something as complicated as string field theory can write lay science books that are interesting, relevant and funny. In this book, Kaku uses science fiction to explore the realms of physics and as a jumping-off point for the discussion of theoretical physics. A sucker for science fiction myself, I found Kaku's discussions enlightening and heartening. Kaku is an optimist...moreI like Michio Kaku. It's amazing that someone as intelligent and lost in the world of physics and mathematics to co-create something as complicated as string field theory can write lay science books that are interesting, relevant and funny. In this book, Kaku uses science fiction to explore the realms of physics and as a jumping-off point for the discussion of theoretical physics. A sucker for science fiction myself, I found Kaku's discussions enlightening and heartening. Kaku is an optimist with a firm belief in human progress and has a way of reaching to the kid in all of us by showing how marvels such as teleportation, interstellar travel and time travel are perfectly acceptable in the realm of modern physics. He is also very careful to caution us by giving realistic timetables for humanity's ability to harness and create such fabulous inventions.

Kaku divides all of his discussions on the "impossible" into three categories:

Class I impossibilities: Things that do not violate the known laws of physics, but require a technological leap in our capacity to manipulate energy. These impossibilities have a strong chance of becoming reality by at the latest, the end of the century.

Class II impossibilities: Things that do not violate the known laws of physics but are impossible for our level of civilization (his categorization of types of civilizations classified by their use of energy is interesting in its own right). These things may become possible if we make the leap from a type 0 civilization to a type 1 civilization (more on this below).

Class III impossibilities: Things that violate known laws of physics, but that may be possible if we expand our knowledge and find ways to create conditions or environments that violate these laws and create new ones (sounds crazy, but Kaku insists this would be possible for a type 3 civilization).

Before I forget, Kaku explains (based on the work of noted physicist Freeman Dyson) we are a type 0 civilization because we use dead plant and animal matter as our chief source of energy, which is extremely limited and inefficient. A type 1 civilization has mastered terrestrial energy - they can manipulate the weather, mine the oceans and tap energy at the core of their planet. A type 2 civilization has mastered stellar energy - their energy consumption is so vast they need to extract it from a star. A type 3 civilization are galactic, they consume and can manipulate the energy of multiple stars in multiple solar systems. We are on the verge of breaking through to a type 1 civilization. Depressing right? The leap between levels of civilizations, however, is predicted to occur at faster and faster rates, much like computer speeds doubling and doubling where growth becomes exponential. The hardest part is starting out. ;)

Anyway, the most interesting thing is that most of the bizarre and seemingly magical technology discussed in Physics of the Impossible Kaku classifies as Class 1 impossibilities. As crazy as it may sound, teleportation, cloaking devices, robots and the harnessing of anti-matter are all possible by the end of the century. This is more than wishful thinking. Kaku presents sound science to back up his claims, which is enormously exciting and makes me anxious for the future.

Sadly, things like faster-than-light interstellar travel and time travel are class 2 impossibilities that we will never see in our lifetimes.

A great book for the kid in all of us, and a sound introduction to the world of theoretical physics for all people. (less)

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Sep 06, 2011

John Shaver rated it

· review of another edition

This is a good book for understanding where we are in terms of making some of science fiction's wildest technological advances into reality. It's a difficult read, but easy to get into because Kaku is obviously a science fiction buff who is very passionate and knowledgeable about his topic. I'm only giving it three stars, though, partly because so much of it is wildly speculative and therefore not very practical, and partly because Kaku, like so many other scientists along with him, sometimes ...more

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Jun 16, 2011

Eric Bauman rated it

Shelves: read-in-2011

My history with physics is not a pleasant one. In my senior year of high school, I took honors physics—since I was in honors pretty-much-everything-else. The teacher was a drug addict and was only there about half the time until he got fired (effective the end of the school year), after which we saw him occasionally. I had to try to learn physics pretty much on my own for the state’s Regents exam—which I barely passed.

Then I went to Virginia, where I had to take three semesters of p...moreMy history with physics is not a pleasant one. In my senior year of high school, I took honors physics—since I was in honors pretty-much-everything-else. The teacher was a drug addict and was only there about half the time until he got fired (effective the end of the school year), after which we saw him occasionally. I had to try to learn physics pretty much on my own for the state’s Regents exam—which I barely passed.

Then I went to Virginia, where I had to take three semesters of physics—not because of any desire to, but because I was in the Engineering School and it was a requirement. With my thorough knowledge gleaned from high school, I just barely squeaked by those classes as well.

So, given all that, why am I reading a book on high-end theoretical physics? Because in spite of the system’s best efforts to make me hate it, I do find certain areas of physics fascinating. Now, this is not to say that I understand it all (or even half of it). In fact, I recently read a book on nanotechnology (a “For Dummies” book, even), and had a really hard time of it.

Dr. Kaku, however, has a gift for making his explanations for the most part understandable to somebody like me. In this book, he explores areas of physics that are staples of science fiction and that many people consider impossible in the real world—topics like teleportation, Death Stars, time travel, telekinesis, telepathy, and so forth—and discusses whether these are really impossible or not. He divides the book into three sections: Class I impossibilities, which are things that are impossible with today’s technology, but could come into being within the next century or so; Class II, which are things that could happen but will take centuries or millenia, and; Class III, which are things that are impossible given our current knowledge of the laws of physics.

This is not to say that I understood everything he said. There were some topics that elicited the equivalent of a blank stare from me, but I found that I could follow most of the book, and more than most other science books I’ve read. But what really helped me was his voluminous knowledge of science fiction and being able to relate the concepts to things that I’ve seen in the movies or read in books.

If you have an interest in physics, I would recommend this book.
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Dec 19, 2008

Jeff rated it

Shelves: science, non-fiction, physics, self-help

This was really fun. If you like The Science of Star Trek, or The Physics of Superheroes, then you'll like this.

I found the first 1/4 a little slow starting, and not much different from The Science of Star Trek, but after that it really got rolling and I had so much fun.

One nit picky comment would be that Mr. Kaku is always using the word "theory" when in some cases I think he should be using the word "hypothesis". The only reason I mention this is ...more

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Jan 21, 2009

Matt rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

These types of books tend to bore the reader with physics 101 and then get into complicated stuff that only a Harvard physics Phd candidate might be able to grasp. There is not too much Physics 101 in this book. It looks like Kaku started to put some in there, but then realized most people interested in this type of stuff have a good grasp of basic nuclear and quantum physics.

Some interesting theories about the evolution and natural selection of universes, but that's about it. You...more

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Jul 07, 2011

Lews rated it

· review of another edition

This was the first book I have read by Kaku, but it will definitely not be the last. I am not very knowledgeable about math or science in general, but he was extremely easy to understand (for most of the book) and this book was a very enjoyable page turner. He has clearly read a lot of Sci-Fi novels, as all of the "impossible" things he discusses are taken from things like Star Wars or Star Trek, which makes it even more interesting to read (at least for a lover of Sci-Fi like myself)....more

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Jan 23, 2012

Tripp rated it

This is the best sort of popular science. It educates and entertains and builds the desire to learn more. The book takes ideas from science fiction are impossible now, like invisibility and even time travel, but that could become possible as physics advances. In short chapters, Kaku takes each concept, explains what scientists have attempted to date and what might come in the future. His style is brisk, modest and aimed at making the lay reader feel smart enough to understand.

The downs...more

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Jun 02, 2010

Katya rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think this is one of the most fascinating books that I've read in the past few years. It talks about the most current developments of science, and how these are applicable to the creation of things and concepts from science fiction books and movies.

The author breaks up the concepts into 3 categories: level 1 impossibility - those items whose creation or existence does not conflict with any known law of physics, whose development is already being worked on, and therefore he expects...more

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Jun 15, 2009

Wesley added it

I read this book when I was still stoked about the recent Star Trek movie that was released. The book itself explains the possiblity of many sci-fi inventions (i.e. force fields, hyperspace, telepathy, etc...) The author does a really good job of explaining all these issues in laymens terms and, furthermore, it is really easy to understand because of it.
I enjoyed this books because it taught me a bunch of rather interesting anecdotes. For example, in the next ten years or so, we will actua...more

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Nov 14, 2009

Pedro Plassen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science

The author starts by picking sci-fi technology from Star Wars, Star Trek, etc and figuring how soon humankind will have access to them, based on the actual knowledge on physics. He goes on to classify them into 3 classes of impossibilities (I - understandable through the current physic theories, therefore achievable in a century or two; II - on the verge of our currently knowledge of physics, so achievable in centuries or millenia and finally III - imply a rewriting of the current known law of p...more

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Jun 29, 2011

Tim rated it

This read was an experiment - not normally my type of reading for pleasure, rather truly meant as a read for growth and expansion. After all, who is against trying to expand the sphere of the subjects they read, and as a bonus, perhaps they'll learn something of value - science wise.

Thus, Physics of the Impossible, written by a nice looking guy (back cover), Michio Kaku, who is the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York....moreThis read was an experiment - not normally my type of reading for pleasure, rather truly meant as a read for growth and expansion. After all, who is against trying to expand the sphere of the subjects they read, and as a bonus, perhaps they'll learn something of value - science wise.

Thus, Physics of the Impossible, written by a nice looking guy (back cover), Michio Kaku, who is the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. As the introduction states, "He is the cofounder of string theory ... has written several books including Parallel Worlds; Beyond Einstein; and Hyperspace - one of the best science books of the year as determined by the NY Times and the Washington Post.... Really, his resume is amazing - host of numerous documentaries on National Geographic and Discovery channels, a frequent guest on national TV and the BBC, and apparently has his own syndicated radio program.

With an inviting style of writing, Kaku states the purpose of the book to bring the reader into a study of the impossible. As a child, he asked himself "One day would it be possible to walk through walls? To build starships that can travel faster than the speed of light? To read other people's minds? ..." similarly with robots, invisibility,time travel,etc. Kaku tantalizes the reader into the expectation that he or she will get a glimpse of whether laser guns could be real as on Star Trek (along with "beam me up Scotty" teleporters, and force fields) or Star Wars (death stars), by some simple grasping of the basic laws of physics and the not so basic theories today stemming from quantum mechanics (also known as quantum physics or quantum theory).

Providing further structure to the book, Kaku's approach is to write about each subject then give it a Class 1, 2 or 3 impossibility rating. Class 1 = within a few decades or so, this could happen. Nothing in physics is holding us back; Class 2 = not sure, the subject is at the edge of our technological understanding. In other words, we aren't totally sure we understand the issue, therefore we'll need a few thousand years progress before we can decide whether its a Class 1 or a Class 3 Impossibility; Class 3 = those ideas or technologies that violate our known laws of physics. (There aren't that many of these to date, Kaku assures us, and who knows maybe our laws are wrong or inadequate.)

I should have known better. The chapters start out easily enough, as long as one doesn't try too hard to judge whether one has comprehended a great deal covering such interesting concepts as force fields, lasers, and invisibility. However 2/3rds of the way in (and I am learning some things about light protons, waves of possibilities in quantum theory), I become more and more struck by the number of words I am familiar with, even as my comprehension of what I read drops alarmingly. At this point, I see that I know 90% of the words, but am comprehending only, say, 30%. This comprehension falls steadily as Kaku warms up to his own fascination with parallel universes, time travel, wormholes (star trek again), until at some point, I realize I'm just skimming (which I doggedly did through the last two chapters so I officially give myself a "finish").

My breaking point? Page 246 of 283 pages - not counting an epilogue. The test is this - if you can read the following paragraph and find it delightful and meaningful (or can form any kind of opinion), this is a book for you. For me, it was a red flag, though an instructive one in that I found myself experiencing what it is to read smoothly, yet comprehend little.

On page 246, in discussing parallel universes, Kaku writes of an approach where "... the universe simply exists in many parallel states, all defined by a master wave function, called the "wave function of the universe." In quantum cosmology, the universe started out as a quantum fluctuation of the vacuum, that is, as a tiny bubble in the space-time foam. Most baby universes in the space-time foam have a big bang and then immediately have a Big Crunch afterward. That is why we never see them, because they are extremely small and short-lived, dancing in and out of the vacuum. This means that even "nothing" is boiling with baby universes popping in and out of existence, but on a scale that is too small to detect with our instruments. But for some reason, one of the bubbles in the space-time foam did not recollapse into a Big Crunch, but kept on expanding. This is our universe. According to Alan Guth, this means that the entire universe is a free lunch." End quote. (less)

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May 28, 2010

Travis Roberson rated it

This kind of drags along in the beginning. The first three chapters are interesting, but seem a little tough to get through. After that the book seems to pick up.

I'm sure most of us that have read this have seen Kaku on one of his eighteen billion television appearances. Regardless, he is a fascinating man and truly makes you believe that what we see displayed across the television and movie screens. The science behind all these possibilities is at times a little hard to grasp but it...more

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About Michio Kaku

Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, best-selling author, and popularizer of science. He’s the co-founder of string field theory (a branch of string theory), and continues Einstein’s search to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into one unified theory.

More about Michio Kaku...

Books by Michio Kaku

Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension

Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos

Physics Of The Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny And Our Daily Lives By The Year 2100

Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century

Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe

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title link	preview: Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel
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