Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel » (Reprint)

Michio Kaku is the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the CUNY Graduate Center, a leader in the field of theoretical physics, and cofounder of string field theory. He is the author of several widely acclaimed science books, including Parallel Worlds, Visions, Beyond Einstein, and the bestseller Hyperspace. His books have been translated all over the world. He has written for Time, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Discover Magazine, The London Daily Telegraph, New Scientist Magazine, and other periodcals.

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 IMPOSSIBLE, the renowned physicist Michio Kaku explores to what extent the technologies and devices of science fiction that are deemed equally impossible today might well become commonplace in the future.

From teleportation to telekinesis, Kaku uses the world of science fiction to explore the fundamentals—and the limits—of the laws of physics as we know them today. He ranks the impossible technologies by categories—Class I, II, and III, depending on when they might be achieved, within the next century, millennia, or perhaps never. In a compelling and thought-provoking narrative, he explains:

• How...

Publishers Weekly

In this latest effort to popularize the sciences, City University of New York professor and media star Kaku (Hyperspace) ponders topics that many people regard as impossible, ranging from psychokinesis and telepathy to time travel and teleportation. His Class I impossibilities include force fields, telepathy and antiuniverses, which don't violate the known laws of science and may become realities in the next century. Those in Class II await realization farther in the future and include faster-than-light travel and discovery of parallel universes. Kaku discusses only perpetual motion machines and precognition in Class III, things that aren't possible according to our current understanding of science. He explains how what many consider to be flights of fancy are being made tangible by recent scientific discoveries ranging from rudimentary advances in teleportation to the creation of small quantities of antimatter and transmissions faster than the speed of light. Science and science fiction buffs can easily follow Kaku's explanations as he shows that in the wonderful worlds of science, impossible things are happening every day. (Mar. 11)

Preface
Acknowledgments

Part I: Class I Impossibilities
1: Force Fields
2: Invisibility
3: Phasers and Death Stars
4: Teleportation
5: Telepathy
6: Psychokinesis
7: Robots
8: Extraterrestrials and UFOs
9: Starships
10: Antimatter and Anti-universes

Part II: Class II Impossibilities
11: Faster Than Light
12: Time Travel
13: Parallel Universes

Part III: Class III Impossibilities
14: Perpetual Motion Machines
15: Precognition 2

Epilogue: The Future of the Impossible

Notes
Bibliography
Index