The Impossible Explained

books:


	• Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, ... Michio Kaku Doubleday, 2008 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 34 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Impossible Explained

A very good book for the physics enthusiast - especially the unique approach the author brings to the table. The author takes a good look at various phenomenon in science fiction such as 'Force fields', 'Invisibility', 'Teleportation', 'Time Travel', 'Perpetual motion machines' and so on and classifies them into Classes of 1 to 3. Class 1 impossibilities are those that are impossible today but do not violate the known laws of physics and may be realized within this century, Class 2 are those that may be realized in millions (!) of years; and Class 3 (surprisingly very few) that violate the known laws of physics and may never be realized in this universe.

An easy to read book with many references to popular science fiction books as well as TV shows and movies, it enables the reader to put in perspective many of the science fiction concepts that we often hear about. Numerous scientists and authors have also been interviewed by the author and their feedback brought into the book. However I would have liked to see more of the author's views on Ray Kurzweil predictions on spiritual machines and humanity overcoming death.

The author's science projects at school will invoke an inferiority complex in most of us :) but does give an idea of what precocious children can achieve in the school system of the United States. In spite of the good research that went into the book, I noticed a minor error which will titillate Indian readers. In page 44 of the book, the Hindu God Shiva is mentioned as a goddess.

I would recommend this book to readers interested in Physics and Science fiction.

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Review by Richard

The book is easy reading for a person not heavily involved with science. It is informative and makes you want to think about events and discoveries yet to come.

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Michio Kaku book

As always, Amazon is the place to find exactly what I need. thanks
This is a great book for my neighbor, Bob

Impossible is relative

As he did in "Visions," "Hyperspace," and "Beyond Einstein," Professor Michio Kaku has again penned a gem. Eminently readable, and as always packed full of related facts, this logically guided but wide-eyed romp across the terrain of the impossible, near-impossible and the far-fetched impossible, contains a veritable boutique of novel and leading-edge ideas.

But that is not all. He also explains the history and the science involved and why they will work in the short, medium, or long term, or not at all.

The book is conveniently divided into three equally impressive sections: Section one deals with what the author calls class I impossibilities. These include technologies that are impossible today, but since they do not violate any of the known laws of physics, could become possible in the short term. Included in this family are teleportation, antimatter engines, certain forms of telepathy, psychokinesis, and invisibility.

Section II deals with Class II Impossibilities. This section deals with technologies that sit at the very edge of what we know: things such as time machines, and time travel, including through wormholes. Finally, Section III deals with Class III or long-term impossibilities. In this group are technologies that DO violate the known laws of physics, and thus would require fundamental shifts in our understanding of physics for them to become possible. Included in this group are precognition and perpetual motion machines.

What is most striking about the guarded speculation and related tales in the book is how relative impossibility really is, and how so many of the technologies thought to be impossible in the past have actually not only become "possible," but exists as useful conveniences today.

Professor Kaku, in addition to being a superb Scientist, is also a good storyteller. This a deliciously fine intellectual feast and quick read. Five Stars.

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A Lot of Fun

I have never read a book about physics so I didn't know what to expect! I feel I got a bit of an education and had a lot of fun reading it. Thanks

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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 the science of optics and electromagnetism may one day enable us to bend light around an object, like a stream flowing around a boulder, making the object invisible to observers ?downstream?
· How ramjet rockets, laser sails, antimatter engines, and nanorockets may one day take us to the nearby stars
· How telepathy and psychokinesis, once considered pseudoscience, may one day be possible using advances in MRI, computers, superconductivity, and nanotechnology
· Why a time machine is apparently consistent with the known laws of quantum physics, although it would take an unbelievably advanced civilization to actually build one
Kaku uses his discussion of each technology as a jumping-off point to explain the science behind it. An extraordinary scientific adventure, Physics of the Impossible takes readers on an unforgettable, mesmerizing journey into the world of science that both enlightens and entertains.