Physics of the Impossible

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel is a 2008 book by physicist Michio Kaku, who has a Ph.D. in theoretical physics, He is a professor of theoretical physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and is a cofounder of string field theory. Kaku uses discussion of apparently sciencefictional technologies to educate the interested reader in lessons of fundamental physics. The topic of invisibility becomes a discussion on the reason the speed of light is slower in water than a vacuum, that electromagnetism occurs in waves like ripples on a pond, and a discussion on the use of newly developed composite materials. The topic of hand-held lasers, or Star Trek “phasers”, become lessons on how today’s lasers work and how the current research in the technology is done. With each discussion of science fiction technology topics he also “explains the hurdles to realizing these science fiction concepts as reality."

Contents

Each chapter states the technology mentioned and how it might become a reality, although chapters become somewhat more general towards the end of the book due to lack of research. Some of the technologies mentioned are explained as per a slightly altered form, which remains as true to the original concept as possible while remaining practical. Kaku concludes his book with a short epilogue detailing the newest frontiers in physics and how there is still much more to be learned about physics and our universe.

Preface

In the preface of the book, Kaku writes that 150 years ago technological advances, that we take for granted today, were declared impossible. William Thomson Kelvin (1824 – 1907) , a mathematical physicist and inventor of the Kelvin scale said publicly that “heavier than air” machines were impossible. “He thought X-rays were a hoax, and that radio had no future.” Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937), a famous physicist who experimentally described the atom, thought the atom bomb was impossible and he compared it to moonshine. Televisions, computers, and the internet would seem incredibly fanstastic to the people of the turn of the 20th century. Black holes were considered science fiction and even Einstein showed that black holes could not exist. 19th century science had determined that it was impossible for the earth to be billions of years old. Even in the 1920’s and 1930’s Robert Goddard was scoffed at because it was believed that rockets would never be able to go into space. Such advances were considered impossible because the basic laws of physics and science were not understood as they are understood today. Kaku states that “as a physicist he learned that the impossible is often a relative term.” So, he asks the questions – isn’t it possible to think that we might build space ships that can travel distances of light years, or think that we might teleport ourselves from one place to the other?

Kaku writes that since scientists understand the basic laws of physics today they are able to percieve or imagine a basic outline of future technologies that might work. Kaku writes: "Physicist today understand the basic laws [of physics] extending over a staggering forty three orders of magnitude, from the interior of the proton out to the expanding universe." He goes on to say that physicists can discern between future technologies that are merely improbable and those technologies that are truly impossible. He uses a system of Class I, Class II, and Class III to classify these science-fictional future technologies that are believed to be impossible today:

• Class I Impossibilities “technologies that are impossible today, but that do not violate the known laws of physics. So they might be possible in this century or the next, in modified form.”
• Class II Impossibilities “technologies that sit at the very edge of our understanding of the physical world. They might be realized on a scale of millennia to millions of years in the future"
• Class III Impossibilities “technologies that violate the known laws of physics. Surprisingly, there are very few such impossible technologies. If they do turn out to be possible, they would represent a fundamental shift in our understanding of physics”

Press coverage

New York Times

Michio Kaku, the author of this book, was interviewed, in person, about The Physics of the Impossible for "Paper Cuts", a section of the New York Times online. The article says that Dr. Kaku examines the newest Physics of today "to tell us what breakthrough innovations we can expect in our own lifetimes — and which our grandchildren’s grandchildren will still be dreaming about." According to the article's authors Kaku explained "three theoretical technologies" which could, conceivably, happen. In 2006, Duke University and Impeiral College were able to bend microwaves, around, in front of, and behind, an object so that it would appear invisible in the microwave range. The object is like a boulder in a stream. Downstream the water has converged in such a way that there is no evidence of a boulder up stream. Likewise, the microwaves converge in such a way, that to an observer from any direction, there is no evidence of an object - in the microwave range. In 2008 two groups, one at Caltech and the other in Germany, "were able to bend light, red laser light and blue-green laser light in a way consistent with invisibility. However, this was only at the microscopic level." Dr. Kaku then explained two other possible technologies - Force fields, and Laser guns.

Seattle Times

Nisi Shawl a book reviewer for the Seattle Times wrote a column about "The Physics of the Impossible" in the book section. She appropriately starts the article with a quote from Alice in Wonderland. The White Queen scolded Alice for mental laziness and boasted of believing "six impossible things before breakfast." This connects to the topics of "Physics of the Impossible", believing that the impossible today might be possible in the near, or far future. Alluding to the "six impossible things before breakfast", the reviewer, Nisi Shawl tells the reader, "In his dizzying new survey of science's furthest frontiers, 'Physics of the Impossible,' Michio Kaku asks readers not to completely discount [the six impossible things before breakfast]". Shawl points out that Dr. Kaku does, in fact, deal with the far out technologies in a completely scientific manner. She then mentions the three classes of impossible (today) technologies elucidated by Dr. Kaku in his book, and notes that the third section of the book is the shortest. Here, Dr. Kaku discusses only two topics that are Class III Impossibilities - Perpetual Motion Machines and Precognition and, these would seem to be the most impossible in any concievable future. Shawl notes at the end of the article that "[Dr.Kaku's] careful footnotes cite research in these areas by scores of other scientists"

External links

• Kaku's personal website