Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel | 
| Author: Michio Kaku
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 3459
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0385520697
Dewey Decimal Number: 530
EAN: 9780385520690
ASIN: 0385520697
Publication Date: March 11, 2008
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Product Description
pA fascinating exploration of the science of the impossible#8212;from death rays and force fields to invisibility cloaks#8212;revealing to what extent such technologies might be achievable decades or millennia into the future.brbrOne hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. In iPhysics of the Impossible/i, 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. brbrFrom teleportation to telekinesis, Kaku uses the world of science fiction to explore the fundamentals#8212;and the limits#8212;of the laws of physics as we know them today. He ranks the impossible technologies by categories#8212;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:br 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 #8220;downstream#8221;br How ramjet rockets, laser sails, antimatter engines, and nanorockets may one day take us to the nearby starsbr How telepathy and psychokinesis, once considered pseudoscience, may one day be possible using advances in MRI, computers, superconductivity, and nanotechnologybr 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 onebrKaku uses his discussion of each technology as a jumping-off point to explain the science behind it. An extraordinary scientific adventure, iPhysics of the Impossible /itakes readers on an unforgettable, mesmerizing journey into the world of science that both enlightens and entertains./p
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
 Excellent source of knowledge without killing it December 19, 2008
Some of these egg heads can get a bit dry (Brief History of Time) but Kaku is interesting, exciting (you can hear it in his voice like a little kid... he loves what he does like the croc hunter guy did) and always moving from topic to topic never sitting on one thing so long that you ever get bored.br /br /A very good read that goes from fundamentals to modern science in a pithy, concise and fun manner! br /br /
Great book for beginners. December 1, 2008
I'm not much for reviews, but I really enjoyed this book. In a crude nutshell, if you're into sci-fi i.e. time travel, star wars, or just curious about what might be possible in terms of physics/quantum theory, this book will leave you wanting more. The first couple of chapters were kind of difficult to follow(mainly because of a lot of the scientific terms. But no worries, it'll get easier and flow much faster. br /br /If you're a fan of history channel's "The Universe" this is definitely a book for you.
Wherein "impossible" sometimes only means "quite difficult"! November 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
What do Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Lawrence Krauss, Clifford Pickover, Brian Greene, Douglas Hofstadter and Michio Kaku have in common? Aside from being respected physicists, scientists, mathematicians and theoreticians, they also have the uncanny ability to write at a level that we mere mortals can understand. Happily this allows our workaday world of common non-scientists to participate in at least a rudimentary understanding of the esoteric mysteries of the universe that are fascinating in the extreme and so bizarre as to outstrip the most obtuse imaginings of fiction writers.br /br /Michio Kaku takes us on a grand tour of the modern world of physics by grouping topics that either were or are still considered impossible into three large classes - first, those items that don't appear to violate the currently known laws of science and having been considered as impossibilities in times past are either now realities or are verging on reality as technology and experimentation makes progress with such blinding speed; second, items that also don't appear to break the rules as we know them but await the development of technology that is likely centuries or millennia beyond whatever skills we might even envisage at this point in history; and, finally, those things that our current knowledge of scientific law would suggest are genuinely impossible.br /br /Kaku treats the eager science loving reader with a generous and formidable list of topics - force fields, telekinesis and ESP, faster-than-light travel, time travel, parallel universes, perpetual motion, telepathy, phaser weaponry, precognition, antimatter, negative matter, hyperspace travel, extraterrestrials and much more. His writing style is at once down to earth, scientifically correct without being either esoteric or condescending, and even witty and humorous as he regales us with amusing tales of the correspondence between science and the astonishingly prescient writers of the science fiction genre. As you might well imagine, the brilliant writers and creators of the Star Trek series come up in Kaku's discussion on more than one occasion.br /br /Brilliant, informative and entertaining! Highly recommended. But Class III impossibilities being forever impossible? If I learned anything from this book, I don't think I'll ever say "never" again. Who knows? Stay tuned!br /br /Paul Weiss
stretching the mind beyond the routine November 25, 2008
LIke all of Dr. Kaku's books, this volume pushes the envelope of oiur current scientific understanding. This is where reality meets science fiction of the believable variety. And is written in a manner that does not require advanced degrees in physics. A must for the adventurous of mind.
 The Impossible is Merely Preposterous November 10, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Michio Kaku has a strong literary record as a Sagan-like popularizer of the deepest science, with a true concern for the knowledge of the masses. Kaku's previous books (especially "Hyperspace") are imminently readable treasures for the physics enthusiast who doesn't hold multiple PhD's. But unfortunately, this latest book is not very well written and mostly recycles material that has been presented better elsewhere. Here Kaku builds mostly from fanciful science fiction gadgets and processes like time travel, wormholes, telepathy, and even perpetual motion machines. Many of these amazing things might just be possible in the future - either the near future or the extremely far future - and Kaku delivers on the laws of physics that would have to be conquered (or even altered) for some of these "impossibilities" to see the light of day. br /br /But the book is awkwardly paced, with Kaku often going off on tangents into obscure areas of academia that I suspect need a popular author to drum up funding, such as research into gravitational waves or the construction of immense super-colliders. And after drifting into such esoteric realms, Kaku tends to return abruptly to pop sci-fi gadgets and quick pronouncements on whether or not they're possible. One perplexing example is a wide detour into the bizarre realm of tachyons that derails an initially straightforward chapter on precognition. Kaku's pop culture coverage is also fractured and arbitrary, at least as presented here, which can be seen in the chapters on extraterrestrials/UFOs and robots. Another problem is an inconsistent attitude toward the possibility of new discoveries about the laws of the universe. On several occasions Kaku points out incorrect pronouncements on this matter from old closed-minded scientists, but can't always avoid making the same mistake himself when speaking of present-day breakthroughs. br /br /Granted, this is still a mostly interesting book, but Kaku is not entirely successful in combining cutting-edge knowledge with often cheesy or outdated science fiction fantasies. This leads to some awkward writing and pacing that are not up to Kaku's usual standards. [~doomsdayer520~]
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