|
|
Title: Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel
Purchase
Item
Manufacturer: Doubleday
List Price: $26.95
Our Price: $16.40
|
|
| Customer Reviews: |
| Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Doubleday Making Science accessible to the masses | I've been a big fan of Dr. Kaku since I first saw him on The Science Channel years ago, but this is the first book of his I've read.
In "The Physics of the Impossible," Michio Kaku explores the very subjects that fuels the imagination of those who love science fiction because of the possibilities it raises. Is Time Travel possible? What about Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Light Sabers? Could one really build a Death Star?
One of the great things about Dr. Kaku's approach is that he does not talk down to the lay person, but he writes just as he speaks, with a simple eloquence that makes these complex concepts accessible to the non-Physicist mind. And it is always clear just how much passion Dr. Kaku has for his work, and he easily passes that on to his audience through his words.
Another great thing about this book is that it's not only an education on the concepts of such things as String Theory and so much more, it's also an exploration of the history behind moderm Physics, dating back to the days of Isaac Newton and beyond. I learned so much about the triumphs, and even more surprising, the tragedies befalling many of the pioneers of modern science merely because they were people with concepts far ahead of their times.
I have to say that if you are a young physicist in the making, an older person who is simply fascinated in the subject of Science, a Science Fiction writer looking for deeper understanding of these subjects to inspire you in your writing, or just someone wanting to get better insight into the mysteries behind the nature of the universe, then this is definitely the book for you.
- Gregory Bernard Banks, author, reader, reviewer | | Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Doubleday Physics of the Possible... | I found this book highly entertaining and thought-provoking. Extrapolating from current knowledge is, as Kaku admits, a tricky proposition. Yet he does a creditable job, succeeding largely through his approach: selecting venerable science fiction technologies - invisibility, force fields, ray guns, etc. - as end points to work towards by surveying appropriate cutting edge scientific disciplines. Through this literary device Kaku is able to offer the general reader a very good snapshot of scientific research circa 2008.
Science fiction fans will be edified by the very real possibilities produced from this imaginative genre, a genre that has inspired many a scientist over the years. Kaku is one of the most effective popularizers of science around, and if this take on scientific research attracts new interest to the field, just maybe the war against science will not be so easily won after all. | | Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Doubleday Disappointing | | I can't believe all the rave reviews of this book, which encouraged me to buy it. How disappointing it turned out to be. To me, it is a tired rehash of ground that Kaku and others have covered thoroughly before, and his knowledge of science fiction is nowhere near as great as he thinks it is. Time he retired. | | Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Doubleday Impossible to not like | Being a Dr Kaku fan and enjoying nothing better than to listen to him on late-night radio or read his books, this book did not disappoint. I plan to purchase another copy for my son.
I own and have read all of his general science books and this one continues a impressive track record. I rated this book a four instead of five because I felt it wasn't quite as good as his other general science books. I do have an issue with some of the reviews that critique this book after only 30 minutes of skimming -- that is a vast injustice. Some reviews also critique it because they have seen attempts at explaining the physics of Star Wars/Star Trek elsewhere. I have not read those other attempts but believe this book would be ideal to use in a discussion group of teenage or older students to excite and motivate them for further studies -- maybe they would imitiate Dr Kaku himself and build cloud chambers and colliders for science fairs while in high school. Some of his topics always cause a stir of interest like inter-stellar travel, multi-verse universe, quantum physics, time travel and the like.
I like the way, Dr Kaku divides the various perceived impossibilities into three classes and discusses the revelant science and scientists involved. His writing style is easy to follow and the way he describes/explains things makes him a Carl Sagan-type spokesman for this time. You can not go wrong with buying this book and reading it -- don't skim or you will be only cheating yourself. | | Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Doubleday The distillation of all TV science programs. | | Being a big fan of the Discovery, Science, and Nat Geo channels I find myself frequently overwhelmed with current theories and discoveries. 'They said this, yet he said that'. Dr. Kaku brushes back our errant hairs of confusion and clearly does a "Cliffs Notes" of almost everything around us. The universe and the multi-verse make sense, and allows us to stretch out and knead our brain cells like those weird grey rubber erasers you used in art class. The results were unexpected yet transient. You saw it for a moment moving into something else. Dr. Kaku seizes on these moments and glides us effortlessly into a whole new set of dimensions that further support the ideas of a great number of intellectuals that risked everything to lead the way in the multi-verse that we live in. | | Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Doubleday Product Description | 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. |
| |
