Physics of the Impossible
Subtitle: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Doubleday
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 352
ISBN-13: 9780385520690
Subjects: Physics -- Miscellanea; Science -- Miscellanea; Mathematical physics -- Miscellanea; Physics in literature; Human-machine systems
Genres: Miscellanea.
Description: One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. Here, 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. He uses his discussion of each technology as a jumping-off point to explain the science behind it.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Force fields; title: Invisibility; title: Phasers and death stars; title: Teleportation; title: Telepathy; title: Psychokinesis; title: Robots; title: Extraterrestrials and UFOs; title: Starships; title: Anti-matter and anti-universes; title: Faster than light; title: Time travel; title: Parallel universes; title: Perpetual motion machines; title: Clairvoyance; title: Future of the impossible.