Physics of the Impossible

Title: Physics of the ImpossibleAuthor: Michio KakuPublisher: Penguin, 2008Pages: 303

Michio Kaku, himself a noted physicist who popularizes science so that it is made enjoyable even to lay people has produced a splendid example of how a book which deals on advanced scientific concepts can become a best seller. In a simple to understand way, he describes profound ideas in an inimitable style full of interesting anecdotes and historical diversions which accentuates its appeal to all classes of readers. Kaku is deeply attracted to the popular science fiction movie series, ‘Star Trek’ and several of the impossible machines (impossible with today’s technology) he describes trace their origin to some of the lesser known episodes of Star Trek. The book details some of the ideas which are classified as impossible in today’s world, but may become realities in a short period of time when the underlying science and technology has advanced enough. He lists some of the examples which were marked as impossible by 19^th century physics but which were proved to be so useful in our everyday lives that we often take them for granted! Lord Kelvin, one of the most prominent scientists of the Victorian era, declared that ‘heavier-than-air’ devices such as the airplane was impossible, X-rays were a hoax and radio had no future. Lord Rutherford, who discovered the nucleus of the atom, dismissed the possibility of building an atomic bomb, comparing it to moonshine. Einstein himself wrote a paper in 1939 that ‘proved’ that black holes could never form. Great as these men are, we can’t help smile at the short-sightedness of their approaches with our advantage of hindsight.

Three categories of impossibilities are discussed in this work. The first is the Class 1 impossibility, which is impossible today, but does not violate the known laws of physics. So they might be possible in this century, or perhaps the next, in modified form. Class 2 impossibility, on the other hand, are technologies that sit at the edge of our understanding of the physical world. If they are possible at all, they might be realized on a scale of millennia to millions of years in the future. Class 3 impossibilities are a class of its own, indeed. These violate the known laws of physics and if they do turn out to be possible, they would represent a fundamental shift in our understanding of physics. He then explains several technologies based on this classification.

Class 1 impossibilities

1. Force fields: This is a thin, invisible yet impenetrable barrier able to deflect lasers and rockets alike. This may be created with plasma windows, laser curtains and carbon nanotube shields. Magnetic levitation is also a related aspect which may become feasible when high-temperature superconductivity is mastered.

2. Invisibility: Metamaterials may render objects invisible. These are substances created by embedding tiny implants within a substance that force electromagnetic waves to bend in unorthodox ways. This will become available for the entire spectrum including visible light.

3. Phasers and death stars: Death star is a colossal weapon, the size of an entire moon, incinerating any object it collides with. Phasers are ray or beam weapons which are found only in science fiction now. Advances in laser technology may make this a reality.

4. Teleportation: It is the ability to transport a person or object instantly from one place to another. Quantum entanglement is an idea from quantum theory which will prove to transport information place to place.

5. Telepathy: Mind reading and projecting one’s ideas into another head had fascinated man kind from the very beginning. Brain scans, recognition of EEG waves, MRI scans etc have enabled researchers to associate specific wave patterns to particular thoughts and one day, this may advance further to know what’s going on in the brain.

6. Psychokinesis: This is the ability to move things by the power of the mind. The technologies for telepathy may also help in this.

7. Robots: The word ‘robot’ comes from the 1920 Czech play R.U.R by playwright Karel Capek which means ‘drudgery’ in the Czech language and ‘labour’ in Slovak. Attempts to enable them with language and speech processing is going on.

8. Extraterrestrials and UFOs: The search for extraterrestrial life will venture to further stars and galaxies. Kepler satellite is able to detect up to hundreds of earth-like planets in outer space. Kaku classifies alien civilisations according to the energy they handle like

1. Type 1 civilisations: those that harvest planetary power, utilising all the sunlight, power of volcanoes, manipulates the weather and build cities on the ocean. All planetary power is within their control

2. Type 2 civilisations: those that can utilise the entire power of their sun, making them 10 billion times more powerful than a type 1 society.

3. Type 3 civilisations: those that can use the power of an entire galaxy. They are 10 billion times more powerful than a type 2 civilisation. They have colonised billions of star systems and can exploit the power of the black hole at the centre of their galaxy.

9. Starships: Ion and plasma engines will replace the conventional thruster designs for rockets. Solar sails, Ramjet fusion, nuclear electric rockets, nuclear pulsed rockets and space elevators are budding technologies. Nanoships may also gain credence in the near future.

10. Antimatter and anti-universes: According to the standard model of quantum theory every subatomic particle has its counterpart with the opposite charge, like electron and positron. When these particles meet, they annihilate each other releasing a burst of energy and a shower of neutrinos. Such antimatter may provide the energy for spaceships of the future.

Class 2 impossibilities

1. Faster than light travel: Even though the theory of relativity denies the presence of anything that goes faster than light, tachyons are thought to be faster. Search is on for tachyons to see whether they have remained after the big bang. Worm holes and black holes are researched to find if they connect to other universes.

2. Time travel: Along with the plethora of paradoxes it offers, such as the ‘grandmother paradox’, theoretically it is possible to travel to the future if sufficient power is available to travel at speeds comparable to that of light.

3. Parallel universes: Hyperspace, which contains more than the three space dimensions and string theory which proposes 10 dimensions are due for more study in the future.

Class 3 impossibilities

1. Perpertual motion machines: Unless our understanding of thermodynamics is not altered in a big way, such machines won’t exist.

2. Precognition: The ability to predict things to come is also a remote possibility which can’t be materialised with our current state of knowledge.

There is a good passage about why scientists may often prove to be unreliable judges for phenomena put forward by freaks and frauds. “….scientists are easily fooled by those claiming to have psychic power. Scientists are trained to believe what they see in the lab. Magicians claiming psychic powers, however, are trained to deceive others by fooling their visual senses”.

Speculations about futuristic technologies in the ancient Greek texts are mentioned. “In Greek mythology, the god Vulcan forged mechanical handmaidens of gold and three-legged tables that could move under their own power. As early as 400 BC, the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum wrote about the possibility of making a robot bird propelled by steam power. In the first century AD, Hero of Alexandria (credited with designing the first machine based on steam) designed automatons, one of them with the ability to talk, according to legend. Nine hundred years ago, Al-Jazari designed and constructed automatic machines such as water clocks, kitchen appliances and musical instruments powered by water”. Probably, our home legion of vedic scientists may take a clue of two from them and ascribe them to the ever more burgeoning list of inventions in the Vedic era of India!

The Copenhagen school of quantum theory speculates that there is an invisible wall separating the microscopic world with the macroscopic and every quantum phenomenon will be in an uncertain state until an observation is made of it. ”One minority point of view is that there must be a ‘cosmic consciousness’ pervading the universe. Objects spring into being when measurements are being made, and measurements are made by conscious beings. Hence there must be a cosmic consciousness that pervades the universe determining which state we are in. Some, like Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner, have argued that this proves the existence of God or some cosmic consciousness. In fact, he even expressed an interest in the Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism, in which the universe is pervaded by an all embracing consciousness”.

The fallacy of Nostradamus’ predictions are analysed in one section. One quatrain from the predictions reads thus.

Earth-shaking fires from the world’s center roar:
Around ‘New City’ is the Earth a-quiver
Two nobles long shall wage a fruitless war
The nymph of springs pour fourth a new, red river.

This can be interpreted in any way we need. Recently, arguments have surfaced that this indicates the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York!

Doomsday cults have plagued mankind from the very ancient period to the present. In the US, William Miller declared that the End would arrive on April 3, 1843. A spectacular meteor shower by chance lit up the night sky in 1833, one of the largest of its kind, further enhancing the influence of Miller’s prophecy. Tens of thousands of devout followers, called Millerites, awaited the coming of Armageddon. When 1843 came and went without the arrival of the End of Days, the Millerite movement split into several large groups. One large piece regrouped in 1863 and changed their name to the Seventh-day Adventist Church while another group formed in 1914 called themselves, ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’.

Altogether, a fine book by any standard and this book should be owned by any student of science irrespective of their age. This may become a motivator for many children to see in science the future of mankind and the earth. Highly recommended.

Overall rating: 4 Star