Physics of the Future

Title: Physics of the Future

Author: Michio Kaku

Publisher:  Allen Lane, 2011 (First)

ISBN: 978-1-846-14268-0

Pages: 368

A good work to guess the road science will take in the next hundred years. Michio Kaku, himself a world-class theoretical physicist, has produced this book after interviewing hundreds of distinguished scientists, each one master of their own particular field of study. The greatest pitfall one has to overcome in hazarding guesses about the future is the severe underestimate one normally makes of the potential of science. We are so groomed to the way things are at present, that we fail to appreciate how science can jump over the seemingly insurmountable obstacles we face today. Even renowned scientists are not free from such prejudices, as Lord Kelvin noted in a self-satisfied way in the 1890s that physics will be over in a few years! This was even before the development of quantum mechanics, relativity and the computer revolution that was to transform the 20^th century into the most productive one in the entire human history.

The book is well categorized into salient points which are going to define the coming century. The future developments possible in computers, artificial intelligence, medicine, nanotechnology, energy, space travel, wealth creation and human civilization are identified and explained. Computers would become so cheap and ubiquitous that we may fail to see them as chips begin to be at the core of every conceivable thing we may use in the future. Kaku’s only alarm is the date on which Moore’s law may break down. The famous hypothesis states that computer power doubles in roughly 18 months. The law, formulated in the 1960s when computer age was just kicking off has stood intact so far, resulting in cheap computing power so that the masses can afford it. However, physical constraints would sooner or later put brakes on the application of the law, which would be a great barrier in progress for mankind existing at that time.

Human comfort will be boundless, with medicinal facilities in full stream, to eliminate all our diseases and dangerous conditions. Our life spans will be increased several fold and one would be able to choose the age to remain for a long time. Robots would accompany us everywhere, whose intelligence would be on near par with humans. The horrendous amount of energy required for all these endeavours will be generated by super-efficient mechanisms, like hydrogen, cold fusion, or antimatter. Interstellar travel may start to become possible around the end of the century. Kaku introduces a classification of civilizations based on the amount of energy they consume. A Type 1 civilization uses all the available energy of a planet, and can control the living conditions in the planet. A Type 2 civilization exploits all the energy of star, while a Type 3 civilization uses the energy available in a whole galaxy. On this scale, our existing society is yet to reach Type 1 status, the most we can claim is a Type 0.7 society!

Kaku muses over the nature of human relations in this advanced era. The nature of jobs available would radically differ from the current ones. Those who do repetitive and purely mechanical work may find themselves unemployed by robots. But pattern recognition and common sense are two aspect which the robots would not be able to achieve in the foreseeable future. So, people indulging in creative work like art, design, music and similar areas would flourish. Wisdom would be the one thing badly in need at that time. Commerce and trade also would transform dramatically. In place of the commodity capitalism in vogue, intellectual capitalism would dominate the earth. Information is poised to become a prized commodity of the coming era.

The book is splendidly researched, with inputs from hundreds of experts. However, Kaku’s narration pales into mere reporting when fields other than his specialization come into view. When confronted with the advances plausible in various areas like medicine and commerce, the quality of the output is not comparable to those from the fields of space travel or computers or artificial intelligence. The book ends with a relevant quote from Mahatma Gandhi, which every nation and every person should keep in their hearts, irrespective of the technical excellence of the society they live in. On the layout, the book spans 368 pages, which should be cut down a bit in future editions. Readers would definitely appreciate some brevity.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star