Product Description

In this thrilling journey into the mysteries of our cosmos, bestselling author Michio Kaku takes us on a dizzying ride to explore black holes and time machines, multidimensional space and, most tantalizing of all, the possibility that parallel universes may lay alongside our own.

Kaku skillfully guides us through the latest innovations in string theory and its latest iteration, M-theory, which posits that our universe may be just one in an endless multiverse, a singular bubble floating in a sea of infinite bubble universes. If M-theory is proven correct, we may perhaps finally find answer to the question, “What happened before the big bang?” This is an exciting and unforgettable introduction into the new cutting-edge theories of physics and cosmology from one of the pre-eminent voices in the field.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3087 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-14
• Released on: 2006-02-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781400033720
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
Well-known physicist and author Kaku (Hyperspace) tells readers in this latest exploration of the far reaches of scientific speculation that another universe may be floating just a millimeter away on a "brane" (membrane) parallel to our own. We can't pop our heads in and have a look around because it exists in hyperspace, beyond our four dimensions. However, Kaku writes, scientists conjecture that branes—a creation of M theory, marketed as possibly the long-sought "theory of everything"—may eventually collide, annihilating each other. Such a collision may even have caused what we call the big bang. In his usual reader-friendly style, Kaku discusses the spooky objects conjured up from the equations of relativity and quantum physics: wormholes, black holes and the "white holes" on the other side; universes budding off from one another; and alternate quantum realities in which the 2004 elections turned out differently. As he delves into the past, present and possible future of this universe, Kaku will excite readers with his vision of realms that may exist just beyond the tip of our noses and, in what he admits is a highly speculative section, the possibilities our progeny may enjoy countless millennia from now; for instance, as this universe dies (in a "big freeze"), humans may be able to escape into other universes. B&w illus.
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From Scientific American
In the end, as our universe is dying, will civilization be able to move to another universe? Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York, thinks the possibility of such a transition appears in "the emerging theory of the multiverse--a world made up of multiple universes, of which ours is but one." Our universe is now expanding. "If this antigravity force continues, the universe will ultimately die in a big freeze." That is a law of physics. "But it is also a law of evolution that when the environment changes, life must either leave, adapt, or die." Moving to another universe is one possibility cited by Kaku. Another is that civilization could build a "time warp" and travel back into its own past, to an era before the big freeze. A third is that "an entire civilization may inject its seed through a dimensional gateway and reestablish itself, in its full glory." Kaku is good at explaining the cosmological ideas--among them string theory, inflation, wormholes, space and time warps, and higher dimensions--that underpin his argument.

Editors of Scientific American

From Bookmarks Magazine
Kaku (Hyperspace) teaches theoretical physics at City University of New York. Sound daunting? It is-considering he deals with recent satellite data suggesting that mysterious dark energy makes up nearly three-quarters of the universe. Parallel Worlds, which meshes Kaku’s interests in physics and futurology, asks hair-raising questions: Do higher dimensions exist? Can black holes bend time? And if our universe is dying, will we be able to jump ship to another? Kaku runs through the recent history of cosmology, from Newton to Einstein, and introduces his own theories. He writes clearly, and a good glossary helps. But with many digressions and complex concepts, most readers will need some help. A few critics recommended starting with Brian Greene’s Fabric of the Cosmos (**** May/June 2004), a snappier, though still difficult, book. Or, just go to superstringtheory.com. That’ll clear it right up.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A designer world?
Michio Kaku's discussion of PARALLEL WORLDS results from physicists' attempts to reconcile Einstein's Theory of Relativity with that of quantum mechanics to form a "theory of everything." M-Theory, the newest form of string theory, allows for the possibility of a parallel universe no more than a millimeter from ours. Kaku believes the newest super collider, which should be ready in 2007, may reveal evidence pointing to this alternate universe.

Another theory, Alan Guth's inflationary universe theory, argues that the universe expanded much faster than the speed of light (possible because this was empty space that was expanding) and that the antigravity force which caused this original Big Bang still exists, allowing for more explosions, more inflation, and multi-universes.

Also, if we apply the quantum theory to the universe, we are forced to admit that the universe, like an electron, may exist simultaneously in many states.

Kaku asks the question, "What might these alternate universes look like?" Kaku theorizes that each time a new universe sprouts off from the original the physical laws change, creating entirely new realities. All of this gets even stranger when Kaku projects that all possible quantum worlds might exist simultaneously.

The author does not shy away from controversial issues, such as the Designer Universe. At one point he compares the likelihood of our world occurring by accident to a "Boeing 747 aircraft being completely assembled as a result of a tornado striking a junkyard."

PARALLEL WORLDS really gets interesting when Kaku discusses Nikolai Kardashev's classification of civilizations according to energy output. Type I would have harnessed planetary forms of energy. Type II would be able to consume the energy output of its star and might even be able to ignite neutron stars. Type III has colonized large portions of its home galaxy and is able to use the energy from ten billion stars. Earth is a rather primitive civilization in contrast. Kaku states that if we reach Type I civilization it may launch a time of "unparalleled peace and prosperity." But that's a big if, considering the greenhouse effect, pollutin, nuclear war, fundamentalism and disease.

Kaku ends his book with a theological discussion of sorts. "If all possible universes exist, what's the point?" he asks. In a quantum universe, parallel selves would exist in parallel universes, with "different life histories and different destinies." Kaku believes that if string theory is eventually confirmed, providing a theory of everything, one must ask where the equation came from.

The author ends on a high note, seeing this as the most momentous time in human history, a time of transition to a type I civilization, a true paradise on Earth, if we can overcome our self-destructive natures.

Current cosmology for a lay audience
I think it was Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist, who told his fellow scientists many years ago that they had an obligation to try to enlighten laymen about the latest findings of science. This was not long after Einstein's theories of relativity and the development of quantum mechanics had demonstrated that the world in which we live and thrive was much stranger than previously thought. The comfortable and intuitive cosmos, as described by Newtonian mechanics, had been superceded by a world view that seemed not only bizarre, but even incomprehensible.

This new book by Michio Kaku is one of the latest efforts by leading-edge scientists to fulfill that felt need recognized by Bohr. Targeting the educated layman, Kaku addresses his audience in a manner that is both entertaining and non-intimidating. Instead of mathematical descriptions, he relies on everyday analogies to convey his meanings. He includes a good measure of the history behind the theories, spiced with anecdotes and humor. While tackling an inheritantly difficult subject matter, he has succeeded in making it about as accessible as it could possibly be for a lay audience.

I emphasize that this is an up-to-date account. Just a few years ago, some physicists were merely speculating about the possibilities of multiple universes, parallel worlds, time travel, worm holes...things that sounded then more like science fiction than fact. Data only recently acquired by the WMAP satellite and the rapid development of string theory (and its latest incarnation, M-theory) have caused many of the best minds to not only entertain the possibility of such phenomena but, in many cases, consider them necessary corollaries to any credible Grand Unified Theory ( i.e., a "theory of everything.") According to Kaku, we're getting very close to such a theory.

This is heady stuff, presented in a form that makes science fiction, the ramblings of mystics, and the wildest conjectures of amateur cosmologists seem dull by comparison. And it is offered to us by a man who is at the forefront of current physics, a leading theorist in string theory and, most notably, a man who is an expert in assuring that his speculations are not in conflict with known facts.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what science knows today about the past history and nature of our cosmos and what the future may hold. It's an absolutely fascinating read!

This is the one
I've read most, if not all, of the recent series of published books on this particularly interesting and complicated subject, and this is the one. The most understandable of them all. Clearly written with the non professional in mind. Michio Kaku presents all the information of what isn't the most easily understood of subjects in a fashion which allows for an enjoyable reading experience of the ever changing and sometimes reinvented theory that comes tantalizingly close to the much sought after Holy Grail Theory of Everything. (wow, wasn't that a long sentence.)