Awards

• Short-listed for Aventis General Prize for Science Books 2006
• Shortlisted for Aventis General Prize for Science Books 2006.

Overview

Selected for the BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction longlist Getting a grip on the creation and ultimate fate of the universe is one of the great scientific stories of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first, the story is expanding to enfold many universes. Michio Kaku's dazzling book tells that new story. Using the latest astronomical data, he explores the Big Bang, theories of everything, and our cosmic future. His wonderfully clear scientific account leads to some mind-boggling speculations about the human implications of this story. Are we condemned to watch a single universe slowly run down, becoming a dark, cold wasteland? Or can we dream of escaping into one of many parallel universes, each born of a new Big Bang, or even existing in another dimension? Kaku shows how the new cosmology points to these and other astonishing possibilities.

Full Product Details

9780141014630

Table of Contents

Reviews

In Parallel Worlds, Michio Kaku brings his formidable explanatory talents to bear on one of the strangest and most exciting possibilities to have emerged from modern physics: that our universe may be but one among many, perhaps infinitely many, arrayed in a vast cosmic network. With deft use of analogy and humor, Kaku patiently introduces the reader to variations on this theme of parallel universes, coming from quantum mechanics, cosmology, and most recently, M-theory. Read this book for a wonderful tour, with an expert guide, of a cosmos whose comprehension forces us to stretch to the very limits of imagination. --Brian Greene, Professor of Theoretical Particle Physics, Columbia University, and author of The Fabric of the Cosmos and The Elegant Universe Kaku employs an amiable style that does much to make the story accessible even for those of us who have trouble telling the difference between superstring theory and Silly String aerosol. . . . Fascinating and sometimes downrigh

"""In Parallel Worlds, Michio Kaku brings his formidable explanatory talents to bear on one of the strangest and most exciting possibilities to have emerged from modern physics: that our universe may be but one among many, perhaps infinitely many, arrayed in a vast cosmic network. With deft use of analogy and humor, Kaku patiently introduces the reader to variations on this theme of parallel universes, coming from quantum mechanics, cosmology, and most recently, M-theory. Read this book for a wonderful tour, with an expert guide, of a cosmos whose comprehension forces us to stretch to the very limits of imagination."" --Brian Greene, Professor of Theoretical Particle Physics, Columbia University, and author of ""The Fabric of the Cosmos ""and ""The Elegant Universe """"Kaku employs an amiable style that does much to make the story accessible even for those of us who have trouble telling the difference between superstring theory and Silly String aerosol. . . . Fascinating and sometimes downrigh "" In Parallel Worlds, Michio Kaku brings his formidable explanatory talents to bear on one of the strangest and most exciting possibilities to have emerged from modern physics: that our universe may be but one among many, perhaps infinitely many, arrayed in a vast cosmic network. With deft use of analogy and humor, Kaku patiently introduces the reader to variations on this theme of parallel universes, coming from quantum mechanics, cosmology, and most recently, M-theory. Read this book for a wonderful tour, with an expert guide, of a cosmos whose comprehension forces us to stretch to the very limits of imagination."" -- Brian Greene, Professor of Theoretical Particle Physics, Columbia University, and author of ""The Fabric of the Cosmos ""and ""The Elegant Universe"" "" Kaku employs an amiable style that does much to make the story accessible even for those of us who have trouble telling the difference between superstring theory and Silly String aerosol. . . . Fascinating and sometimes downright boggling."" - ""Sci Fi Magazine"" "" Kaku covers a tremendous amount of material . . . in a clear and lively way."" - ""Los Angeles Times Book Review"" "" One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein revolutionized the science of cosmology. In ""Parallel Worlds,"" Michio Kaku, another genius, updates us on the this science and speculates about the future of the universe."" - ""San Antonio Express-News"" "" Those who might enjoy a tour of cosmology, time travel, string theory, and the universe in 10 or 11 dimensions will find no better guide than Michio Kaku, a rare individual who has undertaken research in these subject areasyet also knows well how to present this intriguing, complex material in an engaging and easily assimilable style."" -- Donald Goldsmith, author of ""The Runaway Universe"" and ""Connecting with the Cosmos"" "" A highly readable and exhilarating romp through the frontiers of cosmology."" -- Martin Rees, author of ""Our Cosmic Habitat ""and ""Our Final Century"" "" A roller-coaster ride through the universe-- and beyond-- by one of the world's finest science writers. Michio Kaku shows that the surface familiarity of the physical world conceals a wonderland of weird entities-- dark matter and energy, hidden dimensions of space, and tiny loops of vibrating string that hold the cosmos together. In the universe according to Kaku, reality is as mind-bending as the most exhilarating science fiction."" -- Paul Davies, Australian Centre for Astrobiology, Macquarie University, Sydney, and author of ""How to Build a Time Machine"" "" Michio Kaku has done it again. In ""Parallel Worlds,"" he deftly transforms the frontier of physics into a kind of amusement park, where you actually have fun while reading about Einstein's relativity, quantum mechanics, cosmology, and string theory. But the real story here is how Kaku invokes these powerful tools to speculate about multiple universes and their philosophical implications for our perceptions of God and the meaning of life."" -- Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium, New York City, and author of ""Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution"""

Cutting-edge physics for a popular audience. This time out, Kaku (Physics, CUNY; Hyperspace, 1994, etc.) takes us through the broad outlines of what physicists call Theories of Everything. The hottest new flavor here is M-Theory, a derivative of string theory in which our universe is considered to be one of innumerable parallel universes separated by tiny distances in eleven-dimensional space. While apparently counterintuitive, such theories arise from the solid twin pillars of modern physics: quantum theory and general relativity. Kaku dutifully steers the reader through the key formulations of physics, with brief glimpses of the scientists behind the big ideas: not only Newton, Einstein and Hawking, but the playful George Gamow, who did as much as anyone to make the Big Bang respectable, and the wisecracking Richard Feynman, who cheerfully admitted that nobody really understands quantum theory. We also get a look at the hardware of today's science, from the atom-smashers that generate new particles to the giant telescopes that peer back toward the origins of the universe. Kaku clearly enjoys speculating about the broader implications of his subject, and he cites several SF novels with obvious familiarity. His concluding chapters offer a discussion of some ways an advanced civilization might escape the heat death of the universe by tunneling into a parallel universe where the stars still shine. Unfortunately, though, Kaku sometimes stumbles when he strays beyond physics. Errors creep into his historical summaries (Copernicus wrote his astronomical treatise well before his deathbed), and analogies sometimes fall flat: he states that plucking a musical string harder produces a different note (it just becomes louder). His final chapter looks for meaning in the structure of the cosmos, seeking a compromise between the Copernican principle (we are not special) and the anthropic principle (we can hardly be accidental). Ambitious and thought-provoking. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Michio Kaku is the co-founder of String Field Theory and is the author of international best-selling books such as Hyperspace, Visions, and Beyond Einstein. Michio Kaku is the Henry Semat Professor in Theoretical Physics at the City University of New York.

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