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Physics of the Impossible    by Michio Kaku Amazon.com order for
Physics of the Impossible
by Michio Kaku
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Anchor, 2009 (2008)
Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book

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* * *   Reviewed by Alex Telander

It's become a pretty much accepted fact now that potential future inventions we see on series like Star Trek, Star Wars and just about any show involving science fiction are not going to exist within our lifetimes. But the one-word question we ask ourselves about things like time travel, teleportation, and deadly laser cannons is when? Thankfully, scientist and bestselling author Michio Kaku has answers.

In Physics of the Impossible, Kaku breaks down what future inventions hold for humanity by what he calls Class Impossibilities: Class I for inventions possible within one or more centuries; Class II to cover the next millennia; and finally Class III which ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions of years away. Things like force fields, telepathy and starships are covered under Class I, faster than light travel and parallel universes in Class II, and perpetual motion machines (which never run out of power and can continue indefinitely) under Class III.

The impressive part is that while Kaku is discussing all these interesting subjects, he is also going into depth about physics and mathematics, covering the history of the development of certain subjects, and subliminally educating readers in complex physics. Kaku even provides a clear definition with plenty of similes for relativity, thermodynamics, and quantum theory.

Physics of the Impossible is the perfect book for any type of nerd, as well as anyone who wants answers as to why we don't have flying cars and transporters yet. No science background is required, as Kaku breaks everything down to its simplest form. The result is a fascinating book that gives hope for exciting future inventions, possibly even within our lifetimes.

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