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Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future o |  |
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Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future o | |
Editors of Scientific American --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* The success of physicist Brian Greene's books (e.g., The Fabric of the Cosmos [BKL F 15 04]) demonstrates the interest in string and membrane (or brane) theories, which posit that matter and energy consist of 10- or 11-dimensional entities vibrating at different frequencies. A pioneering theorist in the field, Kaku is also a fluid general-interest writer (Einstein's Cosmos [BKL Mr 15 04]) able to explain the essence and implications of strings. Purely theoretical constructs, strings have not been detected in nature, but in the course of describing some big-science observatories currently under development, Kaku states that he expects that evidence of their physical existence will be found. From this optimistic platform, Kaku expounds comprehensibly on why astrophysicists love strings and branes: they resolve various vexatious cosmological paradoxes and, Kaku comments, might ultimately be expressible in a single inch-long equation that describes our universe. On the other hand, millions of possible universes are permissible within the mathematical parameters of string theory, and since ours is destined to expand for eternity unto a frigid doom, according to cosmologists' current thinking, early planning for emigrating to a warmer parallel universe makes sense. Speculating about escape routes through spacetime, Kaku caps a riveting popular treatment of the string revolution in physics. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Advance praise for PARALLEL WORLDS
“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
“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 areas yet 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, Australi... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
Review
“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 areas yet 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
文摘 CHAPTER ONE
Baby Pictures of the Universe
The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.
—G. K. Chesterson
When I was a child, I had a personal conflict over my beliefs. My parents were raised in the Buddhist tradition. But I attended Sunday school every week, where I loved hearing the biblical stories about whales, arks, pillars of salt, ribs, and apples. I was fascinated by these Old Testament parables, which were my favorite part of Sunday school. It seemed to me that the parables about great floods, burning bushes, and parting waters were so much more exciting than Buddhist chanting and meditation. In fact, these ancient tales of heroism and tragedy vividly illustrated deep moral and ethical lessons which have stayed with me all my life.
One day in Sunday school we studied Genesis. To read about God thundering from the heavens, "Let there be Light!" sounded so much more dramatic than silently meditating about Nirvana. Out of naive curiosity, I asked my Sunday school teacher, "Did God have a mother?" She usually had a snappy answer, as well as a deep moral lesson to offer. This time, however, she was taken aback. No, she replied hesitantly, God probably did not have a mother. "But then where did God come from?" I asked. She mumbled that she would have to consult with the minister about that question.
I didn't realize that I had accidentally stumbled on one of the great questions of theology. I was puzzled, because in Buddhism, there is no God at all, but a timeless universe with no beginning or end. Later, when I began to study the great mythologies of the world, I learned that there were two types of cosmologies in religion, the first based on a single moment when God created the universe, the second based on the idea that the universe always was and always will be.
