A fascinating exploration of the science of the impossible (from death rays and force fields to invisibility cloaks) revealing to what extent such technologies might be achievable decades or millennia into the future.

One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. In Physics of the Impossible, the renowned physicist Michio Kaku explores to what extent the technologies and devices of science fiction that are deemed equally impossible today might well become commonplace in the future.

From teleportation to telekinesis, Kaku uses the world of science fiction to explore the fundamentals, and the limits, of the laws of physics as we know them today. He ranks the impossible technologies by categories: Class I, II, and III, depending on when they might be achieved, within the next century, millennia, or perhaps never. In a compelling and thought-provoking narrative, he explains:

• How the science of optics and electromagnetism may one day enable us to bend light around an object, like a stream flowing around a boulder, making the object invisible to observers "downstream"
• How ramjet rockets, laser sails, antimatter engines, and nanorockets may one day take us to the nearby stars
• How telepathy and psychokinesis, once considered pseudoscience, may one day be possible using advances in MRI, computers, superconductivity, and nanotechnology
• Why a time machine is apparently consistent with the known laws of quantum physics, although it would take an unbelievably advanced civilization to actually build one

Kaku uses his discussion of each technology as a jumping-off point to explain the science behind it. An extraordinary scientific adventure, Physics of the Impossible takes readers on an unforgettable, mesmerizing journey into the world of science that both enlightens and entertains.

"In this latest effort to popularize the sciences, City University of New York professor and media star Kaku (Hyperspace) ponders topics that many people regard as impossible, ranging from psychokinesis and telepathy to time travel and teleportation. His Class I impossibilities include force fields, telepathy and antiuniverses, which don't violate the known laws of science and may become realities in the next century. Those in Class II await realization farther in the future and include faster-than-light travel and discovery of parallel universes. Kaku discusses only perpetual motion machines and precognition in Class III, things that aren't possible according to our current understanding of science. He explains how what many consider to be flights of fancy are being made tangible by recent scientific discoveries ranging from rudimentary advances in teleportation to the creation of small quantities of antimatter and transmissions faster than the speed of light. Science and science fiction buffs can easily follow Kaku's explanations as he shows that in the wonderful worlds of science, impossible things are happening every day." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Kaku (theoretical physics, City University of New York), well known to viewers of science documentaries as an entertaining and understandable science interpreter, continues as such in this new book. He confesses his lifelong fascination with science fiction and the ideas of force fields, invisibility rays, hyperspeed space ships, time travel and more, and then examines each of these science fiction staples, concluding that one day we may manage almost all of them. Kaku writes in a conversational style with clear explanations of the physics involved. Happily, he also largely avoids irritating analogies, which generally confuse rather than clarify but are often used by scientists to explain their work to laymen. Kaku respects the intelligence of his readers, even if they haven't studied non-linear equations. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"In these discussions, Kaku not only explores impossibilities but, in doing so, elucidates some basic physics, so this book both teaches and challenges." Library Journal

"A physics professor at City University of New York, Kaku is also a respected popularizer of scientific theory, and he does a great job here of making concrete the heady abstractions necessary to our grasp of the physics behind these ideas." Seattle Times

"Mighty few theoretical physicists would bother expounding some of these possible impossibilities, and Kaku is to be congratulated for doing so, even if what he accomplishes here is only to get the juices of future physicists flowing." Los Angeles Times

Michio Kaku is the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the cofounder of string field theory. He has written several books, including Parallel Worlds and Beyond Einstein, and his bestseller, Hyperspace, was voted one of the best science books of the year by the New York Times and the Washington Post. He is a frequent guest on national TV, and his nationally syndicated radio program is heard in 130 cities. He lives in New York City.