Synopses & Reviews
In a spellbinding narrative that skillfully weaves together cutting-edge research among today's foremost scientists, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku--author of the bestselling book Hyperspace--presents a bold, exhilarating adventure into the science of tomorrow.
In Visions, Dr. Kaku examines in vivid detail how the three scientific revolutions that profoundly reshaped the twentieth century--the quantum, biogenetic, and computer revolutions--will transform the way we live in the twenty-first century. The fundamental elements of matter and life--the particles of the atom and the nucleus of the cell--have now been decoded, closing one of the great chapters of scientific history. But this is just the preface to an even more far-reaching scientific revolution, as we make the transition from being passive observers of the mysteries of nature to becoming masters of nature, able to manipulate matter, life, and intelligence to remold the world around us.
In the first part of Visions, Dr. Kaku discusses the cyber future, when millions of microprocessors are scattered throughout our environment; when the iron principle that has ruled the computer industry, Moore's Law, finally collapses, forcing scientists to adopt startling new designs like DNA computers and quantum computers; and when artificial intelligence systems finally arrive.
In the next section, Dr. Kaku shows how the decoding of DNA will allow us to conquer devastating genetic diseases, defeat many cancers at the molecular level, synthesize new medicines using virtual reality, grow new organs, conquer aging and reshape our genetic inheritance.
Finally, he explores how quantum physicists will perfect new ways to harness the cosmic energy of the universe--from molecular machines to supermagnets that may energize a second industrial revolution, to powerful fusion engines that one day may take us to the stars.
What makes Michio Kaku's vision of the future of science so compelling and authoritative is that it is based on the groundbreaking research already underway at leading laboratories around the world. Weaving interviews with over 150 scientists--several of them Nobel laureates--into a rich, inspiring narrative, Dr. Kaku reveals the growing consensus among key scientists about how science will likely evolve through the early, middle, and late years of the twenty-first century.
An intimate, thrilling tour through the next century of science, Visions is a riveting, essential map to how scientists will reshape our future.
Synopsis
As the twentieth century draws to a close, the fundamental elements of matter and life -- the particles of the atom and the decoding of the nucleus of the cell -- have been discovered, and one of the great chapters of scientific history has drawn to a close.
In many ways, however, it is but a perfect to an even more far-reaching scientific revolution that will take place in the next century, as we make the transition from unraveling the secrets of nature of becoming masters of nature.
What makes Michio Kaku's vision of the science of the future so compelling is that it is based on the pioneering efforts by theoreticians and the groundbreaking research that is going on in the labs right now. Science, for all its breathtaking change, evolves slowly. Dr. Kaku asserts we can accurately predict what the direction of science will be in the years 2020, 2050, and beyond. In the first section of Visions, the author explores the evolution and development of computers and artificial intelligence. He offers a window on how computer science will evolve after the year 2020, when the principle that has governed the industry's technological progress since the 1950s, Moore's Law, reaches its limits.
In the second section of the book, Dr. Kaku discusses biogenetics, the second great scientific revolution, and reveals how the completion of the decoding of the genetic structure of DNA will allow us to conquer the devastating genetic diseases that have plagued the human race throughout our history and allow us to alter and reshape our genetic inheritance. The third section of the book takes us further yet into the future, as we see how quantum physicists are perfecting new ways to harness the matterand energy of the universe.
A spellbinding narrative that brings together the cutting-edge research of today's foremost scientists to explore the science of tomorrow, Visions is an exhilarating adventure into the future of our planet.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [356]-393) and index.
About the Author
Michio Kaku is the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York. Cofounder of string field theory, he is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling Hyperspace, as well as Beyond Einstein (with Jennifer Thompson), Quantum Field Theory: A Modern Introduction, and Introduction to Superstrings. He hosts an hour-long weekly radio science program that is nationally syndicated.