Friday, April 15, 2011

Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku


If you have any interest in cosmology and physics, Parallel Worlds might be the book to read to catch up on all the latest thinking on the subjects. Michio Kaku has a gift for presenting difficult information in a way that the lay person can understand.

The book primarily explains how physicists are trying to come up with a theory of everything or the grand unified theory. The intention is to have GUT represented by a single mathematical equation from which all the laws of physics can be derived. The difficulty over the years has been resolving the theory of relativity with quantum mechanics - the theories that explain the macro world with the micro. Physicists are close to their goal when they start playing around with String Theory. The implications of this are rather exciting but also challenges many long held beliefs about the nature, purpose and origin of the universe.

Michio Kaku organizes the book in a very logical manner. It begins with a survey of the theories of the past and present. This is followed by a deeper examination from the time of Einstein to the present day including the theory of relativity to explain the motion of the planets, gravity, speed of light, time travel and space travel. He then delves into how quantum mechanics can explain some of the anomalies that the theory of relativity can't explain. Melded into the discussion is the idea of multiple dimensions or parallel worlds. Finally he discusses the future and what it would take to travel vast distances in the universe including bridging the divide to another universe.

It's all fascinating stuff. It did take me a bit of time to work my way through it. There were a few things I didn't quite understand, but I did get the gist of it. I think I would like to read more of what Kaku writes.

Book Rating: 4 stars

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