Parallel Worlds: A journey through creation, higher dimensions, and the future of the cosmos - Hardcover

Kaku, Michio

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385509863 ISBN 13: 9780385509862

Publisher: Doubleday, 2004

Synopsis

Is our universe dying?
Could there be other universes?
In Parallel Worlds, world-renowned physicist and bestselling author Michio Kaku—an author who “has a knack for bringing the most ethereal ideas down to earth” (Wall Street Journal)—takes readers on a fascinating tour of cosmology, M-theory, and its implications for the fate of the universe.

In his first book of physics since Hyperspace, Michio Kaku begins by describing the extraordinary advances that have transformed cosmology over the last century, and particularly over the last decade, forcing scientists around the world to rethink our understanding of the birth of the universe, and its ultimate fate. In Dr. Kaku’s eyes, we are living in a golden age of physics, as new discoveries from the WMAP and COBE satellites and the Hubble space telescope have given us unprecedented pictures of our universe in its infancy.

As astronomers wade through the avalanche of data from the WMAP satellite, a new cosmological picture is emerging. So far, the leading theory about the birth of the universe is the “inflationary universe theory,” a major refinement on the big bang theory. In this theory, our universe may be but one in a multiverse, floating like a bubble in an infinite sea of bubble universes, with new universes being created all the time. A parallel universe may well hover a mere millimeter from our own.

The very idea of parallel universes and the string theory that can explain their existence was once viewed with suspicion by scientists, seen as the province of mystics, charlatans, and cranks. But today, physicists overwhelmingly support string-theory, and its latest iteration, M-theory, as it is this one theory that, if proven correct, would reconcile the four forces of the universe simply and elegantly, and answer the question “What happened before the big bang?”

Already, Kaku explains, the world’s foremost physicists and astronomers are searching for ways to test the theory of the multiverse using highly sophisticated wave detectors, gravity lenses, satellites, and telescopes. The implications of M-theory are fascinating and endless. If parallel worlds do exist, Kaku speculates, in time, perhaps a trillion years or more from now, as appears likely, when our universe grows cold and dark in what scientists describe as a big freeze, advanced civilizations may well find a way to escape our universe in a kind of “inter-dimensional lifeboat.”

An unforgettable journey into black holes and time machines, alternate universes, and multidimensional space, Parallel Worlds gives us a compelling portrait of the revolution sweeping the world of cosmology.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

In PARALLEL WORLDS, his first book of physics since Hyperspace, Michio Kaku describes the extraordinary advances that have transformed cosmology and remade our understanding of the universe. The startling discovery of a mysterious energy driving the universe to expand and scientists' attempts to reconcile the four faces of the universe have led to the development of the revolutionary M-theory. The leading candidate for Einstein's fabled "theory of everything," M-theory depicts our universe as a "bubble" floating in an expansive eleven-dimensional "multiverse." Leading physicists now envision our universe as one of countless "bubble universes" only millimeters away from each other. In this new picture, Big Bangs create new universes all the time and, if these parallel universes are as close as physicists believe, our universe could eventually collide with one of them—with cosmic consequences.

Kaku deftly weaves lucid scientific explanations and engaging profiles of the physicists working in the field, with a compelling narrative of breakthroughs in physics, astronomy, and cosmology that have led to M-theory. If scientists' cosmological predictions are correct, time travel between these parallel universes is not only possible—it may be the only way humankind, billions of years from now, can save itself from a dying universe.

About the Author:

MICHIO KAKU is the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of several widely acclaimed books, including Visions, Beyond Einstein, and Hyperspace, which was named one of the best science books of the year by the New York Times and the Washington Post. He hosts a nationally syndicated radio science program and has appeared on such national television shows as Nightline, 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, and Larry King Live.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0385509863
• ISBN 13: 9780385509862
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 428