Physics of the Future

How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100

By: Michio Kaku

Narrated by: Feodor Chin

Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Imagine, if you can, the world in the year 2100.

In Physics of the Future, Michio Kaku - the New York Times best-selling author of Physics of the Impossible - gives us a stunning, provocative, and exhilarating vision of the coming century based on interviews with over 300 of the world’s top scientists who are already inventing the future in their labs.

The result is the most authoritative and scientifically accurate description of the revolutionary developments taking place in medicine, computers, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, energy production, and astronautics.

In all likelihood, by 2100 we will control computers via tiny brain sensors and, like magicians, move objects around with the power of our minds. Artificial intelligence will be dispersed throughout the environment, and Internet-enabled contact lenses will allow us to access the world's information base or conjure up any image we desire in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, cars will drive themselves using GPS, and if room-temperature superconductors are discovered, vehicles will effortlessly fly on a cushion of air, coasting on powerful magnetic fields and ushering in the age of magnetism.

Using molecular medicine, scientists will be able to grow almost every organ of the body and cure genetic diseases. Millions of tiny DNA sensors and nanoparticles patrolling our blood cells will silently scan our bodies for the first sign of illness, while rapid advances in genetic research will enable us to slow down or maybe even reverse the aging process, allowing human life spans to increase dramatically.

In space, radically new ships - needle-sized vessels using laser propulsion - could replace the expensive chemical rockets of today and perhaps visit nearby stars.

Advances in nanotechnology may lead to the fabled space elevator, which would propel humans hundreds of miles above the earth’s atmosphere at the push of a button. But these astonishing revelations are only the tip of the iceberg. Kaku also discusses emotional robots, antimatter rockets, X-ray vision, and the ability to create new life-forms, and he considers the development of the world economy. He addresses the key questions: Who are the winner and losers of the future? Who will have jobs, and which nations will prosper?

All the while, Kaku illuminates the rigorous scientific principles, examining the rate at which certain technologies are likely to mature, how far they can advance, and what their ultimate limitations and hazards are.

Synthesizing a vast amount of information to construct an exciting look at the years leading up to 2100, Physics of the Future is a thrilling, wondrous ride through the next 100 years of breathtaking scientific revolution.

©2011 Michio Kaku (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

"Following in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci and Jules Verne, Kaku, author of a handful of books about science, looks into the not-so-distant future and envisions what the world will look like. It should be an exciting place, with driverless cars, Internet glasses, universal translators, robot surgeons, the resurrection of extinct life forms, designer children, space tourism, a manned mission to Mars, none of which turn out to be as science-fictiony as they sound. In fact, the most exciting thing about the book is the fact that most of the developments Kaku discusses can be directly extrapolated from existing technologies. Robot surgeons and driverless cars, for example, already exist in rudimentary forms. Kaku, a physics professor and one of the originators of the string field theory (an offshoot of the more general string theory), draws on current research to show how, in a very real sense, our future has already been written. The book's lively, user-friendly style should appeal equally to fans of science fiction and popular science." (Booklist)

Amazing!

Michio Kaku is a great visionary and storyteller. The first part was not very thrilling for me since I'm in tech and I know quite a bit about technology forecasts. I was in fact surprised that Michio did not mention BlockChain as part of the near or far future. When he gets to discuss about physics, medicine and aerospace, then is where you can't stop listening.

end with a story

i enjoy this non fiction that uses its lessons to weave a science fiction conclusion

A good listen

This book was a good listen, but it was a little too political and anti-religious for my taste. I have tremendous respect and admiration for the offer, but I do feel some of his assumptions or ideas may not come to full fruition. Hopefully we can get away from loyal like he says in the next hundred years. Overall worth downloading and listen to.

Michio Kaku's Great Vague Look at the Future

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but it's not designed to be. It breaks up really well into topics and segments. It was perfect for my daily 35-45 minute drives to and from work.

Any additional comments?

I've read a few Kaku books and he's really good at making complex concepts understandable. He has a great ability to build up a concept from the root level so that in the end even a simple science fan like myself can understand it. This book however is a little different. It covers a vast amount of subjects and gives just a taste of each. Granted those "tastes" are probably enough for most, there were times I felt I wanted to learn more about a specific subject. That in itself maybe means this is a great read. I value any book that can light a spark of interest in learning more. In short, this is a good general look at science / tech, and how it will maybe shape our future. I'd recommend it to any science and tech fan.

YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW

Michio Kaku is an American theoretical physicist at City College of New York. He has appeared on television many times and writes extensively about future inventions and their consequence in “Physics of the Future”. Kaku’s futurist perspective is based on what is happening in physics today. He extrapolated from today’s science to tomorrow’s probability. Kaku believes that all reality, yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's, is dictated by quantum physics. At a molecular level, quantum physics experimentally confirms all reality is a matter of probability; not certainty.

Before leaving individual predictions, Kaku explains the Kardashev scale of civilization to contextualize the state of the world. The Kardashev scale begins at 0 and rises to Type V. Today’s world is estimated to be at .7, less than 1. Coincidentally, getting to 1 is the most dangerous level to achieve, without catastrophe. Level 1 presumes fusion power is available on a large-scale; antimatter is available in large quantities, and fossil fuels become an abandoned source of energy.

Getting from .7 to 1 on the Kardashev scale is fraught with human potential for world destruction. Great social upheavals will occur with the evolution of energy use. Some nations will be threatened by the change. Jobs will be at risk; nation’s economies will be overwhelmed by need for change. Purpose in life will be questioned. Social structure will be challenged by new measures of status. Civilizations will either embrace or reject cooperation among nations.

Kaku summarizes his view of the future by reflecting on a future husband’s and wife’s benefits from extraordinary scientific discoveries. Kaku opts for a utopian transition of civilization that reaches level 1 on the Kardashev scale, within 100 years.

And so–Kierkekaardian’ fear and trembling stream through Kaku’s vision of the future because many of his predictions could as easily steer mankind to an end as a beginning.

Mostly good

Most chapters are interesting but the future of wealth and medicine we super very boring. That is why i gave it a 3 star

Magnets!!!

Great overview of the technology that will be changing our world in the next 20, 50, 100 years. This isn’t speculative, it’s all being worked on right now. My favorite part is the last chapter, where you get a day-in-the-life with all these technologies in action. “AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

I love it

its very realistic and hamble predictions of the future. book enlightens listener, ebout curent state of tecnology and sciense.

Great book!

Love all his books! This book makes you think about the future and what the world may look like in the future.

A little repetitive

There are many chapters where Kaku repeats himself. The story is great, but reading Humanity and then this book is like you are reading the same book.

I will prefer Humanity, no need for this one. If you like science and science fiction this book is for you. Not as Hollywood story, but a story with more science involved.

Pay close attention to his explanation of science it is the support what the future holds.