A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos
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.
Download File Size:2.45 MB
|
