Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I've always had a thing for non fictions and having recently read 'selfish gene' (which is not at all related to physics. I know) I wasn’t sure what to expect and it was one hell of a ride. Michio Kaku has a very easy to read way of explaining the complicated things with interesting examples.
I've always had trouble grasping the idea of curved space. After finishing this book, not only do I have a better understanding of that, I'll go as far as to say that I have a much better understanding of the other dimensions as well.
Highly recommended for anyone who is remotely interested in science.

Mr. Kaku has always been one of my favorite guests on Coast to Coast AM, speculating on extraterrestrial civilizations and scientific knowledge and capability beyond ours. This book is an oddyssey on some of the more fantastical ideas that modern phycisists are speculationg at what lies beyond our perceptions in this, our physical universe. He starts with a history of physics, classical, relativity and quantum, and talks about the parallel developments in mathematics and then gets down to the fun stuff, that the structure of space is a far stranger and more possiblity laden place than conventional thought might admit to. The math can get a little heavy for someone with a non-math mind. But if ideas are what you are about, this book show more brings 'em. show less

Un gran libro que te introduce a una gran cantidad de ideas sobre física moderna de una manera muy apasionada que hará que no pares de leer hasta que lo termines. Muy recomendable.

I read this book a while back and just realized I never reviewed it. So actually this should probably go against the 2008 numbers, but who cares.

This book deals with high dimensional space time theories like superstring theory. This book is very readable for the non-physicists amoung us (myself included). The writing style of Kaku actually made 10 dimensional understandable despite the complex math underlying it and I actually understood how the 10 dimensions actually simplify the laws of nature.

Sure I took a couple physics courses in college, but we never got this deep and I'm no where near ready to take on Einstein, but this was actually an enjoyable read for those of you that are interested in seeing what some of the latest theories show more of space-time are. I've got a few more of Kaku's books on my TBR pile and look forward to tackling them. show less

Not too long ago, I got a copy of [Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein, and the Universe] in the member giveaway program. The book was quite fascinating, and kindled my interest.

A few months later, on a whim, I picked up this book. I had seen the author on TV a couple of times in the morning, and he was very interesting there.

I really enjoyed this book. The author puts in a lot of interesting quotes and asides about the various characters and personalities that come up thru the book.

I didn't find it as easy to digest, in whole, as Mr. Piccioni's book, but I still enjoyed it.

There are sections in here that will hurt your brain if you try and think it through (I'm looking at you, "Jane") ...but it's all in good fun. There are show more discussions of time travel, wormholes, parallel universes, death of the universe, etc.

The main topic is "string theory". It is really quite interesting, but I don't want to kid myself and think i have a complete handle on it. So the science in here seems to be really great.

The author brings up some other things I found kind of amusing. He seemed a little upset that Congress didn't fund a giant particle accelerator. I personally thought, "Good, that much money probably could be put into the debt" :)

Also there seems to be an idea that we can't progress beyond a certain level until the entire world is under one united government. Umm...yeah, don't see that happening any time soon. In my opinion, that's a good thing.

One thing puzzles me still with these type of books. There are all these great theories about how objects move, how space and the universe is defined, how subatomic particles and energy work. But, as of yet, I haven't caught on to how they would define basic life. What is a thought? What is an emotion? I guess these type of things are beyond the realm of physics, because physics wants to be something that can be proved by experimentation. The funny thing is, from what I understand here, there are some big parts of these theories that haven't fully been tested. So it seems to me, physics requires a bit of faith.

The thing is, these guys are always working on filling in the holes. It may very well be this book has some out of date information.

I did enjoy this book, and i've already started another of the authors books, Parallel Worlds. show less

Ok, I have tried reading this twice till now, but damn, at one point I just started zoning out because the concepts became kind of hard to understand.
But yes, this book is a hell of a wonderful book, and the author has done a wonderful job in writing this.
I will surely try reading this a third time, and I hope I can make it.

I finished this book today. My mind is kind of swimming in it all and not focusing on any one idea presented.

I can't speak to the accuaracy of the science. He's my teacher, not my peer or my student. It doesn't sound crazy, so I believe he is accurately depeicting the state of physics as of the time the book was written.

The first time I read about superstrings, I thought it was a wonderful theory. It just "clicks" for me. This may have something to do with Kaku's ability to write clearly. I think it was in his book, Beyond Einstein where I first heard of the theory.

I'm more a metaphysicist than a physicist. (Not that I'm actually either.) I'm always trying to relate physics and religion and philosophy (and psychology and everything show more else!). A lot of that can be done with superstrings. Kaku addresses some of it. Scientists dismiss some things because they can't be repeated experimentally. Those are often the kinds of things I like to think about.

Some people in the past used the theory of multiple dimensions to explain where heaven was. Until and unless we find that particular dimension, of course the scientists will question it. It's their job (and nature) to question everything. But from the metaphysical point of view, it a very good thing to think about.... even if we don't get the right answer. If we have beliefs, they will definitely influence our conclusions.

This book feeds thoughts like this. Lots of "What if?" ideas come to me, too. I don't know the strict science or the math necessary, but I can think. I believe I have some powers of reasoning. A book like this also helps me keep on track because it tells of the paths that didn't work, the theories that didn't stand up to the experimentation, didn't fit the real world.

I wonder if I'm merely a child of my generation, one which has always seen rapid discovery and changes, or if I'm just one of the wild eyed dreamers of the world.

I like the idea of ten dimensions. I like the idea that those six extra dimensions, which are now curled up to Planck size (tiny!) may possibly, in the very distant future, provide the means of human survival. Assuming, of course, that we survive long enough to discover how to use them. I also like the idea that everything will come together one day and prove all to be inter-related.

© Copyright 2006 Airycat

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