A Book Review byANDY FLEMING
The
remit of this book is staggering – it is no less than the coverage of the development
of cosmology from its beginnings in antiquity right up to the theory of the
multiverse, and the fact that our universe may be just one of an infinite number,
each possessing physical forces and constants with different strengths to ours.
The fact that the publication is targeted at the lay person (who may have little
knowledge of cosmology and astronomy), makes the remit even more remarkable.
Kaku
is one of the co-founders of a branch of String Theory and as such, one may
start to read the book with the misconception that its contents will be biased towards
the perspective of this particular theory. However, this is not the case, and
the reader is firstly treated to a commendably objective history of astronomy, classical
physics and the Copernican/Galilean Revolution, relativity, quantum mechanics,
string theory, and the discovery of dark energy and dark matter, along with
some extremely well written explanations and diagrams.
The
overriding power of modern cosmology in explaining the universe – the marriage
of the study of large scale objects such as galaxies groups, with that of very
small scale subatomic particles is a growing theme throughout the book, and
includes a superb explanation of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, and
culminates in a discussion of the Standard Model, Inflation, and the five eras
of the development of our universe.
 |
| Dr Michio Kaku. |
Kaku
gives an elegant account of the breaking of symmetry of the physical forces a
fraction of a second after the Big Bang, and how String Theory can reconcile gravity
with the electro-weak and strong nuclear forces, hence providing a theory of
everything. Like many other physicists, he is hopeful that the evidence for super
symmetry and many of the sub-atomic particles predicted by String Theory may be
forthcoming at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. He certainly hopes so -
the discovery of the graviton, for example will mean many physicists have not
been traversing a blind alley for the past forty years! Of course, an integral
part of String Theory are extra spatial dimensions and Kaku develops and speculates on whether it will be possible to detect these.
The
book puts our everyday notions of time and reality to the test, and examines the
fate of the universe as it expands exponentially, speculating that after
trillions of years of such expansion and subsequent cooling, conditions will be
unable to sustain intelligent life. Kaku also speculates on the possibility of
whether given enough time, and if we don’t destroy ourselves first, we can
ascend through the types of advanced civilisation to reach a point where we can
harness the power of stars and galaxies and enter another universe where
conditions are once again favourable for life.
Perhaps
the most startling revelation is that the Copernican Theory of Mediocrity may
apply to our universe. The values of the universal constants and forces may,
after all, be arbitrary, and a random result of symmetry breaking in a certain way
at the time of the Big Bang. For example, Kaku shows how if one decreases the
general strength of gravity by an infinitesimally small amount clouds of hydrogen
will not coalesce into stars, planets and galaxies and life would not exist.
Increase gravity and stars will burn and die too quickly, never allowing the time
for planets and life to evolve.
Kaku
documents a stark choice facing physicists, either our universe has been created
in a way conducive to the development of complexity and ultimately life itself
(the anthropogenic principle), or we live in a multiverse of universes – by an infinitesimally
small chance we just happen to live in one of the few habitable universes. Kaku
eloquently shows how astrophysics, philosophy and even religion are drawn
together at this point.
In
conclusion, Parallel Worlds is a fascinating insight into current cosmological theory
and models, and sheds light on many of the dilemmas and discoveries with which
astrophysicists and cosmologists are now grappling. By its very nature, any
book involving cosmology will become dated rapidly, and this book will probably
be no exception.
However
Dr Kaku should be complemented in a superb attempt to portray contemporary cosmological
and physical theories in a highly interesting and readily understandable way.
The book contains an excellent glossary of cosmological and physical terms, and
there is little mathematics.
For
me anyway, it’s the sort of book which, once started, you simply can’t put down.
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