2018;
307 pages. New Author? : Yes. Full Title: The
Future of Humanity: Our Destiny In The Universe. Genres : Non-Fiction; Science; Cosmology. Overall Rating : 9½*/10.
There comes a time when you just have to pack things up and move. We’re not talking about selling your house,
we’re talking about leaving planet Earth at some point in the future. It might be because of a nuclear holocaust, a plague, rising ocean levels, or an impending head-on collision with a killer asteroid. Any of these scenarios could happen in the
not-too-distant future.
Relocating on the moon is a quick but futile answer, but Mars is a
logical choice. We’ll just get out the
shovels, build space colonies, and terraform the climate there. Alas, even that may not be the final solution. Someday our sun will
go supernova and scorch all the inner planets, including both Earth and Mars.
We’ll then have to relocate to another solar system around some nearby star. That’s a bigger undertaking, since the
closest one is four light-years away and might not have any habitable planets
for us. Even worse, our Milky Way galaxy
is on a course to crash into the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, so there may come a day when
we might have to relocate to a different galaxy.
Whew, we’re a long way from being able to do that, but even then we
might not be done relocating. Someday our entire universe use up all its energy
and just go dark and cold. Then what?
Let’s hope that by then we’ve figured out how to go hopping around to those
parallel dimensions those quantum physicists having been telling us about.
What’s To Like...
I
read Origins, by Neil deGrasse Tyson a few
months ago (reviewed here), which dealt with the chronological order of
“births” in the Cosmos, in descending order of
magnitude: the Universe, the Milky Way
Galaxy, our Sun, the Planets, and lastly life here on Earth. In Michio Kaku’s The
Future of Humanity that order is reversed, dealing with the “deaths” of
each of those entities. One hopes it is
also in chronological order, since escaping each demise is an increasingly
difficult technological challenge.
The Future of Humanity is divided into
three sections, namely:
Part 1: Fleeing to other Planets (chapters
1-6)
Part 2: Fleeing to Nearby Stars (chapters
7-9)
Part 3: Fleeing to Faraway Stars and other Galaxies (chapters 10-14)
The
central premise of the book is that sooner or later humanity is going to be
faced with every one of these emergencies.
To stay means to perish, and the author is too much of an optimist to resign
us to that fate. Each chapter starts
with one or two relevant and witty quotes.
There are a couple diagrams and graphs scattered throughout the book, and
a handy index in the back.
Michio
Kaku writes in an easy-to-understand style.
Even if you’re not an astrophysicist, you’ll be able to grasp what he’s
talking about. Numerous references to
science fiction books, movies, and TV series help you visualize future
technology. But these are only cited if
they are grounded in real-world physics. If you’re hoping to be “beamed up” via a Star Trek transporter, you’ll be
disappointed.
The
book is a treasure trove for all sorts of scientific trivia. I learned the secret to living longer (caloric
restriction), the mechanics of schizophrenia, and the multiple
methods used to discover and examine planets revolving around distant
stars. String Theory is simplified to
where it actually makes some sense, and the wonders of wormholes, anti-matter (we’ve already
made some!), and graphene are detailed. You’ll even learn what extraterrestrials are
most likely to look like. Take that,
Fermi’s Paradox!
We
are obviously a long way from having the technology to do anything more than
walk on the moon, but Michio Kaku gives you the most promising ways to
accomplish the various astral journeys. To
achieve energy-efficient space flight, we can build “space elevators”. To get to the nearest star, we can go “comet-hopping”. To get to distant stars and other galaxies,
we’ll probably use “nano-ships” and “transhumanism”. The book details these and other options,
giving the pros and cons of each.
Excerpts...
Astronomers
suspect that the Oort Cloud could extend as far as three light years from our
solar system. That is more than halfway
to the nearest stars, the Centauri triple star system, which is slightly more
than four light-years from Earth. If we
assume that the Centauri star system is also surrounded by a sphere of comets,
then there might be a continuous trail of comets connecting it to Earth. It may be possible to establish a series of
refueling stations, outposts, and relay locations on a grand interstellar
highway. Instead of leaping to the next
star in one jump, we might cultivate the more modest goal of “comet hopping” to
the Centauri system. This thoroughfare
could become a cosmic Route 66. (pg. 107)
Unlike our sun
the Milky Way galaxy will die in fire.
About four billion years from now, it will collide with Andromeda, the
nearest spiral galaxy. Andromeda is
roughly twice the size of the Milky Way, so it will be a hostile takeover. Computer simulations of the collision show
that the two galaxies will enter a death dance as they orbit around each
other. Andromeda will rip off many of
the arms of the Milky Way, dismembering it.
The black holes at the center of both galaxies will orbit around each other
and finally collide, merging into a bigger black hole, and a new galaxy will
emerge from the collision, a giant elliptical galaxy. (pg. 295)
Killer asteroids are nature’s way of asking, “How’s that space
program coming along?” (pg. 54 )
It’s
tough to come up with anything to quibble about in The
Future of Humanity. I still have
trouble comprehending Quantum Mechanics, despite a section devoted to it near
the end of this book. Unfortunately, any
solution to intergalactic travel is going to require using it.
Similarly, Michio Kaku waxes philosophical when discussing hopping to a
parallel dimension. But let’s face it,
trying to discuss the technology needed for that is kinda fruitless since we’re
not even sure the multiverse exists.
9½ Stars.
Overall, The
Future of Humanity was a delightful read, detailing the “cosmic
relocations” we might someday be forced to make, the technology needed to
successfully make those moves, and the best-guess timetable to overcoming the
astrophysical challenges. Colleagues
have been recommending Michio Kaku’s books to me for quite some time, and I'm bummed I didn't follow up on their recommendations sooner. I was
captivated by the author's effervescent optimism as well as his keen scientific insight. I'll be reading more of his books in the near future..
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