Customer Reviews

Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimens ion

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Hyperspace is a book strongly focused on higher-dimensional space-time theories such as superstring and Kaluza-Klein-type. The 10 dimensional theory promises to vastly simplify the laws of nature and end our view of a three dimension universe. Kaku manages to compile lots of information in a very readable and fascinating book. You will understand how 10-D theories are basically simple and geometric, despite their mathematical complexity (which actually opened up new areas of mathematics).

Higher dimension theories allow us to reduce enormous amounts of information into a concise, elegant fashion that unites the two greatest theories of the 20th century: Quantum Theory and General Relativity.

Michio covers the basics of the theory, and its future implications for the future of physics and science, and even writes a few pages on the debate between the reductionism and holism in nature, and the aesthetic relation among physics, mathematics, religion and philosophy. The book flows very smoothly, never burying the reader under too many technical facts. It introduces higher dimension concepts, its relationship with currently accepted theories and the unification of all forces in ten dimensions.

Part 3 of the book starts getting heavier on astrophysics, covers Wormholes and potential gateways to other universes, black holes, parallel universes, time travel and colliding universes. Never Hollywood material, but the typical Stargate fan will probably still love this part. :-) Part 4 ends the book with thoughts on how mankind would can rule the universe if Hyperspace can be mastered, discussing the fate of the universe and its civilizations. Subjects like Entropy death, escape thru hyperspace and universal colonization are covered. Interesting, but lots of early speculation.

It is true that superstring theories currently appear impossible to test experimentally and may end up in the trash bin, but I don't think that limits this title's interest or renders it worthless. Michio's book is very well written and organized, making extremely difficult higher physics sound almost easy. Beware however, that this isn't really a good title for a complete beginner, and far from complex enough to leave some other readers satisfied. If you have some knowledge of the basics, you will be left with the impression that the ideas covered are simple, but it will only be an illusion; Very few people in the world fully master all the subjects covered. If having to understand the Riemann Metric Tensor is enough to make you run, you better keep away from this title. No knowledge in math is necessary, but of course, if you know your college math, you'll know what's happening, in some parts instead of having to just believe Kaku's word. :) Just being able to grasp the general beauty of hyperspace science is still well worth the time.

In parallel, you will hear some stories about mathematicians, events, and many curious episodes that have influenced modern science; Kaku sometimes diverges a bit from the main subject, and ends up telling stories, some about his childhood, and many about famous scientists (For instance, when dealing with Hilton's cubes, Kaku spends a few paragraphs telling us about Hilton's habits and the fact that he was a bigamist, the scandals, etc). This isn't really a problem, as the stories are usually interesting and directly or indirectly related to the subjects.

Kaku did manage to write a great laymen's (well, almost) book about higher dimensional physics and cosmology. Not many do it as well. Everybody remembers Hawkin's "A Brief History of Time" and also the now classic "The Elegant Universe". Hyperspace has its place next to these.

The discussion about God grasped my interest, but that didn't last long. I would have dropped the subject, as Michio is definitely not qualified to get into it, and I did not get the book to read a version of Kant's arguments that have been refuted to exhaustion. Note that I'm not questioning Michio's conclusions, just saying that there are far better titles on these matters and that the author should have focused on what's he's good at.

But, that little stain is no major problem, In general, very enjoyable title, also complete in notes, references, suggested readings and has a good index.

Highly recommended.

Everyone of us were born to comprehend the 3-dimensional world that we live in, and most of us would view time as the forth. In "Hyperspace", Kaku introduces the concept of dimensions beyond the third, and what these dimensions mean to us. Apart from talking about the possibilities of deriving a unified theory of all physical laws in higher dimensions, wormholes were also described in details as to how they could be used for travelling between different dimensions and universes, and more interestingly, how they could be used to travel through time. Most of the concepts were backed by examples and stories (including those of Kaku's childhood memories) which, not only allows the readers to easily grasp them, but also makes them more interesting to follow. However, one may start to wonder how on earth could Kaku's parents allow (and assist) their child to perform such horrific experiments!

This book was written primarily for the general public. Having said this, some moderate background and interests in physics are necessary, but then again you probably wouldn't be reading this review to start with if you weren't interested in "Hyperspace", right?

To sum up, I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to find out more about the higher dimensions. Although there were occasions when I felt that Kaku has gone into too much details on the stories he quoted, which themselves could have been another interesting read if I wasn't told of the endings...

This is book definitely written for the layperson, but the author does no condescension when explaining complex details to the reader. No deep mathematics, no proofs, just a good book for the average person to enjoy and understand. The best book on the market for understanding the complications of the limitations of the space-time continuum of the world we live in.
Don't confuse "hyperspace" with "hypercube". "Hypercube" is a study in mathematics regarding four dimensions without time, while this book discusses as much in detail about "hyperspace", a study of dimensions up to ten. The book is actually on the higher study of physics, not mathematics, but of course, mathematics is a part of the book, if only on a limited basis.
Very interesting on the string theory, where dimensions of 10 and/or 26 are required. Also, all the competing theories are discussed, including the fact that Einstein himself was uncomfortable with studies beyond the fourth dimension. This is all discussed, very aptly, with a view to have the reader himself put on the physicist's shoes, so to speak, and comprehend creating some of theses theories, along with the rest of the academia bunch.
Diagrams and pictures are included to help the reader visualize some of this, even if it is in a limited way. Very helpful.
Einstein claimed that imagination was more than 90 percent of true scientific inquiry. I wouldn't agree with him entirely, especially in fields such as biology, but for physics study and a good review of the all the theories concerning higher dimensions, I would agree more with Einstein than not. I would even recommend this book to one comtemplating a future serious study in physics or math. I wouldn't be without it.

High dimensional theories are really hard to comprehend given that you can't see them but just visualize them mathematically. I think the author has done a great job exposing a non physicist to the world of higher dimensional physics.

Kaku starts the Hyperspace theory (also called Superstring or Supergravity theory) in a chronological fashion. Obviously he talks about Einstein's general relativity and then moves on to the pioneer's in the high dimentional geometry with a broad and very lucid description of Kaluza theory (later to become Kaluza-Klein) and Riemann matrices.

According to Kaku , hyperspace theory tells us before the Big Bang, our cosmos was actually a perfect ten-dimensional universe, a world where interdimensional travel was possible. However, this ten-dimensional universe "cracked" in two, creating two separate universes: a four-and a six- dimensional universe. The universe in which we live was born in that cosmic cataclysm. Our four-dimensional universe expanded explosively, while our twin six-dimensional universe contracted violently, until it shrank to almost infinitesimal size. This would explain the origin of the Big Bang. If correct, this theory demonstrates that the rapid expansion of the universe was just a rather minor aftershock of a much greater cataclysmic event, the cracking of space and time itself. The energy that drives the observed expansion of the universe is then found in the collapse of ten-dimensional space and time. According to this theory, the distant stars and galaxies are receding from us at astronomical speeds because of the original collapse of ten-dimensional space and time.

This is by far the best description of the theory I've read so far in a book. The subject matter does require concentration. Even though personally it is hard for me to come to terms with many aspects of the theory, it is definately a mind opener.

This is an odyssey into the history of development of the concept of hyperspace that includes fourth and higher spatial dimensions to account for the riddles and unsolved problems of unified field theory. Since the postulation of special theory of relativity, Einstein and subsequent physicists until now have struggled to explain the four natural forces; the electromagnetic force (explained by Maxwell's field equations for electricity & magnetism); the strong and weak nuclear forces (explained by Yang - Mills field equations for subatomic forces); and the gravitational force (explained by Einstein's field equations of gravitation and relativity) by one unified field theory (theory of everything: String Theory). In other words, unifying the forces of the big, the cosmos, and the laws of the small, the microcosm (subatomic forces) by one single theory. The first part of the book describes how laws of nature become so simple to understand if higher dimensions are invoked; the author gives us a good historical background to build his case for hyperspace concept. The second part of the book describes the evolution of quantum mechanics and String theory. An introduction to wormholes, black holes and the use of these cosmic bodies for interstellar travel is given in the third part. The fourth part rambles through the future of the universe with irrelevant and some times out of focus narrative. The book is entirely free of physics and mathematics; from the point of understanding the basic concepts this approach is welcome. This book also gives an insight into the poignant story of Riemann (p.42) and Ramanujan (p.174) who sustained enormous personal and family hardships to contribute significantly in the field of mathematics. We also get a glimpse of academic rat race that involves professional rivalry, name & work recognition, and personal ego that is prevalent in academics. This is illustrated when Einstein delays Kaluza's paper for publication for 2 years (p.102). Bohr calling Pauli's lecture crazy (p.137); Sheldon Glashow ridiculing t'Hooft's work (p.121); a superior discouraging Mahahiko Suzuki's publication about Euler's Beta function (p.161); and Pauli being furious about Eisenberg's claim, Einstein - Bohr argument, and Schrodinger frustrated with Bohr's interpretation (p.261).

The author rambles about symmetry in arts; what is that got to do with hyperspace? The reader can find this discussion in any art book. Time travel has been described in layman's language in many books in depth; this discussion is unnecessary for this book. Throughout the book, the author refers to standard model and the equations of quantum mechanics as ugly; Equations are not ugly, they are complex or non-symmetrical.

The author could have devoted one chapter to describing the field equations in layman's terms; it would have helped a more enthusiastic reader to build a bridge to physics and tensor calculus. The reader should not be discouraged about mathematics in understanding relativity; many physicists themselves are heading to the library to learn about mathematics in String theory (Part 2). More appropriate title of the book could be hyperspace - a historical development of String theory. Despite the minor concerns, this book has strong points as observed above. I encourage the reader to buy this book; if you are not happy with this book, it is less than two-lunch money (page numbers from 1994 edition).

Though it is impossible to visualize higher dimensions and difficult for most of us to understand the equations involved in this technical field, Michio Kaku, who has become the "Carl Sagan" of our time, does an excellent job of helping lay readers comprehend hyperspace. The concept of higher dimensions, which was formerly introduced in 1854 by Geog Riemann, was not taken seriously because it was an untestable theory and lost credibility upon the introduction of quantum theory in the early twentieth century. Reinman believed that the forces of nature such as electricity, magnetism, and gravity were just effects caused by the crumpling or warping of hyperspace, an idea that Albert Eisntein revived in his theory of general relativity. In this comprehensive and often humouous work, Kaku takes the reader from the fictional characters of Charles Hinton to Relativity and String theories; both of which have revived interest in higher dimensional reality. If you thought, like me, that you could never come close to understanding the concepts of hyperspace, this book will surely bring you within reach of this understanding, while providing a sound background in the history and development of higher dimensions.

I say great airplane book because I fly internationally a lot and this book is ALWAYS in my carry-on. Even though I've read it probably 30 times through, I never skip chapters, it still is a great read each time. I'm trying to do the "physics by osmosis" method of learning.

Hyperspace by Michio Kaku is a very lucidly written account of the multidimensional approach to a unified field theory, of the possibility of parallel universes, of superstring theory of particle physics, and of the future of intelligent life and the fate of the universe. That's quite a feat in 334 pages, but he does a superb job of putting these complex concepts across for the non-math/physics types like myself. I had some difficulty getting through his discussion of superstring theory, of which he is one of the primary architects, but the other aspects of the text were more comprehensible. His style is very conversational, and he often calls upon his own experiences as a student, as a human being, and as a peer with others in the field to illustrate some aspects of his topics. The illustrations, though few, are clear and helpful. The bibliographical entries are a little old for a book written in 1994, many from the late 70s and early 80s. I've read some of the entries in the past and enjoyed most of them. They will definitely give one a thorough background in the recent history of physics and cosmology. I've put several of them on my wish list for later purchase. Notes to the chapters are full of additional historical and explanatory data of interest and are worth taking the time to read.

This was a very well written book that keeps the reader interested even while covering very complex theories. What it lacked in technical depth, it more than made up for in broadness and ease of reading. You do not need a Ph.D. in astrophysics to enjoy the book. It is easy to understand and follow the concepts and theories.

I first read this book when I was 11, and was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Kaku at a lecture shortly after finishing it. After recently rereading it as a college student, I feel I have a much deeper understanding of the subject in general, and feel qualified to give a short review of this book. Much of the critical acclaim received by this book is, indeed warranted, for two main reasons: First, it provides an accessible route for the casual scientist to explore theoretical physics, an area in which I believe many books fall far short. Second, it reintroduces theories such as wormholes, higher dimensions, and superstrings to the public, and in doing so, creates more interest in the sciences. (e.g., more funding, etc..). This book will be a disappointment, however, for the person already well aquatinted with Hyperspace's subject matter. Bottom Line: A great primer for theoretical physics, suitable for anyone interested in exploring this area, but the seasoned reader/professional physicist will likely find this a very elementary, albeit entertaining read. I really wish I could give it another half star. Have fun! ;-}