Michio Kaku: The Universe in a Nutshell (Full Presentation) | Big Think

Introduction to Physics

In this section, Professor Michio Kaku introduces himself and explains the importance of physics in our daily lives.

Physics and its Impact on Technology

• Physics is at the foundation of matter and energy.

• Physicists have invented many technologies such as the laser beam, transistor, computer, internet, television, radio, radar, microwaves, MRI scans, PET scans and x-rays.

• Almost everything we see in our living room or a modern hospital can be traced back to a physicist.

Early Interest in Physics

• Professor Kaku became interested in physics when he was eight years old after learning about Albert Einstein's unfinished manuscript.

• He later realized that it was the theory of everything or Unified Field Theory that Einstein was working on.

The Power of Equations

In this section, Professor Kaku talks about how equations like E=mc² can unlock secrets of the universe.

The Theory of Everything

• The theory of everything or Unified Field Theory is an equation that summarizes all physical forces in the universe.

• E = mc² is an example of an equation that unlocks secrets of stars and energy on earth.

Inspiration from Science Fiction

In this section, Professor Kaku talks about his inspiration for science fiction and how it relates to physics.

Childhood Fascination with Science Fiction

• As a child watching Flash Gordon every Saturday morning sparked his fascination with science fiction.

• He realized that it was a physicist who made the series work by discovering the ray gun, star ships and invisibility shield.

Physics and the Future

• Understanding physics is essential to understanding the future as it is at the foundation of all technological marvels.

• Most science fiction is possible within 100 years, but some like time travel, warp drive, higher dimensions, portals through space and time, star gates and wormholes may take 1,000 years or more.

The Future of Technology

In this section, Professor Kaku talks about how technology has advanced over time and what we can expect in the future.

Advancements in Technology

• Long distance communication in 1900 was yelling at your neighbor while today we have iPads, iPods, satellites, GPS and laser beams.

• If our grandparents from 1900 could see us now they would view us as wizards or sorcerers.

The Future of Technology

• If we could meet our grandkids from 2100 we would view them as gods with abilities like those of Greek mythology such as controlling objects with pure thought.

The History of Physics

This section covers the history of physics before Isaac Newton and Galileo. It talks about how people believed in superstitions and mysteries, and how Aristotle's works held sway for almost 2,000 years until the beginning of modern physics with Galileo and Isaac Newton.

The Mystery of Superstition

• People believed in all sorts of different kinds of spirits and demons.

• What made the planets move? Why do things interact with other things? It was a mystery.

• Back in the Middle Ages, people read the works of Aristotle who believed that objects moved towards earth because they yearned to be united with it.

The Comet that Initiated British Monarchy

• In 1066, a comet sailed over the battlefield of Hastings which frightened King Harold's troops. A young man from Normandy swept into England and defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings creating modern British monarchy.

• That same comet sailed over London again in 1682 which led everyone to ask where comets come from and what they signify.

Isaac Newton: The Man Who Unlocked Heavens

• When Isaac Newton was only 23 years old, he stumbled upon the universal force of gravitation by observing an apple fall on his estate in Woolsthorpe.

• He realized that if he understands the motion of moon then he also understands motion of planets in solar system.

• Edmund Haley asked Newton about his thoughts on a comet that had been fascinating people for centuries, to which Newton replied that it was moving at a perfect ellipse conforming to his mathematics exactly as he had been tracking it every day with his reflecting telescope.

The Importance of Isaac Newton's Principia

In this section, the speaker discusses the significance of Isaac Newton's book, Principia, and how it set into motion a physics of the universe.

Newton's Contributions to Physics

• Haley offered to pay for the publication of Newton's calculus that he invented to work out all the motion of stars.

• Principia is one of the most important works ever written by a human being in 100,000 years since we evolved from Africa.

• Principia sets into motion a physics of the universe. Forces that control the motion of planets can be calculated using Newton's laws.

• Everything that moves follows the laws of motion and calculus developed by Sir Isaac Newton.

• Even today, when launching space probes, we use Newton's laws of gravity because they are so precise.

Mechanics Set into Motion by Isaac Newton

• Machines now operate upon well-defined laws: Newton's three laws of motion.

• The first law states that objects in motion stay in motion forever unless acted on by an outside force.

• The second law says force is mass times acceleration and made possible machines like steam engines and locomotives during the Industrial Revolution.

• The third law states for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction which govern rockets' movement.

How Science Unraveled Electromagnetic Force

In this section, the speaker discusses how science unraveled electromagnetic force.

Electromagnetic Force

• Ever since humans saw lightning bolts light up the sky, they were fascinated by the electromagnetic force.

• Electromagnetic force is an even greater force that has touched all of our lives.

The Electromagnetic Force

This section discusses the discovery of the electromagnetic force and its impact on society.

Michael Faraday's Contributions

• Michael Faraday gave Christmas lectures in London where he demonstrated the properties of electricity.

• Faraday created a cage that shielded him from electrocution, known as a Faraday cage.

• Faraday's Law states that a moving wire in a magnetic field creates an electrical current, which led to the electric revolution.

• Hydroelectric generators, nuclear power plants, and electricity in our homes are all products of this revolution.

Unification of Electricity and Magnetism

• Electricity and magnetism were once thought to be separate forces but were unified into one force by James Clerk Maxwell's equations.

• A moving electric field can create a magnetic field just as a moving magnet can create an electric field.

• Maxwell calculated the velocity of this wave and discovered it was the same as the speed of light.

Impact on Society

• The consequences of the electromagnetic revolution are visible from space with electrified Europe seen from outer space.

• Michael Faraday is celebrated for his contributions to science with his image appearing on British currency.

The Future of Glasses

In this section, the speaker talks about how glasses will be miniaturized and will recognize people's faces. They will display their biography next to the image as you talk to them. When they speak Chinese to you, your glasses will translate Chinese into English and print out subtitles right beneath their image.

Glasses with Biographical Recognition

• Glasses will be miniaturized and placed on your face.

• Your glasses will recognize people's faces and display their biography next to the image as you talk to them.

Translation Capabilities

• When someone speaks Chinese to you, your glasses will translate it into English.

• The translation will appear as subtitles right beneath their image.

The Future of Chips

In this section, the speaker talks about how chips will only cost a penny in the future because we can manufacture tinier transistors. He also discusses a pill that has a chip in it which is smaller than an aspirin pill. It has a TV camera and magnet inside it which guides the camera when swallowed.

Cost of Chips

• Chips will only cost a penny in the future.

• This is because we can manufacture tinier transistors.

Pill with Camera and Magnet

• There is a pill that has a chip in it.

• The chip is smaller than an aspirin pill.

• It also has a TV camera and magnet inside it.

• When swallowed, the magnet guides the camera, taking pictures of your stomach and intestines.

The Nuclear Age

In this section, the speaker talks about the nuclear force and how it helped to explain the secret of the sun. He also discusses how inside the nucleus of an atom are particles that can be smashed to create more particles.

The Nuclear Force

• The nuclear force is a new force that lasts for billions of years.

• Einstein and others helped unravel the secret of stars.

• The nuclear force comes in two types: weak and strong.

• The strong nuclear force holds our protons together since Genesis.

Smashing Particles

• Inside the nucleus of an atom are particles.

• When these particles are smashed, more particles are created.

• We smash atoms using something called atom smashers or particle accelerators.

E = mc²

In this section, the speaker talks about Einstein's famous equation E = mc². He explains that when you move very rapidly, you get heavier because your weight is not a constant.

Energy Transformation

• Einstein's famous equation is E = mc².

• The faster you move, the heavier you get because energy of motion turns into mass.

Weight Increase

• Your weight is not a constant.

• When you move very rapidly, you get heavier which we measure every day in the laboratory.

Building Antimatter in My Garage

In this section, the speaker talks about his early experiments with antimatter and how it earned him a scholarship to Harvard.

Early Experiments with Antimatter

• The speaker built machines in his garage that created anti-electrons and eventually beams of antimatter.

• Antimatter is the opposite of matter and has an opposite charge. Anti-molecules and anti-atoms can be created using antimatter.

• Anti-helium was recently detected at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island.

• When matter and antimatter collide, it releases the greatest energy source in the universe.

Scholarship to Harvard

• Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb, arranged for the speaker to get a scholarship to Harvard.

• This helped jumpstart the speaker's career as a physicist.

The Particle Zoo

In this section, the speaker talks about subatomic particles and how physicists have been able to piece them together into a jigsaw puzzle called the "standard model."

Subatomic Particles

• Inside the nucleus of an atom are particles upon particles that can be smashed apart.

• Physicists were discovering so many subatomic particles in the 1950's that J. Robert Oppenheimer once declared that "the Nobel Prize in physics should go to the physicist who does not discover a new particle this year."

The Standard Model

• Physicists have unlocked hundreds or thousands of subatomic particles which they've pieced together into a jigsaw puzzle called the "standard model."

• The standard model has 36 quarks, 19 free parameters, and 3 generations of quarks.

• The Higgs-Boson is the one piece missing from the standard model.

String Theory

• Physicists expect to find the Higgs-Boson and create a higher version of the standard model using string theory.

• String theory is based on the idea that all four forces of the universe can be viewed as music made up of tiny rubber bands.

• An electron can be seen as a vibrating rubber band that turns into different subatomic particles when "twanged" enough times.

• Thousands of subatomic particles have been cataloged by physicists through this process.

• String theory is believed to be a theory of everything.

The Large Hadron Collider

This section discusses the Large Hadron Collider and its purpose.

Building the Largest Machine in History

• The Large Hadron Collider is being built outside Geneva, Switzerland.

• It is the biggest machine of science ever built in the history of the human race.

• The collider is a tube 17 miles in circumference with two beams of protons circulating in opposite directions.

• These beams slam together creating a shower of particles, and among these particles scientists hope to find the Higgs-Boson particle.

Beyond the Higgs-Boson

• Scientists also hope to find particles beyond the Higgs-Boson, such as "sparticles," which are super particles.

• String theory predicts that there is a multiverse of universes, and scientists hope to unlock secrets about this through their research at the collider.

String Theory and Multiverses

This section delves into string theory and its implications for understanding our universe.

Einstein's Equations Break Down

• Einstein's equations break down at two interesting places in the universe: at the instant of the big bang and at the center of a black hole.

• Scientists need a higher theory to understand these phenomena, which is where string theory comes in.

A Multiverse of Universes

• String theory predicts that there should be other bubbles or universes out there beyond our own.

• When two universes collide or when a universe splits in half, it can create new universes.

• The Big Bang may have been caused by the collision or fissioning of universes.

Wormholes and Time Travel

• Alice in Wonderland gives us a possibility that one day we might create a wormhole between universes.

• A wormhole is a shortcut through space and time that could potentially be used as a time machine.

• While string theory allows for time machines, building one would require far more energy than currently available.

The Death of the Universe

This section discusses the eventual fate of our universe.

The Big Freeze

• Trillions of years from now, the universe will get very cold and all intelligent life will die.

• Stars will blink out and cease to twinkle, leaving behind only darkness and coldness.

Escaping the Death of the Universe

• The laws of physics are a death warrant for all intelligent life in the universe.

• Leaving the universe is currently science fiction, but equations from string theory may allow us to calculate if it's possible.

The March of Physics

In this section, the speaker discusses the four fundamental forces of nature and whether there is a fifth force beyond what we can measure in the laboratory.

The Four Fundamental Forces

• The laws of nature have been distilled into four fundamental forces: gravity, electricity and magnetism, and the two nuclear forces.

• These four physical theories can be reproduced every single time without exception.

• If a theory fails even once, it is wrong.

Is There a Fifth Force?

• Some physicists have looked for a fifth force beyond what we can measure in the laboratory.

• A fifth force may be short range, but none has been found yet.

• String theory gives us a clue about dark matter, which makes up 23 percent of the universe. However, there's no definitive answer.

Dark Energy and Dark Matter

In this section, the speaker talks about dark energy and dark matter and their role in our universe.

Dark Energy

• Dark energy is an energy source larger than the galaxy itself that was discovered by physicists in the last ten years.

• It makes up 73 percent of our universe's matter and energy.

• It's responsible for blowing galaxies farther apart from each other.

Dark Matter

• Dark matter is invisible matter that holds galaxies together.

• We are made out of higher elements that make up only .03 percent of the universe.

• No one knows what dark matter is, but there are Nobel Prizes waiting for those who can figure it out.

Advice for Young Physicists

In this section, the speaker gives advice to young physicists and talks about the importance of knowing the laws of mechanics.

Freshman Physics

• Most students taking elementary physics fail.

• Physicists flunk most students taking elementary physics because they want to make sure that engineers don't create structures that fall down.

• Knowing the laws of mechanics is essential.

Introduction to Theoretical Physics

In this section, the speaker talks about his background and how he became interested in theoretical physics.

Background

• The speaker started out as an experimental physicist.

• His adviser, Professor Pound, suggested that his skills were better suited for theory and mathematics.

• The speaker is most intrigued by finding the fundamental basis for everything in science.

Conclusion

• The speaker is a theoretical physicist who seeks to understand why things work the way they do.