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THE PHYSICS OF SCIENCE FICTION 2023

Starships. Time Travel. Black holes. Wormholes. Alien civilizations. Hyperspace. Anti-matter drive. Parallel universes.

Physics of Science Fiction (Physics 332) is a course Professor Michio Kaku will be teaching this Spring Semester EXCLUSIVELY for students at The City College of New York (CCNY). It applies physics to explain some of most sensational themes found in science fiction.

This exciting and popular course is taught online by Dr. Kaku, professor of theoretical physics, New York Times best-selling author, TV and radio personality, and co-founder of string field theory. The course uses lectures, slideshows and planetarium shows to explain the cutting edge of science.

KAKU ON PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND

Inspired since youth to search for a Theory of Everything, bestselling author and theoretical physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku co-founded String Field Theory, which he believes may be the answer to fully understanding our universe.

Mori Rothman of PBS NewsHour recently interviewed Dr. Kaku to discuss his newest hit book, THE GOD EQUATION: The Quest for a Theory of Everything, and Kaku’s lifelong quest for the ultimate theory of everything. WATCH NOW!

KAKU ON WSJ: THE GOD EQUATION

THE PHYSICS OF SCIENCE FICTION

Star Ships. Time Travel. Black holes. Wormholes. Alien civilizations. Hyperspace. Anti-matter drive. Parallel universes.

Physics of Science Fiction (Physics 332) is a new course which Professor Michio Kaku will be teaching this Fall Semester exclusively for students at The City College of New York (CCNY). It applies physics to explain some of most sensational themes found in science fiction.

This exciting new course is taught online by Dr. Kaku, professor of theoretical physics, NY Times best-selling author, TV and radio personality, and co-founder of string field theory. The course uses lectures, slideshows and planetarium shows to explain the cutting edge of science. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU! Sorry, this course is for registered CCNY students only.

SCI-FI SCIENCE: Physics of the Impossible – Series Premieres on the Science Channel – Tuesday, December 1 at 10 PM

So You Want to Become a Physicist?

You have come to the right place

I’ve often been asked the question: how do you become a physicist? Let me first say that physicists, from a fairly early age, are fascinated by the universe and its fantastic wonders. We want to be part of the romantic, exciting adventure to tease apart its mysteries and understand the nature of physical reality.

That’s the driving force behind our lives. We are more interested in black holes and the origin of the universe than with making tons of money and driving flashy cars. We also realize that physics forms the foundation for biology, chemistry, geology, etc. and the wealth of modern civilization. We realize that physicists pioneered the pivotal discoveries of the 20th century which revolutionized the world (e.g. the transistor, the laser, splitting the atom, TV and radio, MRI and PET scans, quantum theory and relativity, unraveling the DNA molecule was done by physicists.

But people often ask the question: do I have to be an Einstein to become a physicist? The answer is NO. Sure, physicists have to be proficient in mathematics, but the main thing is to have that curiosity and drive. One of the greatest physicists of all time, Michael Faraday, started out as a penniless, uneducated apprentice, but he was persistent and creative and then went on to revolutionize modern civilization with electric motors and dynamos. Much of the worlds gross domestic product depends on his work.

Einstein also said that behind every great theory there is a simple physical picture that even lay people can understand. In fact, he said, if a theory does not have a simple underlying picture, then the theory is probably worthless. The important thing is the physical picture; math is nothing but bookkeeping.

Steps to becoming a Physicist:

1) in high school, read popular books on physics and try to make contact with real physicists, if possible. (Role models are extremely important. If you cannot talk to a real physicist, read biographies of the giants of physics, to understand their motivation, their career path, the milestones in their career.) A role model can help you lay out a career path that is realistic and practical. The wheel has already been invented, so take advantage of a role model. Doing a science fair project is another way to plunge into the wonderful world of physics. Unfortunately, well-meaning teachers and counselors, not understanding physics, will probably give you a lot of useless advice, or may try to discourage you. Sometimes you have to ignore their advice.

Don’t get discouraged about the math, because you will have to wait until you learn calculus to understand most physics. (After all, Newton invented calculus in order to solve a physics problem: the orbit of the moon and planets in the solar system.)

Get good grades in all subjects and good SAT scores (i.e. don’t get too narrowly focused on physics) so you can be admitted to a top school, such as Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech. (Going to a top liberal arts college is sometimes an advantage over going to an engineering school, since it’s easier to switch majors if you have a career change.)

2) next, study four years of college. Students usually have to declare their majors in their sophomore (2nd) year in college; physics majors should begin to think about doing (a) experimental physics or (b) theoretical physics and choosing a specific field.

The standard four year curriculum:

a) first year physics, including mechanics and electricity and magnetism (caution: many universities make this course unnecessarily difficult, to weed out weaker engineers and physicists, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t ace this course! Many future physicists do poorly in this first year course because it is made deliberately difficult.).

Also, take first (or second) year calculus.

b) second year physics – intermediate mechanics and EM theory.

Also, second year calculus, including differential equations and surface and volume integrals.

c) third year physics – a selection from: optics, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, beginning atomic and nuclear theory

d) four year physics – elementary quantum mechanics

Within physics, there are many sub-disciplines you can choose from. For example, there is solid state, condensed matter, low temperature, and laser physics, which have immediate applications in electronics and optics. My own field embraces elementary particle physics as well as general relativity. Other branches include nuclear physics, astrophysics, geophysics, biophysics, etc.

Often you can apply for industrial jobs right after college. But for the higher paying jobs, it’s good to get a higher degree.

3) so then there is graduate school. If your goal is to teach physics at the high school or junior college level, then obtaining a Masters degree usually involves two years of advanced course work but no original research. There is a shortage of physics teachers at the junior college and high school level.

If you want to become a research physicist or professor, you must get a Ph.D., which usually involves 4 to 5 years (sometimes more), and involves publishing original research. (This is not as daunting as it may seem, since usually this means finding a thesis advisor, who will simply assign you a research problem or include you in their experimental work.) Funding a Ph.D. is also not as hard as it seems, since a professor will usually have a grant or funding from the department to support you at a rate of about $12,000 per year or more. Compared to English or history graduate students, physics graduate students have a very cushy life.

After a Ph.D: Three sources of jobs

a) government

b) industry

c) the university

Government work may involve setting standards at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (the old National Bureau of Standards), which is important for all physics research. Government jobs pay well, but you will never become wealthy being a government physicist. But government work may also involve working in the weapons industry, which I highly discourage. (Not only for ethical reasons, but because that area is being downsized rapidly.)

Industrial work has its ebbs and flows. But lasers and semi-conductor and computer research will be the engines of the 21st century, and there will be jobs in these fields. One rewarding feature of this work is the realization that you are building the scientific architecture that will enrich all our lives. There is no job security at this level, but the pay can be quite good (especially for those in management positions – it’s easier for a scientist to become a business manager than for a business major to learn science.) In fact, some of the wealthiest billionaires in the electronics industry and Silicon Valley came from physics/engineering backgrounds and then switched to management or set up their own corporation.

But I personally think a university position is the best, because then you can work on any problem you want. But jobs at the university are scarce; this may mean taking several two-year “post-doctorate” positions at various colleges before landing a teaching position as an assistant professor without tenure (tenure means you have a permanent position). Then you have 5-7 more years in which to establish a name for yourself as an assistant professor.

If you get tenure, then you have a permanent position and are promoted to associate professor and eventually full professor. The pay may average between $40,000 to $100,000, but there are also severe obstacles to this path.

In the 1960s, because of Sputnik, a tremendous number of university jobs opened up. The number of professors soared exponentially. But this could not last forever. By the mid 1970s, job expansion began inevitably to slow down, forcing many of my friends out of work. So the number of faculty positions leveled off in the 1980s.

Then, many people predicted that, with the retirement of the Sputnik-generation, new jobs at the universities would open up in the 90s. Exactly the opposite took place. First, Congress passed legislation against age-discrimination, so professors could stay on as long as they like. Many physicists in their seventies decided to stay on, making it difficult to find jobs for young people. Second, after the cancellation of the SSC and the end of the Cold War, universities and government began to slowly downsize the funding for physics. As a result, the average age of a physicist increases 8 months per year, meaning that there is very little new hiring.

As I said, physicists do not become scientists for the money, so I don’t want to downplay the financial problems that you may face. In fact, many superstring theorists who could not get faculty jobs went to Wall Street (where they were incorrectly called “rocket scientists”). This may mean leaving the field. However, for the diehards who wish to do physics in spite of a bad job market, you may plan to have a “fall-back” job to pay the bills (e.g. programming) while you conduct research on your own time.

But this dismal situation cannot last. Within ten years, the Sputnik-generation will finally retire, hopefully opening up new jobs for young, talented physicists. The funding for physics may never rival that of the Cold War, but physics will remain an indispensable part of creating the wealth of the 21st century. There are not many of us (about 30,000 or so are members of the American Physical Society) but we form the vanguard of the future. It also helps to join the APS and receive Physics Today magazine, which has an excellent back page which lists the various job openings around the country.

Articles

The Physics of Extraterrestrial Civilizations

Sure, we have our technology: airplanes, the internet, satellites. But what would an advanced civilization millions of years old look like? Learn about the different types, and why our civilization ranks a measly Type-0.

The Physics of Interstellar Travel

What would it take to reach the stars? Explore the real physics behind interstellar travel.

The Physics of Time Travel

It looks easy in the movies, but time travel is still theory. Learn about the physics behind navigating time travel.

What to Do If You Have a Proposal for the Unified Field Theory?

Looking for a way to present your theory of everything? Let Dr. Kaku guide you on your path towards submitting a well formed proposal on the Unified Field Theory

So You Want to Become a Physicist?

Becoming a physicist in 3 exciting steps! What more could you want?

Hyperspace and a Theory of Everything

How would a ‘carp scientist’ explain the 3rd dimension, to his 2 dimensional pond inhabitants? Learn about higher dimensions from Dr. Kaku’s well known childhood story – the Japanese Tea Garden.

Black Holes, Wormholes and the Tenth Dimension

What lies on the other side of a black hole? Discover the quest to find a ‘theory of everything’, which could finally explain some of the strangest objects in the cosmos and beyond.

M-Theory: The Mother of all Superstrings

What makes M-Theory a mother of all theories, and when will scientists be able to verify it? Learn about the people and concepts behind the M-Theory.

Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey

A vivid and exciting look at higher dimensions and their role in a ‘theory of everything’.

Excerpt from ‘THE FUTURE OF THE MIND’

An excerpt from Dr. Kaku’s New York Times bestseller for your review.

ACADEMIC PAPERS

Brush up on your mathematics and delve into the world of Theoretical Physics. Note: These papers are in PDF format, requires Adobe Acrobat to view.

Symmetries and String Field Theory in D=2

How Unstable are Fundamental Quantum Super Membranes?

Sub Critical Closed String Field Theory (Less then 26)

Ultra-Violet Behavior of Bosonic Quantum Membranes

A Note on the Stability of Quantum Super Membranes