Review Shooter: Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible
We’ve all had that moment when we’re watching a Sci Fi movie and thought, “Damn… I wish that were possible.” Who wouldn’t want to travel at the speed of light? Who hasn’t dreamt of being able to wield their own light saber? In Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku helps explain how much of what we see in movies could one day be possible.
The series is based of his popular book by the same name which centers around the same concept. In each episode Dr. Kaku takes a certain concept from various well known properties and designs his own version using current technology. The beauty of the show is that Dr. Kaku is able to take such concepts like, traveling to parallel universes, teleporting, becoming a super hero, and is able to present them in a way that make them not seem so far fetched.
In the first episode Dr. Kaku takes on the subject of exploring the universe. He explains how it could be possible to travel great distances in very little time. He begins the episode by explaining the difficulties of building a space ship that could travel at the speed of light. He gives us an idea of how hard it could be by talking about current experiments that accelerate electrons to near the speed of light. He then talks about the possibilities of warping space and time. He introduces us to Miguel Alcubierre a theoretical physicists best known for publishing a paper on the possibility of traveling faster than the speed of light without violating the principles of relativity. Each episode ends with Dr. Kaku explaining his design to a room full of sci fi fans and giving us their reactions.
It may sound like you need a degree in physics to be able to understand the episodes and the science behind them but Dr. Kaku does an excellent job explaining it to the viewers so that they aren’t left behind. If you’re a fan of sci fi at all I can’t recommend this show enough. The first season is not yet available on DVD but the second season is currently airing on the Science Channel Wednesdays at 10pm.
