[L]iking something is very important evolutionarily, because most things are harmful to us. Of the millions of objects that we bump into every day, only a handful are beneficial to us. Hence to like s...
With this exponential growth of robots, we could soon have a fleet large enough to do the work of altering the desert landscape. They would mine the soil, construct new factories, and make unlimited c...
We have not yet figured out why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe. Only one ten-billionth of the original matter in the early universe survived this explosion, and we are part of it...
Unforunately, string theorists are, at present, at a loss to explain why ten dimensions are singled out. The answer lies deep within mathematics, in an area called modular functions. Whenever we manip...
To understand the precise point when the possible becomes the impossible, you have to appreciate and understand the laws of physics.
To impress my Ph.D. students with just how bizarre the quantum theory is, I sometimes ask them to calculate the probability that their atoms will suddenly dissolve and reappear on the other side of a...
Three of the four forces (excluding gravity) are therefore united by quantum theory, giving us unification without geometry, which appears to contradict the theme of this book and everything we have c...
They found that temperature and carbon dioxide levels have oscillated in parallel, like two roller coasters moving together, in synchronization over many thousands of years. When one curve rises or fa...
There isn’t an equation that can confirm something as self-evident (to us humans) as muggy weather is uncomfortable or mothers are older than their daughters. There has been some progress made in tran...
There are two competing trends in the world today: one is to create a planetary civilization that is tolerant, scientific, and prosperous, but the other glorifies anarchy and ignorance that could rip...
The transition between our current Type 0 civilization and a future Type I civilization is perhaps the greatest transition in history. It will determine whether we will continue to thrive and flourish...
The popularity of perpetual motion machines is widespread. On an episode of The Simpsons, entitled The PTA Disbands, Lisa builds her own perpetual motion machine during a teachers’ strike. This prompt...
The deep space transport uses a new type of propulsion system to send astronauts through space, called solar electric propulsion. The huge solar panels capture sunlight and convert it to electricity....
The Pentagon has been looking into the possibility of developing smart dust, dust-sized particles that have tiny sensors inside that can be sprayed over a battlefield to give commanders real-time info...
The Higgs boson, physicists believe, originally started out as a tachyon. In the false vacuum, none of the subatomic particles had any mass. But its presence destabilized the vacuum, and the universe...
Terraforming Mars is a primary goal for the twenty-second century. But scientists are looking beyond Mars as well. The most exciting prospects may be the moons of the gas giants, including Europa, a m...
Si el viaje en el tiempo es posible, entonces ¿dónde están los turistas que vienen del futuro? STEPHEN HAWKING
Scientists have, in fact, assembled long lists of scores of such happy cosmic accidents. When faced with this imposing list, it’s shocking to find how many of the familiar constants of the universe li...
Physicists then tried to calculate the amount of negative matter or energy necessary to propel a starship. The latest results indicate that the amount required is equivalent to the mass of the planet...
PREFACE A New Look at the Legacy of Albert Einstein Genius. Absent-minded professor. The father of relativity. The mythical figure of Albert Einstein—hair flaming in the wind, sockless, wearing an ove...