“Michio Kaku? Oh, I like him,” says Stephen Colbert, the humorous host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Apparently, Colbert is such a huge fan of the celebrity theoretical physicist from Manhattan that he invited Dr. Kaku on the show for a talk about string field theory, which Colbert satirically remarked as “the craziest type of physics.” Crazy as it sounds; as co-founder of string field theory, Dr. Kaku believes that this super force is the answer to Albert Einstein’s infamous “unified field theory” or, the “theory of everything.” Born to Japanese immigrant parents in Palo Alto, California, which later became known as Silicon Valley; Michio realized early in his childhood that his parents were poor and if he was going to go to college, he would have to do it on his own. He recalled that it was at age 8 that his life changed after reading about the death of Einstein, the father of modern physics. It was frontpage news and had a picture of Einstein’s desk and an unfinished manuscript on top. Fascinated by this mystery, Michio had to figure out what that manuscript was and why Einstein couldn’t finish it. Perhaps, he could help complete it! It turns out that it was the unfinished unified field theory manuscript, “the theory of everything - one equation, perhaps only one inch long, that would solve the creation and [evolution] of the universe, the formation of the planets and the stars, the creation of life on earth and even maybe love!” Dr. Kaku exclaimed. This fascination along with his enthrallment about a world of rocket ships, aliens, ray guns, and traveling to other stars and galaxies (which arose from watching Saturday morning cartoons, like Flash Gordon) influenced his life and introduced him to the world of advanced physics. Instead of playing sports or flirting with girls in high school, Michio was occupied with building atom smashers or playing with antimatter. Evidently, those scientific extracurricular activities took him to the national science fair where he was noticed by a famed theoretical physicist who’s also known as “the father of the hydrogen bomb,” Edward Teller. At the time, Teller was recruiting bright young minds and sending them to Harvard University to become brilliant physicists of tomorrow. Upon graduating summa cum laude and number one in his class at Harvard, Michio declined Teller’s offer to work on a “Star Wars” system to build nuclear weapons and hydrogen warheads to defend against the Russians. After all, his passion was set in completing Einstein’s dream – the theory ASIAN BOSTON
of everything. “That meant working on an explosion that’s bigger than the hydrogen bomb, which is the Big Bang Theory – the biggest explosion. It’s the creation of the universe,” he thought. Since then, Dr. Kaku and many other Japanese American physicists have made tremendous progress in the development of string theory. One of their primary targets is to create a new class of particles called sparticles. “If we can create super particles, then that would go a long way in verifying the correctness of string theory,” he explained. “The theory of everything states that all matter is made out of tiny little strings instead of point particles. String theory is made up of sub-atomic particles that are notes on vibrating strings. Physics is nothing but the laws of harmony on the strings. Chemistry is nothing but the melodies you can play on these vibrating strings,” Dr. Kaku continued. With such a knack for easy explanations of physics, it’s no wonder he’s considered one of the most charming and charismatic physicists today! This is also evident through the popularity of his many books including the New York Times Bestseller, Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel. In addition, he shares his knowledge and discoveries on his two radio shows that are broadcast over 130 radio stations around the country. His hit TV show, Sci-Fi Science, debuted last year with the highest rating on the Science Channel and going on its 2nd season. He loves the perks of his job as he takes a TV crew around the world, for the BBC and the Discovery Channel, to major laboratories and picks the brains of more than 300 of the world’s top scientists. His winning personality and triumphs in the field have won him respect from colleagues, international recognition and high profile one-on-one meetings with Stephen Spielberg and James Cameron. “This is a fun job!” he smiled. As he continues to engage the public, he reiterates that science is everywhere and that everything around us is a by-product of science. That all the inventions around us, computers, machines, transistors, lasers, the internet and telecommunications all come from physics. He reminds us that it is the engine to prosperity and that anything is possible... so we may not be too far away from that vacation to Venus in the near future. That’s why the world has taken him more seriously than only, “a Japanese man with crazy long hair talking about science…” as Colbert jokingly stated on his show.
cover story
DR. MICHIO
KAKU
IS A THEORETICAL
PHYSICIST, A BEST-SELLING
AUTHOR, AND A TV STAR
Story by Julie T. Pham, Photos by Rob Klein
Above, Dr. Kaku with Nick Sagan, son of famed Carl Sagan
inform. entertain. relate.
7