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

Michio Kaku introduces himself as a physics professor at City University of New York who specializes in string theory. He explains how physics underlies most modern technology we use daily. He traces his fascination with physics back to childhood when he was intrigued by the unfinished work of Albert Einstein at his desk when he died.

Kaku discusses different categories of scientific impossibilities - some may take 100 years, others 1000+ years with current physics knowledge. He talks about how future technology will make us seem godlike to earlier generations, with capabilities like telepathy, universal translators, and conquering aging.

Kaku narrates the history of physics, beginning with Aristotle's erroneous theories of motion. He explains how Newton invented calculus to describe gravity and planetary motion, leading to a mechanics that enabled the Industrial Revolution. Faraday, Maxwell and others built up understanding of electricity and magnetism.

Kaku elaborates how Faraday's experiments with electromagnetism led to generators, motors, and ultimately electricity in homes. Maxwell mathematically described light as electromagnetic waves. Their work sparked the electric revolution, enabling technologies like power grids, internet, chips and more.

With the electromagnetic force understood, Kaku discusses how 20th century physicists explored the nuclear forces within atoms, including radioactive decay and nuclear fusion powering stars. He relates how E=mc^2 showed conversion between mass and energy. He briefly touches on his teenage experiences building a particle accelerator.

Kaku explains how smashing atomic particles produces many subatomic particles, categorized in the Standard Model though with ad hoc parameters. He notes how the Higgs boson is still missing, and the model hints at still higher vibrating strings underlying reality.

Kaku suggests string theory elegantly unites the fundamental forces as different vibrations of tiny strings. He says equations like string field theory could be the coveted "theory of everything", though difficult to test conclusively with current technology.

Kaku speculates about how technology may one day allow shortcuts through higher dimensions via wormholes to escape dying stars and freezing universe. He notes how other universes may exist, according to string theory - though the physics makes actual time travel extremely difficult.

Kaku discusses how physicists have carefully looked for evidence of telepathy, psi phenomena or other psychic forces as a "5th force", but found no conclusively reproducible results so far. However, discoveries like dark energy do suggest there are mysteries still to unlock.