The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything
- Downloads：7386
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-14 09:52:00
- Update Date：2025-09-13
- Status：finish
- Author：Michio Kaku
- ISBN：014199519X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
'A majestic story' David Bodanis， Financial Times
From the international bestselling author of Physics of the Impossible and Physics of the Future
This is the story of a quest: to find a Theory of Everything。 Einstein dedicated his life to seeking this elusive Holy Grail， a single， revolutionary 'god equation' which would tie all the forces in the universe together， yet never found it。 Some of the greatest minds in physics took up the search， from Stephen Hawking to Brian Greene。 None have yet succeeded。
In The God Equation， renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku takes the reader on a mind-bending ride through the twists and turns of this epic journey: a mystery that has fascinated him for most of his life。 He guides us through the key debates in modern physics， from Newton's law of gravity via relativity and quantum mechanics to the latest developments in string theory。 It is a tale of dazzling breakthroughs and crushing dead ends， illuminated by Kaku's clarity， storytelling flair and infectious enthusiasm。
The object of the quest is now within sight: we are closer than ever to achieving the most ambitious undertaking in the history of science。 If successful， the Theory of Everything could simultaneously unlock the deepest mysteries of space and time， and fulfil that most ancient and basic of human desires - to understand the meaning of our lives。
From the international bestselling author of Physics of the Impossible and Physics of the Future
This is the story of a quest: to find a Theory of Everything。 Einstein dedicated his life to seeking this elusive Holy Grail， a single， revolutionary 'god equation' which would tie all the forces in the universe together， yet never found it。 Some of the greatest minds in physics took up the search， from Stephen Hawking to Brian Greene。 None have yet succeeded。
In The God Equation， renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku takes the reader on a mind-bending ride through the twists and turns of this epic journey: a mystery that has fascinated him for most of his life。 He guides us through the key debates in modern physics， from Newton's law of gravity via relativity and quantum mechanics to the latest developments in string theory。 It is a tale of dazzling breakthroughs and crushing dead ends， illuminated by Kaku's clarity， storytelling flair and infectious enthusiasm。
The object of the quest is now within sight: we are closer than ever to achieving the most ambitious undertaking in the history of science。 If successful， the Theory of Everything could simultaneously unlock the deepest mysteries of space and time， and fulfil that most ancient and basic of human desires - to understand the meaning of our lives。
Reviews
Melissa
，
I cannot lie that there are moments reading advanced physics that my brain gets hazy and the words wash over me like another language。 But like another language， with increased exposure I am beginning to recognize some words and even the occasional meaning！ 11 dimensions- that was new to me。 Visible light is dependent on the length of the structures in the eyes - if not new， a new realization for me。 Overall completely amazing。
Iris Schmeder
，
i heart science but this dude is a little bit annoying
Efruz
，
Book gives a brief history of physics up to string theory on which writer tries to convince the reader that this theory is the closest one to theory of everything。 Though the presentation of the string theory is very subjective， the book itself gives good and simple explanations to the steps in the quest to theory of everything。
Averypaledog
，
how fortunate we all are that someone as brilliant as michio kaku not only exists， but is able to share his expertise and understanding of such a complex topic like theoretical physics so effortlessly。 above all else， he adds a human element to so many of these names like maxwell， einstein， bohr， newton， etc。 that could otherwise be lost in the shuffle。 i also appreciated the attention given to intracommunity discourse and discussion。 dissent is a critical component science， and it is fascinatin how fortunate we all are that someone as brilliant as michio kaku not only exists， but is able to share his expertise and understanding of such a complex topic like theoretical physics so effortlessly。 above all else， he adds a human element to so many of these names like maxwell， einstein， bohr， newton， etc。 that could otherwise be lost in the shuffle。 i also appreciated the attention given to intracommunity discourse and discussion。 dissent is a critical component science， and it is fascinating to see that greats such as schrodinger even doubted the validity of theories we take to be a given now。would recommend this book to anyone who's curious about science on a macro-scale， or just curious in general。 。。。more
Cheryl Beseler
，
This book is a fast read that provides an update on the status of string theory and where the field of physics is in developing a unified theory of everything。 It starts slow with a review of some basic physics concepts but becomes more enlightening as Dr。 Kaku moves into the historical debates among great physicists and lays out the arguments for and against the truth in string theory。 I found it compelling in the end and appreciate the chapter at the end summarizing what it all means about mea This book is a fast read that provides an update on the status of string theory and where the field of physics is in developing a unified theory of everything。 It starts slow with a review of some basic physics concepts but becomes more enlightening as Dr。 Kaku moves into the historical debates among great physicists and lays out the arguments for and against the truth in string theory。 I found it compelling in the end and appreciate the chapter at the end summarizing what it all means about meaning in the universe。 。。。more
rafal federowicz
，
lekka i przyjemna。 kaku prowadzi nas przez całą ewolucję fizyki na przestrzeni wieków （za wyjątkiem półtora tysiąca lat， kiedy to kościół katolicki zarżnął naukę a tych， co wbrew jemu próbowali wyrwać tajemnice przyrodzie bezwzględnie ścigał， torturował i mordował） od mechaniki newtonowskiej， poprzez unifikację pola elektrycznego i magnetycznego w teorii elektromagnetyzmu， ku rozbiorowi struktury atomu， do relatywizmu czasoprzestrzeni i grawitacji zakrzywiającej czasoprzestrzeń w ogólnej i szcze lekka i przyjemna。 kaku prowadzi nas przez całą ewolucję fizyki na przestrzeni wieków （za wyjątkiem półtora tysiąca lat， kiedy to kościół katolicki zarżnął naukę a tych， co wbrew jemu próbowali wyrwać tajemnice przyrodzie bezwzględnie ścigał， torturował i mordował） od mechaniki newtonowskiej， poprzez unifikację pola elektrycznego i magnetycznego w teorii elektromagnetyzmu， ku rozbiorowi struktury atomu， do relatywizmu czasoprzestrzeni i grawitacji zakrzywiającej czasoprzestrzeń w ogólnej i szczególnej teorii względności， by wreszcie odkryć słabe i silne oddziaływania jądrowe， oraz ukazać nam najnowsze zdobycze fizyki: mechanikę kwantową， model standardowy i jak dotąd święty grall fizyki - dziesięcio wymiarową teorię strun。。。 a raczej jej nadzbiór w postaci jedenasto wymiarowej m-teorii。 wszystko to bez jednego wzoru。。。 w tle przewijają się postaci kluczowych fizyków na przestrzeni wieków i ich zasług dla nauki。 w ciekawy sposób ukazuje też ewolucję oraz ścieranie poglądów pomiędzy takimi tuzami jak bohr czy einstein。 rzekłbym lajtowo o fizyce。 na koniec jednak ten jakby nie było starszy już pan， popada w rzewność mieszając naukę z wiarą i próbując argumentować w ten sposób swój agnostycyzm。 ale jemu wolno。。。 całość kończy się przemyśleniami w kontekście naszej przyszłości w aspekcie życia w multiświecie。。。 u mnie książka wywołała lekki niedosyt， chciałoby się więcej fizyki w fizyce， brakowało mi nieco głębszego zanużenia w przedmiotowej materii a nie traktowania tejże jako beletrystyki dla kowalskiego。。。 z drugiej jednak strony， kiedy brałem tą książkę do ręki to tego się właśnie spodziewałem。。。 。。。more
Lam Tuan
，
A book can change my perception about how gravity works。 There are some advanced equations hard to understand。
Lucinda Halley
，
Outstanding！
Luz
，
This is an excellent read， even if you're not overly familiar with physics and the theories surrounding it。 This is a superbly written book that is very easy to understand。 This is an excellent read， even if you're not overly familiar with physics and the theories surrounding it。 This is a superbly written book that is very easy to understand。 。。。more
Laura
，
I really enjoyed this until the last chapter， which felt like an add-on that editorial required。 Otherwise totally worth a listen or read。 Loved the accessible science mixed with context and background。 I learned a lot！ Didn't love: the tired overtones of "those stupid religious and/or literary people"-vibes at times。 I get it， but the approach felt un-nuanced in a book that otherwise felt generous and kind to a lay audience of science-ignorant folks like myself。 I really enjoyed this until the last chapter， which felt like an add-on that editorial required。 Otherwise totally worth a listen or read。 Loved the accessible science mixed with context and background。 I learned a lot！ Didn't love: the tired overtones of "those stupid religious and/or literary people"-vibes at times。 I get it， but the approach felt un-nuanced in a book that otherwise felt generous and kind to a lay audience of science-ignorant folks like myself。 。。。more
Don Singh
，
Love pop-science books and Michio Kaku never disappoints in this well written and digestible book。 He adds some of the real， human， stories behind the biggest discoveries of our time which make the book a little different and help some of the facts wedge themselves in your memory。 Enjoyed it very much and finished it within a few days as it was so good。 He hits on quantum， super symmetry， string， and super string theories， and also m theory and the possibility of unification， black holes， event Love pop-science books and Michio Kaku never disappoints in this well written and digestible book。 He adds some of the real， human， stories behind the biggest discoveries of our time which make the book a little different and help some of the facts wedge themselves in your memory。 Enjoyed it very much and finished it within a few days as it was so good。 He hits on quantum， super symmetry， string， and super string theories， and also m theory and the possibility of unification， black holes， event horizons， dark matter。 And of course how multiverses fall into the theories that exist。 He does talk a little about God， and beliefs of God outside and within science， and what some of the greatest scientific minds thought about belief in types of gods。 It was a refreshing and open， non-biased form of expressing the ‘what ifs’ of human curiosity。 You must read。One take away - Was how Information = entropy = heat = annihilation Made me think of how human minds at their known pinnacle of intelligence are actually causing chaos， and inevitably their own destruction……completely mimicking the creation and destruction of universes on a micro scale。 We are actually thinking so hard that it causes chaos， heat， and destruction in some form！ Mad ting！！！！！！ 。。。more
Marta
，
The book does what it says on the tin: it describes the history and current state of research for the Holy Grail of Physics: The Theory of Everything。 This attempts to unify the two fundamental theories: Einstein’s general relativity， which describes gravity and the motion of the stars and objects in the universe; and quantum theory， which describes our world at the atomic level。 Both are successful in their area - and are irreconcilable with each other。 Many theoretical physicists worked on thi The book does what it says on the tin: it describes the history and current state of research for the Holy Grail of Physics: The Theory of Everything。 This attempts to unify the two fundamental theories: Einstein’s general relativity， which describes gravity and the motion of the stars and objects in the universe; and quantum theory， which describes our world at the atomic level。 Both are successful in their area - and are irreconcilable with each other。 Many theoretical physicists worked on this problem， including Enstein， Stephen Hawking， and the author， Michio Kaku。 Kaku starts with a history of major breakthroughs， each discovering a fundamental force of physics: Newton - gravity and mechanics; Faraday and Maxwell - electromagnetics; Einstein - relativity of space and time; Bohr， Schrodinger， et。 al: quantum theory; the discovery of weak and strong nuclear forces。 Quantum theory and general relativity were both proved experimentally but were irreconcilable， leading to the greatest scientific argument between Einstein and Bohr。This historical overview is rather sketchy and is covered by Quantum: Einstein， Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality in much greater detail， a book I greatly enjoyed and found instructional。 Kaku spends 58% of the book on this （by my audio time counter）。 And this is where he starts talking about unification。It turned out that quantum theory proved the more pliable in terms of encompassing other theories。 Many physicists tinkered with it and successfully integrated electromagnetics and the weak and strong nuclear forces into it - albeit in unwieldy ways， using mathematical trickery both tedious， long， and full of added constants whose basis no one understood。 This cobbled-together solution became known as the Standard Model， and it had the great advantage of predicting phenomena yet undiscovered that later proved correct - such as the elusive Higgs boson， which is like the Kardashians - very famous but no one understands why。 The Standard Model integrates all forces - except for gravity。 When you try to add gravity to it， the model blows up - even the invention of the graviton （gravity represented as particle） doesn’t help。 It is also very ugly， making most physicists suspect that there is a more elegant solution。The current favorite candidate is string theory。 Kaku does not provide an explanation other than we should imagine strings where particles are represented as vibrations - in ten dimensions。 Or eleven， take your pick。 I assume that giving more info would be impossible to lay people like me。 But I would have liked to have at least some explanation on why this theory can explain everything。 Kaku loves string theory because it is beautiful: there is a symmetry to it， meaning， components can be rearranged and the result will be the same。 String theorists even assert that beauty is a fundamental quality of a good theory: in this they are supported by their predecessors， Newton， Maxwell， Einstein， and Paul Dirac， who elegantly simplified Schrodinger’s equations in quantum theory。 String theory can encompass all other theories， including gravity。 There are a lot of objections to this theory。 It is still incomplete: there are five theories using ten dimensions， and a theory unifying all in eleven dimensions。 Now， you may ask， how on earth do I even imagine 11 dimensions？ If you are like me， you move through space in three dimensions， and you may consider time as fourth。 So where did the other dimensions go？ Fear not， our string theorists posit that those dimensions have collapsed so we don’t notice them。 Hmm， ok， we don’t notice them， then how do we prove this theory？ Oh yeah - we can’t。 I would consider that a deal breaker， but Kaku is optimistic that with some bigger， better particle accelerators we may have a break - I am certain we will break the budget， at least。But let’s say our theory is valid， for thought experiment’s sake。 We still have to contend with the fact that this Theory of Everything has an infinite number of solutions to its beautiful formulas: in other words， it really does explain everything， including multiple universes， dark matter and dark energy， black holes， wormholes， what happened before the big bang （which perhaps was just the loudest bang among many quiet popping sounds）， and the kitchen sink。 In fact it provides so many solutions that we end up scratching our heads why THIS particular solution we live in is the one that resulted。 In other words， the theory has no predictive capability whatsoever。But it may explain God （！？）。 In a rather odd metaphysical turn， Kaku throws in a chapter about the meaning of Life， Universe and Everything， which we all know is 42， but he means God。 This vexation about the design of the universe and the existence of God seems to affect many physicists devoted to the study of the universe: Einstein wrote about God， so did Stephen Hawking; both late in their lives; so I suspect Kaku is getting to the age of thinking about the meaning of all。 I find it ironic that all the mentioned declare themselves either atheist or agnostic， yet talk about the ultimate meaning as God; when they admire the beauty of the universe， they use the terminology of the spiritual realm。 I personally think that science and religion should not mix: the existence or non-existence of God is unprovable via scientific means， and thus not a scientific question， but a spiritual one。 Scientists should not meddle with religion and theology should not try to explain its teachings using scientific arguments， because they both fail。 Why they both try to do just that is beyond my understanding。Overall， this book is rather short to explain anything meaningfully。 The current favorite theory， string theory， seems to me like a MacGuffin that magically plugs all the holes but on closer examination it is just CGI。 I personally do not find a solution requiring 11 dimensions elegant or beautiful: E=mc² is beautiful。 On the whole， this book indeed describes the Quest - but it is still very much ongoing。P。S。 I wondered if Wikipedia can give more info on string theory than Kaku in a form that I can understand。 It can。 Why he could not include this in the text， I have no idea。https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Introdu。。。 。。。more
Pooja Kashyap
，
Dr。 Michio Kaku is a well-known figure in science academia。 He is a master story teller。 His super power is， he can make science graspable for non-science people like myself。 In The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything， Dr。 Kaku talks about three things: 1）tphysics from creation to present， 2）tthe effort put behind in unifying all known physical forces and 3）tthe theory of dimensions， string theory。Every physicist dream of unifying the four fundamental forces of nature， that is， Gr Dr。 Michio Kaku is a well-known figure in science academia。 He is a master story teller。 His super power is， he can make science graspable for non-science people like myself。 In The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything， Dr。 Kaku talks about three things: 1）tphysics from creation to present， 2）tthe effort put behind in unifying all known physical forces and 3）tthe theory of dimensions， string theory。Every physicist dream of unifying the four fundamental forces of nature， that is， Gravity， the weak force （responsible for radioactive decay of some nuclei）， electromagnetism， and the strong force （binding the atomic nucleus together）。 These forces govern everything that happens in the universe。 Albert Einstein was the first who thought of joining these forces but couldn’t。 Dr。 Kaku can make anyone fall in love with science。 His work， "The God's Equation" is indeed a master piece。 A book that talks about the greatest quest of understanding the universe from the point of view of a renowned theoretical physicist。 This book can also be called as， physics for the ordinary people。 Highly recommend。 More from my blog post: The God Equation by Dr。 Michio Kaku 。。。more
David Cohen
，
This book includes an interesting history of how theories about the nature of the universe succeeded one another over time， but my primary conclusion after reading it all the way to the start of its copious footnotes is that modern physics theorizing is far too abstract and mathematical for even a reasonably science-literate layperson to understand。
Steve
，
Clearly， I'm no physicist， though I did take physics （instead of chemistry） in HS。。。 more than half a century ago。Kaku's book does kinda make sense to me， at least a little bit。 But it really is over my head。Near the last few pages， he writes:So why is there something rather than nothing？ Because our universe originally came from quantum fluctuations in Nothing。Much of the meaningfulness of Kaku's book （IMO） lies in or comes from the philosophical questions he sets the stage for and ultimately p Clearly， I'm no physicist， though I did take physics （instead of chemistry） in HS。。。 more than half a century ago。Kaku's book does kinda make sense to me， at least a little bit。 But it really is over my head。Near the last few pages， he writes:So why is there something rather than nothing？ Because our universe originally came from quantum fluctuations in Nothing。Much of the meaningfulness of Kaku's book （IMO） lies in or comes from the philosophical questions he sets the stage for and ultimately poses。 Like， Will this theory of everything give us the meaning of life？。。。 "However， I do believe the theory of everything might have something to say about the meaning of the universe，" Kaku writes。Thankfully， Michio Kaku is not like the Sheldon Cooper character on the Big Bang Theory television show。 However like the TV show and other literary artistic expressions， Kaku uses numerous illustrations to make abstract concepts more understandable for people like me。It's also important to realize this book is about the QUEST for a theory of everything which has not yet been discovered or figured out。 Maybe one of your descendants or mine will be instrumental in finding such a beautiful， elegant， symmetry that can more fully enlighten us。 。。。more
Adhella Subalie
，
Michio Kaku is a good storyteller， and from the pleasure of reading a couple of his previous books， I can safely say that this book is a really smooth one and would be a great introduction for the general public on what the ultimate quest in physics right now。The choosing of the word 'God' really threw me off though。 Although the naming is not picked out of sheer marketing benefits （*cough* god particle *cough*） as it was explained in the later chapter， I think it really feeds into the narrative Michio Kaku is a good storyteller， and from the pleasure of reading a couple of his previous books， I can safely say that this book is a really smooth one and would be a great introduction for the general public on what the ultimate quest in physics right now。The choosing of the word 'God' really threw me off though。 Although the naming is not picked out of sheer marketing benefits （*cough* god particle *cough*） as it was explained in the later chapter， I think it really feeds into the narrative of this universe having a God （albeit the God here is an equation that governs the laws of physics）。 As a self-proclaimed agnostic himself， I think Kaku uses the term 'God' more as a marketing tool。 Different universes with different physics each would have a different 'God equation'， so naming The Theory of Everything with a clickbaity name like this would lead to different and possibly inaccurate implications。Another thing about this book is that when talking about The String Theory， he did review it objectively。 He criticizes his own theory， also adding a few comments taken from other scientists to back up some points。 But it still isn't enough because he didn't really compare it to other available leading theories （which he mentioned briefly， saying that ultimately only the string theory stands still） His commentary on the last chapters was also really welcomed， insightful and entertaining。 But this exact paragraph did bother me: The point here is that perhaps we do not need an experimental proof of string theory at all。 A theory of everything is also a theory of ordinary things。 If we can derive the mass of the quarks and other known subatomic particles from first principles， that might be convincing evidence that this is the final theory。 He didn't state it like it was an absolute truth， but I think it is a bit irresponsible to say that maybe it is okay to pass the mere ability of a theory to derive currently proven theories as evidence for the validity of the string theory。 In the prior chapter after he glorified symmetry as the ultimate feature of a successful theory， he did mention that it can't be the only thing to strive for when formulating a theory。 Symmetry is a great indicator of a great theory but as long as it is unproven， the only great quality of it is just that。 But again I really enjoyed his own personal perspective on this topic， so it's a great addition to the book。 I just wished he would discuss other alternative theories more thoroughly。I really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a light reading on these kinds of topics with charming commentaries and appealing storytelling。 It is easy to read because the author talked about the highly complicated subject in a high-level way and each chapter is not very long with a lot of subchapters。 I enjoyed my time with this book although not without some critics :D 。。。more
Ryan
，
I was thoroughly enjoying this five star book， but when it got around to Einstein’s theory of relativity I had to shelf it。 I can never wrap my head around why what we *see* and *perceive* personally has anything to do with the laws of nature。 Just can’t wrap my head around that at all， so I’ll sadly not understand the theory of relativity from the get go， which is central to the “god equation” that I’ll not be able to read about。 That first chapter was a lot of fun though。
Cassie H-W
，
Interesting intro into physics but not for me。
Kennice
，
A light and engaging introduction to the history of physics。
Chris Warden
，
Meh
Gracia Watson
，
It got a little preachy in some parts， but overall was very good。
Marjan
，
- Engaging and fascinating- A history of attempts to unify the theories in physics。 - Explained with good depth without being too confusing- Definitely will read more of his books。
Mike Harnish
，
I really enjoy reading/listening to Dr。 Kaku。 His books are always informative， written in language that us non-scientist can understand， with a touch of humor that makes you want to read more。 He continues to use current movies like Star Wars and Star Trek to give the layman of today an idea of what he is writing about。 It is this style of writing that makes his books so easy to comprehend。
Iva Jar
，
Mám takovou představu， že čím víc knih o kvantové fyzice tak nějak zavnímám， tím víc toho z ní pochopím。 Asi to neplatí， ale nevzdávám to。 A Michio Kaku umí fyziku podat dostatečně zábavně na to， aby mě to bavilo， i když to tak docela nikdy nepochopím。Pro mě nový termín - bílá díra。 Asi tak to jsem si z této knihy odnesla :）Ale opravdu mě to bavilo。
Juan Manuel Cafferata
，
Es puro entretenimiento。 Muy sensacionalista。 Ciensacionalista。 Lenguaje muy simple usando conceptos hiper complicados。 Se lee muy fluido， no se queda mucho tiempo xplicando cosas imposibles de xplicar。 La parte filosofica es bastante light， como para una iniciación。 La verdad que una buena pieza de ciencia popular。 No esperes aprender sino entretenerte y asombrarte。
Ju-Young Kim
，
Pretty good
Maxwell
，
An engaging journey through the history of string theory and the foundational theories that preceded it。 My one wish for pop-sci/math authors is for them to include the equations they're referencing on the page！ An engaging journey through the history of string theory and the foundational theories that preceded it。 My one wish for pop-sci/math authors is for them to include the equations they're referencing on the page！ 。。。more
Arpit Gupta
，
Oodly calming。
Maya
，
This book was simply delightful！ Michio Kaku explores the history of physics and the quest for the "Theory of Everything"。 His prose is the perfect balance of beautiful and concise。 He explains complicated scientific terms so clearly yet doesn't dumb them down。 His deep respect for physicists is extremely admirable and made this book all the more enjoyable！ It's a book that doesn't take itself too seriously--remarkable for a physics book。 There were funny quotations from various scientists and e This book was simply delightful！ Michio Kaku explores the history of physics and the quest for the "Theory of Everything"。 His prose is the perfect balance of beautiful and concise。 He explains complicated scientific terms so clearly yet doesn't dumb them down。 His deep respect for physicists is extremely admirable and made this book all the more enjoyable！ It's a book that doesn't take itself too seriously--remarkable for a physics book。 There were funny quotations from various scientists and engaging allegories。 The final two chapters were extremely thoughtful and leaves the reader pondering questions surrounding the universe and God。 I enjoyed how， unlike some physicists， he never denies the existence of God （or any higher power） and dedicates an entire chapter to discussing how theologians view discoveries of physics。 Overall， a fantastic read and I'd recommend it to anyone。 。。。more
Corey Thibodeaux
，