Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible

According to Hollywood, evil robots are all around us, disguised as cars and trucks. But what the movies don't explain is what kind of mechanical power allows a Camero to stand up and move around like a human. Dr. Michio Kaku is on a quest to build a real life shapeshifting Transformer. On the way, he takes a ride in the amazing hydraulic cars of New York's 'Lunatic Low Riders' and explains the awesome power of a hydraulic smashing crane. At Pittsburgh Zoo, he gets an audience with Nature's greatest transformer — a color changing, shapeshifting, fifty pound hunk of muscle that can squeeze itself through a hole the size of a quarter. Over at Carnegie Mellon, researchers are more impressed with the abilities of the snake. Their robotic serpent can adapt itself to any terrain as it searches for the survivors of disasters. Its modular design impresses Michio as he puts the finishing touches to his very own version of Optimus Prime.

Imagine a world ruled by artificial intelligence where humans have been wiped out. This is no sci-fi fantasy. We're fast approaching the moment when machines will be smarter than we are! We need a plan to stay on top and Dr. Michio Kaku is on the case. He's recruited help from some of America's top experts. Technology guru Marshall Brain thinks we may be only 40 years away from what scientists call 'The Singularity'. Michio considers AI researcher Ben Goertzel's proposal for a nanny artificial intelligence that will keep track of any rogue machine with a grudge against humanity. It's certainly one solution — but Michio's final design is even more audacious...

In sci fi, the most destructive force in the entire universe is also the key to traveling to a whole host of mind-blowing destinations. Jump through a black hole and you might end up in another universe or in another part of space and time. Dr. Michio Kaku aims to sort fact from fiction and work out how to travel through a black hole...and survive. On the way, he meets Dr. Andrew Hamilton who has used Einstein's equations to build a black hole simulator. Michio takes a ride and finds out firsthand why this kind of trip is so bad for your health. He visits a pasta factory to show the frightening effects of what scientists have dubbed "spaghettification". Professor Gerald Cecil, an expert on super massive black holes, explains how they are sometimes hurled out of galaxies into empty space. This huge, cataclysmic process may provide the ticket for anyone who wants to take the plunge and fly through the heart of black hole.

Today on Discovery Enterprise we join Dr. Michio Kaku on a mission to make first contact with highly advanced extraterrestrial civilizations.Explore the world of the seemingly impossible with the series SCI FI SCIENCE. Hosted by internationally-renowned physicist and co-founder of string field theory, Dr. Michio Kaku, this series poses the idea that science fiction may not be so far from science

Behold, Dr. Michio Kaku's most ambitious plan yet — the construction of a new solar system. He meets Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution who identifies 47 Ursae Majoris as our nearest suitable star. But with no Earth planets in orbit, it sure doesn't feel like our solar system. Gravity could be used to manipulate a moon into an Earth like position. But Kaku's thinking bigger than that. If he's building a whole new solar system for humanity, surely he should be able to harness the power of our new sun! So he comes up with an incredible plan to completely encircle the sun with a giant sphere, which will act as a huge energy collector. What's more, once it starts spinning we'll be able to settle on the inside and become a truly stellar civilization.

Dr. Michio Kaku shows how science fiction's most inspiring vision — the colonization of the galaxy — could become reality. At the Carnegie Mellon Institute, Dr. Pei Zhang demonstrates his robot probes and Kaku shows how these swarmbots could be used to find habitable planets. He enlists the help of spacecraft engineer Mason Peck to explain how Jupiter's magnetism could power the tiny craft into deep space. But once the probes are there and establish bases, how do colonists cover the vast distances of space? Kaku rejects the staple sci fi solutions of suspended animation and galaxy ships. With the help of his friend, the astrophysicist Max Tegmark, comes up with a far more radical plan that you won't believe.