"The Physics of Extraterrestrial Civilizations
How advanced could they possibly be?"
by Dr. Michio Kaku
Dr. Kaku makes a good point: if the vast, galaxy-spanning civilizations of science fiction have real-life counterparts, the real galactic civilizations will have abilities and limits imposed by the laws of physics:
"Although it is impossible to predict the precise features of such advanced civilizations, their broad outlines can be analyzed using the laws of physics. No matter how many millions of years separate us from them, they still must obey the iron laws of physics, which are now advanced enough to explain everything from sub-atomic particles to the large-scale structure of the universe, through a staggering 43 orders of magnitude."
This is a well-written and informed article, although it has an internal inconsistency: the sort that tends to appear in discussions of enormously advanced scientific civilizations. "... perhaps the most interesting civilization is a Type III civilization, for it is truly immortal. ... No natural catastrophe known to science is capable of destroying a Type III civilization." Later in the article, after discussing the probable fate of the universe, including the Big Chill he writes: "All intelligent life must die when the universe dies."
"Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, best-selling author, and popularizer of science. He's the co-founder of string field theory (a branch of string theory), and continues Einstein's search to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into one unified theory."
Contemporary physics can "explain everything from sub-atomic particles to the large-scale structure of the universe". "Explain," yes. 'completely explain,' I rather hope not. That would mean that there's nothing left to learn, as far as physics is concerned.
Humanity's efforts to understand where we are and how it works have been like that. We become aware of a facet of the world, learn what we can about it, and discover that there are more facets. I wrote a very brief summary of what we've learned about the universe as a whole during the 24 centuries: "Once it Was Believed / Now We Know."
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