Art also describes a mystery involving his newly constructed 1,000-foot loop antenna, which produces a constant 350 volts between the wire and ground even in calm, clear conditions. Multiple callers and later Dr. Michio Kaku weigh in with theories ranging from atmospheric electric gradients to electromagnetic pulse generators at nearby military installations. The voltage cannot be discharged and returns instantly after grounding.
Dr. Kaku then discusses the runaway expansion of the universe driven by dark energy, explaining that galaxies will eventually recede from each other faster than the speed of light, leaving the Milky Way utterly alone. He introduces the concept of parallel universes as potential lifeboats, describes how quantum entanglement has been experimentally verified, and explains how future gravity wave detectors and the Large Hadron Collider may detect vibrations from other universes or from the Big Bang itself.
Key Moments
The universe will die in ice, not fire: Kaku says 80 years of debate over whether the universe ends in fire or ice now has an answer: dark energy and the inflationary big bang point conclusively to a cold death.
Empty space can travel faster than light: Kaku explains the loophole in relativity: matter cannot exceed light speed, but empty space itself can, and the big bang did. That is why distant galaxies can recede beyond visibility.
The universe is a free lunch: Kaku argues the positive energy of matter and dark energy is exactly canceled by the negative energy of gravity, so the total energy of the universe is zero, meaning universes cost nothing to create.
The mind of God is music: Kaku reframes Einstein's theology in string theory terms: the universe is a vibrating bubble in hyperspace, and the mind of God is the music of strings and membranes resonating across the multiverse.
The big bang was not big and not a bang: Kaku corrects the popular image: the big bang was smaller than an atom, made no sound because there was no air, and was not an explosion because it was space itself that expanded.