If at first an idea does not sound absurd,
then there is no hope for it
-ALBERT EINSTEIN
One day, would it be possible to walk through walls? To build starships
that can travel faster than the speed of light? To read other people's
minds? To become invisible? To move objects with the power of our
minds? To transport our bodies instantly through outer space?
Since I was a child, I've always been fascinated by these questions.
Like many physicists, when I was growing up, I was mesmerized by
the possibility of time travel, ray guns, force fields, parallel universes,
and the like. Magic, fantasy, science fiction were all a gigantic playground for my imagination. They began my lifelong love affair with the
impossible.
I remember watching the old Flash Gordon reruns on TV. Every
Saturday, I was glued to the TV set, marveling at the adventures of
Flash, Dr. Zarkov, and Dale Arden and their dazzling array of futuristic technology: the rocket ships, invisibility shields, ray guns, and cities
in the sky. I never missed a week. The program opened up an entirely
new world for me. I was thrilled by the thought of one day rocketing to
an alien planet and exploring its strange terrain. Being pulled into the
orbit of these fantastic inventions I knew that my own destiny was