The BEST episodes of Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible

Every episode of Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible!

Explore the world of the seemingly impossible with the all-new 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 fact. Examine topics that currently seem so far out… of the realm of possibility, such as invisibility cloaks, teleportation, time travel and more.

Last Updated: 1/11/2024Network: Science ChannelStatus: Ended
Share:
How to Become a Superhero
star
9.51
37 votes

#1 - How to Become a Superhero

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/26/2010

Michio Kaku reveals his plan to create a super suit which will give the wearer superpowers equivalent to that of the superheroes found in comic books! This can all be done using the laws of physics.

Watch Now:Amazon
How to Travel Through Time
star
8.75
124 votes

#2 - How to Travel Through Time

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/29/2009

Hurtling back in time to visit the dinosaurs is not an impossible fantasy! Dr Michio Kaku draws up blueprints for a working time machine that will let us visit the past and travel back to the future.

Watch Now:Amazon
How to Become Invisible
star
8.40
43 votes

#3 - How to Become Invisible

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/22/2009

A cloak of invisibility isn't just some Harry Potter fantasy- Dr. Michio Kaku draws up the blueprints for a real invisibility cloak and reveals that vanishing into thin air could be much closer than we think.

Watch Now:Amazon
How to Build a Starship
star
8.36
153 votes

#4 - How to Build a Starship

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/5/2010

Hurtling across the galaxy in a starship powered by anti-matter isn't some sci fi writer's impossible dream, as Dr Michio Kaku proves when he reveals his blueprints for a spacecraft that can journey to the stars. Alpha Centaurii is nearer than you think.

Galactic Colonization
star
8.33
6 votes

#5 - Galactic Colonization

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/1/2010

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.

How to Explore the Universe
star
8.31
145 votes

#6 - How to Explore the Universe

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/1/2009

Exploring the universe on a ship that can boldly go where no man has gone before isn't just a sci fi dream. Dr Michio Kaku reveals how we really could one day build a warp drive and set out on our own star trek.

Watch Now:Amazon
How to Teleport
star
8.00
135 votes

#7 - How to Teleport

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/15/2009

Teleportation is sci fi's most exciting way to travel. Imagine zapping your molecules through space on a transporter beam right out of Star Trek - Dr Michio Kaku reveals how we might all one day be saying 'beam me up Scotty'.

Destroy the Death Star
star
7.98
93 votes

#8 - Destroy the Death Star

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/6/2010

Dr. Michio Kaku takes on the biggest and deadliest war machine in science fiction — the Death Star. We've all seen Luke Skywalker in action but could a lone star fighter really take out a battle station as a big as a moon? Michio brings physics to bear on the most iconic scene in sci fi. He talks swarm tactics with top gun pilot Colonel Rod Zastrow, who flew an F15 in the Gulf War, and reveals the truth about dogfights in space. Space shuttle pilot Ken Rogers explains how real spaceships maneuver and at Columbia University's centrifuge, Michio comes up with a novel solution to the G-Force problem. In North Carolina, a rail gun that can fire a projectile at twelve times the speed of sound shows how we might one day equip our own star fighters.

Watch Now:Amazon
Earth 2.0
star
7.97
38 votes

#9 - Earth 2.0

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/1/2010

Dr. Michio Kaku believes it is possible to transform a neighboring Planet into a second Earth. Space scientist Geoff Landis demonstrates how we could build floating cities in the gaseous atmosphere of Venus. The nightmarish conditions on the planet's surface lead Kaku to look farther afield and he meets up with Bob Zubrin from the Mars Society, who explains how the Red Planet could be geoengineered. Mars already has water, but all of it is frozen solid. So Chris McKay, a NASA research scientist, offers an audacious solution — build a huge solar mirror the size of Texas to melt the Martian ice caps. Michio eventually hits on an even more daring plan — heat up Mars by shooting asteroids at the planet's surface. The resulting Armageddon could eventually lead to the birth of Earth 2.0.

Watch Now:Amazon
How to Travel to a Parallel Universe
star
7.94
196 votes

#10 - How to Travel to a Parallel Universe

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/1/2009

A gateway to a world of limitless possibilities. The parallel universes of science fiction turn out to be as real as they are fantastic. Dr Michio Kaku reveals how future civilizations could build a machine to reach one.

Watch Now:Amazon
A.I. Uprising
star
7.89
91 votes

#11 - A.I. Uprising

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/27/2010

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...

A New Solar System
star
7.50
63 votes

#12 - A New Solar System

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/15/2010

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
Black Hole Odyssey
star
7.48
62 votes

#13 - Black Hole Odyssey

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/13/2010

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
How to Build a Light Saber
star
7.09
67 votes

#14 - How to Build a Light Saber

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/12/2010

Michio Kaku shows the theoretical physics behind building a light saber

How to Blow Up a Planet
star
7.05
75 votes

#15 - How to Blow Up a Planet

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/8/2009

The crosshairs are lined up, a death ray is fired and a planet is vaporized. Sci fi fantasy? Not according to Dr Michio Kaku, who draws up blueprints to show how a real death star might work. The technology could be here sooner than you think!

Watch Now:Amazon
How to Build a Flying Saucer
star
7.00
6 votes

#16 - How to Build a Flying Saucer

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/9/2010

Defying gravity and hurtling through space: the flying saucer is the ultimate science fiction vehicle. Using cutting-edge research and theoretical physics, Dr. Michio Kaku reveals how one day we could all be using the aliens' favorite mode of transport.

Shapeshifting Transformer
star
7.00
33 votes

#17 - Shapeshifting Transformer

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/10/2010

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.

How to Build a Force Field
star
6.97
34 votes

#18 - How to Build a Force Field

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/16/2010

Every starship needs armor to protect it from asteroids and enemy attack- Dr. Michio Kaku reveals how cutting edge science could be used to create force fields that might one day save our space craft from an alien onslaught.

Watch Now:Amazon
Cyborg Army
star
6.94
31 votes

#19 - Cyborg Army

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/20/2010

Science fiction is full of terrifying man-machines whose awesome power can crush any opponent. But could we one day build our own army of superhuman cyborgs to protect us from extraterrestrial threats? Dr. Michio Kaku thinks so. Advances in biomechanics mean we can already meld nerve endings and robotic body parts. On a combat exercise in Fort Benning, Georgia, Michio road tests the U.S. Army's latest communications system — could it be the first step toward a Borg like collective consciousness? A stunning breakthrough in wireless electricity transfer hints at how a cyborg army might get the juice needed to stay on the march. The cutting edge of nano-tech reveals a future world where tiny machines manipulate DNA and alter the human body at the level of the cell. Recruitment for the cyborg army could begin sooner than you think.

Deep Impact
star
6.89
37 votes

#20 - Deep Impact

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/8/2010

Dr. Michio Kaku is on a mission to save planet Earth. Nearly 90 percent of the rocks in space are big enough to destroy our civilization. And it's not a question of if they'll hit our planet, but when. He shows what would happen if we really did use nuclear weapons to blow up an incoming asteroid and comes up with a safer, rocket-powered solution. Kaku meets up with Harvard's Professor Brian Marsden, who explains how a massive comet could smash into Earth without warning. To deal with the multiple threats, Kaku takes a lead from Star Wars and designs a system of laser-equipped Death Stars to zap the space rocks before they hit us.

Watch Now:Amazon
Holodeck
star
6.74
94 votes

#21 - Holodeck

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/3/2010

Dr. Michio Kaku believes there is nothing stopping us from building a holodeck straight out of Star Trek. He's on a mission to create an imaginary world indistinguishable from the real thing. At Rowan University, Michio experiences total immersion virtual reality as he takes on a T-Rex. Later, he goes on a patrol with the U.S. Army as he comes to grips with their omni-directional treadmill. Seth Goldstein at Carnegie Mellon explains how programmable matter will mean objects can shapeshift at the touch of a button. The only limits to a holodeck experience will be imagination itself.

How to Build a Sci Fi Robot
star
6.65
65 votes

#22 - How to Build a Sci Fi Robot

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/19/2010

Michio Kaku presents his design for creating an intelligent robot similar to those found inside of films such as Star Wars. Will his new design work?

First Contact
star
6.20
35 votes

#23 - First Contact

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/29/2010

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

Watch Now:Amazon
Alien Invasion
star
5.00
32 votes

#24 - Alien Invasion

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/22/2010

The aliens are coming! It's the cry at the heart of hundreds of sci fi movies. Dr. Michio Kaku asks, "What would we really do if a hostile alien race were intent on invading the Earth?" It seems like a hopeless scenario — any extraterrestrial aggressors who did show up would be far superior to us. But Michio has a plan to save the world. Professors Paul Davies and Max Tegmark are skeptical. They believe that faced with invasion by super advanced beings, our only sensible option would be immediate surrender. But Michio is no quitter and rolls out an audacious defense plan across the entire solar system. A visit to a Judo dojo provides inspiration for a final line of defense based on a martial arts tactic that he believes could save the entire human race.

Watch Now:Amazon