One day the gods gathered in heaven and began to complain about the miserable state of mankind. Our vanity, stupid and pointless antics could inspire only disgust. But one God took pity on us and decided to make an experiment: to give one very ordinary person with unlimited power. Here's the question: how will man become God?

This is boring and very average man is Mercier George Fotheringhay, who suddenly finds himself the divine abilities. It turns out that he can make to swim candles, change the color of the water to create a great dinner with several courses and even't make a couple of diamonds. At first, he uses his new opportunities for fun and good deeds. But gradually the vanity and ambition to take over him; he becomes greedy power a tyrant, acquires palaces and unbelievable wealth. Finally, poisoned limitless power, he makes a fatal mistake. He arrogantly tells the Ground to stop the rotation. Suddenly becoming unimaginable chaos; fierce winds rushing with a speed of 1000 miles per hour - the speed of rotation of the Earth, - raise all in the air. Mankind is wiped from the surface of the Earth and thrown into the open space. In despair, he expresses his last and final wish: that all came back and became as before.

This is a brief retelling of the story line of the film "the Man who could work miracles" (1936)filmed based on the story, by H. G. wells, written in 1911 (Later on the same subject was the film "Bruce Almighty" with Jim Carrey in the title role.) From all properties, though inherent extrasensory perception, telekinesis or psychokinesis, or the ability to move objects with your mental effort, is certainly the most prominent quality. He gives them much more power, gives him almost divine possibilities. Wells in his story sought to show that the divine power would require a man as the divine mind and wisdom.

Telekinesis appears not only in modern literature; so, in Shakespeare's play "the Tempest" magician Prospero, his daughter Miranda and magic spirit air Ariel because of the betrayal brother Prospero was for many years trapped on a desert island. When Prospero know that brother villain is sailing on the ship past the island, it is in retaliation causes legs - through telekinesis-terrible storm that brings the ship brother to the island and smashes it on the rocks. Then Prospero using telekinesis begins to manipulate the fate of the unfortunate victims of the crash, including Ferdinand - beautiful innocent-looking young man Prospero makes you fall in love with Miranda.

(Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov noted that "the Tempest" is much like a science fiction work. Moreover, 350 years after writing in 1956, in the story that Shakespeare's play was filmed classic science fiction film "Forbidden planet". It Prospero was the gloomy scientist Morrisom, spirit - robot Robbie, Miranda turned into a beautiful daughter of Morbius the Altair, and the island became a planet Altair-4. The Creator of Star trek gene Roddenberry was admitted to the creation of the series it was encouraged, in particular, the film "Forbidden planet".)

Later telekinesis was the main driving force behind the plot of the novel by Stephen king "Carrie" (1974); this novel was nominated unknown to impoverished writer in the first ranks of the world's authors horror novel of horror. Carrie in the novel is painfully shy funny schoolgirl despise the other children and pursues mentally unstable mother. Her only consolation is the ability to telekinesis, apparently, are hereditary. In the final scene the torturers first convince the girl that she will star in a school setting, and then poured her a new dress pig's blood. Then, an act of revenge: Carrie the effort of thought shuts all the doors, kills his tormentors electricity, burns the school building and finally launches deadly whirlwind of fire that almost completely destroys the center of the city-and at the same time.

The theme of telekinesis in the hands of a mentally unstable man was also the basis of memorable episode of "Star trek", entitled "Charlie X". This is a story about a young man with criminal inclinations, born in distant space colony. Instead of using their powers of telekinesis in good order, he subdues with their help other people and forces us to serve. If he will take over the enterprise, and get to Land on the planet will be chaos and it will be destroyed.

Telekinesis is and mighty Power, which is owned by the knights of the legendary society Jedi from Saga "Star wars".
Telekinesis and the real world.

Perhaps the most famous confrontation associated with telekinesis in real life, occurred in 1973 on the show johnny Carson. Participated in it gellar-Israeli psychic, who claimed that can bend spoons by thought, and the Amazing Randi - professional illusionist, who started at some point exposing scams, pripisivati psychic abilities. (Interestingly, all three started the same way, as illusionists, and smote the gullible audience incredible dexterity.)

Even before Geller Carson consulted with Randy[19]; the proposed johnny prepare for showing his spoon and in advance, before being presented officially to check them out. Carson followed the advice Randy and during the presentation intimidated Geller's proposal bending prepared spoon or Cup, not brought. Geller, no matter how he tried, he could not bend any. (Later appeared on the scene Randy and without any work performed a trick with spoons - but only after warned the audience that this is only a trick, not telekinesis.)

The amazing Randi offered a million dollars to anyone who will really be able to demonstrate the ability of telekinesis. So far none of the psychic was unable to earn this award.
Telekinesis and science

One of the reasons why it is so difficult to objectively analyze telekinesis, is what the Scam is easy to fool scientists because they are accustomed to believe what you see in the laboratory. On the other hand, illusionists or mages, claiming that have the ability to telekinesis, trained to introduce viewers to the confusion. As a result, scientists, as a rule, ill know how to expose the Scam. Thus, in 1982, parapsychologists invited to examine two boys, Michael Edwards and Steve Show, though with unusual abilities. It was argued that the boys can bend metal, to create with your mind the image on film, to move objects and to read thoughts. The parapsychologist Michael Telburn is so confident in the ability of young psychics that even invented for boys, a new term - he called them "psychokinetically". Parapsychologists Madonnaesque laboratory of psychical research in St. Louis, Missouri, opportunities boys literally blinded, Scientists believe that they have credible evidence of their psychic abilities, and began to prepare scientific publication. But next year, the boys confessed to the fraud and announced that all of its capabilities were required usual tricks, not supernatural abilities. (One of the boys, Steve Shaw, he continued his career and became a famous illusionist, which are "buried alive" for a few days; he now appears frequently on national TV channels.)

In Runovska Institute at Duke University under strict scientific supervision is conducted numerous experiments on telekinesis, but the results are still uncertain. With me in new York, the University is one of the pioneers in this field, Professor Gertrude, Midler, former editor of Parapsychology Magazine and some time - President of the Association of parapsychology. She was passionately interested in extrasensory perception and held on to their students in the College of numerous studies. Click to get more volunteers for their experiments, it was OK for cocktails inviting famous mediums and demonstration in front of the guests various psychic tricks. But she once told me that among hundreds of students and dozens of magicians and mediums could not find a single person who would be able to demonstrate at least some telekinesis on-demand, under controlled conditions.

Once she was placed in a room a few tiny but quite sensitive temperature sensors (capable of measuring temperature change in a fraction of a degree). Only the psychic was able intense mental effort to raise the temperature of one of the sensors 0.1 degrees. Midler was proud that I was able to try the experiment in hard conditions, were proud and the result obtained. But, anyway, from this far away from the ability to move large objects of the mind's effort.

Perhaps the most rigid, but also contradictory telekinesis research were conducted by Princeton analysis program, technical anomalies (Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR). The program was launched in 1979 Robert Jahn, at that time Dean of the School of technical and applied science at Princeton University. Engineers working on the program, investigated whether human MHg only one power of the mind to affect the results of random events. For example, we know that the thrown coin landing tails or eagle with 50% probability. But scientists PEAR argued that person can change the result of the mind's effort. In 28 years - the program is closed in 2007 were carried out thousands of experiments, including more than 1.7 million tests and 340 million coin tosses. Like the results confirm the existence of a telekinetic effect - but very weak on average no more than a few desyatitysyachnyj. But even these rather poor results of other scientists dispute; it is alleged that the obtained data are subtle bias.

(In 1988 the U.S. Army asked the national research Council with the request to investigate reports of paranormal abilities and opportunities. Naturally, the army wanted to get an advantage over the enemy, which would provide such skills, including telekinesis. The report of the National research Council discussed a possibility to form a hypothetical "First earth battalion" of the "soldier-monks", which would become nearly all of the methods that belong to the competence of the Committee, is extra-sensory perception, and the exit from the body, and levitation, and the healing power of thought, and walking through walls. Checking the reports on program PEAR, national research Council found that less than half of the successful tests were related to one person. Some critics believed that this man is conducted experiments or wrote for PEAR computer program. "For me it is problematic if successful results only he who controls the laboratory," said Dr. ray Hyman from the University of Oregon. The conclusion of the Council: "For 130 years of research yielded no scientific evidence for the existence of psychic phenomena.")

The problem with the study of telekinesis is also in the fact that he was and is recognized even the advocates of this phenomenon is not very consistent with the known laws of physics. Gravity is the weakest form of interaction in the universe, can only draw; it is not possible to use for levitation or repulsion objects. Electromagnetic interaction obeys the Maxwell equations and does not recognize the possibility of moving around the room electrically neutral items. Nuclear power only work over short distances, such as distances between the particles in the nucleus,

Another problem telekinesis is a source of energy. The human body is capable of producing power only in one fifth of horsepower, therefore, when Iodine in "Star wars" levitated by thought a space ship, or when the Cyclops was blowing from the eye laser beams, these acts violate the law of conservation of energy because the tiny creature like Yoda unable to accumulate enough energy to raise the spacecraft. No matter how we concentrated will and thoughts, we are not able to collect enough energy for action and the miracles attributed to telekinesis. As, taking into consideration all said above, to reconcile telekinesis with the laws of physics?
Telekinesis and the brain

If telekinesis unable even to agree with the known forces of nature, how can we hope in the future to curb it? One of the suggestions to the answer to this question can be found in an episode of "Star trek "Who mourns Adonijah?". In this episode the crew of "enterprise" meets with unusual race of intelligent beings; these beings resemble the Greek gods and capable power of thought to do fantastic things. At first it seems that people really faced the Olympians, but eventually it turns out that this is not gods, and ordinary beings, able to mentally control of the Central power station, which then performs their desires and makes the most fantastic things. Having destroyed the Central power, the crew of "enterprise" breaks free from the power of these creatures.

No contradiction to the laws of nature, and that in the future people will learn to train your hidden abilities - and in the result mentally to manage sensitive electronic device, which will give them an almost divine possibilities. Telekinesis using radio or computer amplifier is a very real possibility. Primitive device for telekinesis can be considered even electroencephalograph. Seeing on the screen EEG machine figure own brain activity, a person can gradually learn rough, but quite consciously to control this figure with the help of so-called "biological feedback".

Because of drawings of the brain does not exist, and no one can say what neuron manages any muscle, the patient should also actively involved in mastering the techniques of such control by means of a computer.

With time one learns on demand to paint on the screen of the device specific type of wave pattern. The resulting image can be sent to the computer, which, according to the incorporated program will recognize the type of wave pattern, and then execute the corresponding specific command - for example, to enable a device or start the engine. In other words, chelovekom, just thinking a certain way, get on EEG-screen particular pattern of brain activity - and run thus the computer or the engine.

For example, thus completely paralyzed man could control his chair exclusively by means of thought. Or, if you find that people are able to get on the screen of twenty-six reliably recognized drawings, he might be able to print a Latin one, only the effort of thought. Of course, this is a very crude method of communicating ideas; it also requires a lot of time, so that by means of biofeedback to teach people how to manage the wave picture of your own brain.

The works of Niels Birbaumer from the University of Tubingen in Germany, of course, to bring nearer the moment when a person learns "to print the power of thought". Birbaumer used biofeedback to help people, partially paralyzed as a result of damage to the nervous system. He was able to teach such people to change the wave picture of the brain and in this way to print on a computer screen, simple sentences.

The monkeys were implanted in the brain electrodes and using biological feedback taught to some extent, to control their thoughts. After that monkeys could if prosi thoughts to control the hand-manipulator through the Internet.

At Emory University in Atlanta spent even more revealing a series of experiments. Directly into the brain of a paralyzed by the stroke person has introduced a glass bead, connected to the computer via a fine wire. Through certain thoughts paralyzed man could send signals to the computer and move the screen cursor. After some practice and training with the use of biological feedback suffered from a stroke learned how to consciously control the cursor. In principle, controlling the cursor on the screen, one can write down my thoughts, to include instruments, led to the virtual machine, play video games, etc.

Neuroscientist from brown University John Donohue did, perhaps the most important step in creating the system of interaction of the brain with the machine. He created a device called "Branham"that allow a paralyzed man to produce an astounding amount of physical actions, using only one power of thought. 'donoghue tested their device in four patients. Two of them were suffering from a spinal cord injury, the third had a stroke, and the fourth was paralyzed as the result amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [or disease, Lou Gehrig's, the disease, which affects cosmologist Stephen Hawking).

One of the patients'donoghue - old Matthew from my childhood, completely paralyzed from the neck down, " managed just one day to learn a completely new skills with a computerized system. Now he can change channels of TV, adjust the sound to compress and decompress the palm of the artificial hand, draw a rough circle, to control a computer cursor, play video games and even read email. In the summer of 2006, this man appeared on the cover of the journal Nature and produced in the scientific community a real sensation.

The heart of the device is a tiny silicon chip size of only 4 mm, equipped with a hundred tiny electrodes. This chip is placed directly on the top part of the brain that controls movement. He half goes into the bark of the brain, the thickness of which is about 2 mm From chip signal for gold transactions is fed to the amplifier about the size of a box of cigars, and then transmitted to the computer about the size of a dishwasher. There, the signal is processed using a special software that can recognize some images of brain activity and translate them into mechanical motion.

In previous experiments, where patients have read your own EEG screen, the process of development of biological feedback was slow and tedious. But if adapt to help the patient with a computer, know how to discern the figures thoughts, the learning process is greatly accelerated. At the first lesson Nagla asked to imagine the motion of his hand to the right and to the left, bending of the wrist, clenching opening and closing of a hand in a fist. 'donoghue saw with joy that when my childhood imagine the movement of hands and fingers in his brain really work different neurons. "My feelings were just incredible - because you can see how brain cells change their activity. Then I realized that it all can develop that such technology will actually work," he recalls.

('donoghue has a personal reason for passionate interest in such exotic kind of interaction brain - machine. Child aboutN. spent some time in a wheelchair because of a painful degenerative diseases, so he's on his own experience knows what it's like to lose the opportunity to move and become totally helpless.)

The'donoghue big plans, he hopes to make the system "Branham" indispensable doctors. With the development of computer technology of his staff, which now resembles the size dishwasher, can become portable - maybe even you will wear. From clumsy wires will also be eliminated if to ensure chip wireless communication with the outside world.

It is clear that in this way it is possible to involve other areas of the brain, so the new system is a matter of time. Scientists have made a map of the crust in the upper part of the brain. (If graphically represent the us at the top of the arms, legs, head and body in those places, neurons, which control the movement of the relevant bodies, will get something like "homunculus", or the little man. Man this looks weird and distorted, his long fingers, face and tongue, but wrinkled trunk.)

Apparently, you can place silicon chips on different parts of the surface of the brain, to enable thus corresponding to these areas organs and limbs and make them work from the power of thought. In principle, therefore you can play any movement that is capable of producing the human body. In the future we can imagine the paralyzed man in a special house, designed for telekinetic management; host will be able to mentally control air conditioning system, TV and various electrical devices.

Even further in the future, you can imagine the human body is enclosed in a special "exoskeleton", which will allow the paralyzed to enjoy full freedom of movement. Theoretically such exoskeleton could give the owner the power that exceeds the capabilities of an ordinary person, and turn it into a bionic being able effort thought to manage vast mechanical strength of their sverginata.

So, computer management with the help of consciousness is not impossible. But does this mean that someday we will be able to move objects, to lift them in the air and manipulate using exclusively a mental effort?

One approach to this is to cover the walls with a layer of a superconductor at room temperature, considering, of course, that such a device would ever appear. After that, if we would nastygram" ordinary household objects tiny electromagnets, we can get them to fly above the floor due to the effect Meissner (as we saw in Chapter 1). If these magnets will control the computer, and the computer - our brain, we will get the opportunity to raise the subject in the air mind's effort. Thinking about a certain thing, we activate the computer, which will then include in the right place electromagnets and will cause the subject to levitate. External observer such a demonstration is the ability to pick up items in the air force thought - would appear by magic.
Nanorobots

What can you say about the possibility not only to move objects and to transform them, to turn one into the other, as if by magic? Illusionists do such tricks through sleight of hand and some sophisticated fixtures. But we must ask: does not contradict the opportunity to the laws of nature?

As we have said, one of the goals of nanotechnology is to learn how to build atom tiny machines that could perform the function lever, gear, bearing, and block. After these nanomachine many physicists dream to learn to freely organize molecules inside the object, move them atom by atom, while one subject will not turn into another. Based on this principle "replicators"which can be found in many science fiction works; they can make any desired object, one has only to ask. In principle Replicator could save mankind from poverty and completely change the nature of society. If Magnum easily get any thing, it will turn from legs on a head all views about the needs and costs, as well as the hierarchy in human society.

(Replicator appears, in particular, in one of my favorite episodes of "Star trek" series "the Next generation". In the open space find the ancient space capsule XX century, and in her frozen body of people suffering from incurable diseases. Body quickly thaw, people cured with the help of a fantastic medicine. One businessman from the revived thinks that for so many centuries nested them money were to grow to immense size, and asks the crew of "enterprise" about their investments and money. Crew members in perplexity. The money? Investment? We, in the future, there is no money, they say. If you need anything, just ask.)

How would strikingly sounded description of the Replicator, in nature, it already exists. "The basic opportunity" has already been proven. Nature takes raw meat with vegetables - and nine months pitches from him a human being. The miracle of life - not that other, as a large nanofactory, able at the atomic level to turn the substance (for example, food) in living tissue (baby).

To build a nanofactory, you need three components: building materials, tools, which can be cut and fit them together; and drawings, which must be followed when using the tools and materials. In the nature of construction materials are thousands of amino acids and proteins, of which the living flesh and blood. Tools for cutting and joint - analogues of hammers and saws, necessary to form proteins in the right order and turning them into new forms of life, are ribosomes. They are designed to cut proteins, and reconnect them at certain points, thereby creating new types. Drawings "device" specifies the DNA molecule, where the mystery of life is encrypted through a specific sequence of nucleic acids. These three ingredients are combined in the cell which has the unique property of reproducing itself, i.e. is able to create copies of itself. This is because the shape of the DNA molecule resembles a double helix. When it comes time to multiply the DNA molecule unwinds and is divided into two independent spiral. Each of the two lines, then restores itself to a full dual state, when the second thread of a spiral of individual organic molecules. So it turns out a copy of the DNA molecule.

Still physicists only slight able to repeat what nature at every step. But scientists believe that the key to success is the creation of the army of self-replicating nanorobots, or nanobots that should be a programmable machines for atomic rearrangement of atoms inside the object.

In principle, if we have trillions of nanobots, you can use them on the object to move in a particular way, atoms and thus to transform one object into another. As the nanobots should be self-replicating, to the beginning of the process they need not so much. It is also necessary that they can be programmed so that they can work on a given drawing.

Before building the first fleets nanobots, will have to overcome many serious obstacles. First, self-replicating robot to build extremely difficult even at the macroscopic level. (We should not forget that at the modern level of technology we are still unable to produce even a simple nuclear instruments, such as atomic bearing or gear.) Even with the computer and any electronic parts, it is very difficult to build a machine that was able to make exact copies of itself. If it's so hard to do with my hands on the table, what to speak about construction of such machines at the atomic level!

Secondly, while it was not even clear how to program the army nanobots from the outside. Offer, in particular, to send a radio signal, which must be activated each nanobots. Maybe the nanobots can be irradiated by a laser beam that carry the instructions. But it would mean a separate set of instructions for each nanobot, which can be a great many - trillions!

Third, it is unclear exactly how nanobots have to cut off, to move from place to place, and glue the atoms in the correct order. Let's not forget that the nature of the decision of this problem it took 3.5 billion years, so one can hardly hope to solve it within just a few decades.

Neil Gershenfeld from the Massachusetts Institute of technology is one of those physicists who is serious about the idea of the Replicator, or direct producer". He even teaches at MIT course called "How to make (almost) anything", one of the most popular in the University. Gershenfeld headed by MIT Center for bits and atoms and are seriously thinking about the physical principles on which to build Replicator, - he believes that this device will serve as the impetus for the next technology revolution. He even wrote a book called "the Coming revolution on your desktop - from personal computers to personal replicators" (FAB: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop - From Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication; it is the scientist gave a detailed account of his views on the problem of personal production. He believes that our goal is "to make one machine that can do any machine", and had already established to disseminate their ideas network of laboratories around the world, mainly in third world countries, where personal production would bring maximum benefit.

Gershenfeld believes that the original should appear universal fabrikatthe PR, small enough to fit on a table created using the latest advances in laser technology and microminiaturization; this device will be able to cut, join and to give form to any object that can be shown on the computer screen. For example, imagine that the poor in the third world countries are required tools and agricultural machinery. This information load in a computer with access to the Internet hosts a vast library of drawings and technical information. Is there a computer program will select from ready-made development that meets the customer's requirements, will process the information and send it back via e-mail. Then personal fabricator will launch its miniature lasers and cutters and right on the table will produce the desired subject.

This is not all. Universal personal plant is only the first step. Over time Gershenfeld wants to bring his idea at the molecular level - and then with the help of his staff person will be able to make virtually any object, you can mention in detail. However, progress in this direction is very slow, because to manipulate individual atoms is very difficult.

Aristides of Requicha from the University of southern California is one of the pioneers working in this area. His specialty - "molecular robotics", and the goal is neither more nor less as creating a flotilla of nanorobots, capable of producing with individual atoms arbitrary manipulation. Require writes that there are two approaches. One of them - "top-down", while the engineers will try using etching technology, borrowed from the semiconductor industry to create tiny electronic circuits, which can then serve nanorobots brains. This technology will allow to create tiny robots the size of the components of about 30 nm method nanolithography, which is now growing rapidly.

But there is another approach is "bottom up"; in this case, engineers will try to build tiny robots, moving and setting in place atom by atom. The main instrument of such construction should be scanning sodovyi microscope (SPM); this device uses the same technology as the scanning tunneling microscope to recognize and move individual atoms. For example, scientists already know how to move the xenon atoms on a platinum or Nickel surface. But Require recognizes that "it is still the best team in the world have to work ten hours to collect the construction of about 50 atoms". To move individual atoms manually is a very long and tedious job. Scientist admits that required a completely new mechanism able to perform tasks of a higher level is automatically move in the desired direction hundreds of atoms at a time. Unfortunately, such a mechanism does not exist. It is therefore not surprising that the bottom-up approach is in its infancy.

So, let us make a conclusion: according to today's views, telekinesis impossible, but in the future when we better learn to accept signals of the brain - i.e. thoughts - by using EEG, MRI and other methods, it may become possible. It is not excluded, that in this century will be created devices, capable under the influence of thoughts to manage superconductors at room temperature and do in the miracles that today seem to us to be magic. And for the next century, perhaps we will learn randomly rearrange the molecules in the macroscopic objects. All this makes attributed telekinesis to the inability of the I class.

Some scholars argue that the key to this technology should be the creation of nanorobots, equipped with artificial intelligence. But before we speak about the creation of tiny robots the size of a molecule, it is necessary to answer the most basic question: can robots to exist at all?