A 16:9 rectangle in which rectangles visualize the ratio. Note that the groupings are not square.

An LCD television set with a 16:9 image ratio.

16:9 (1.77:1) (16:9 = 4²:3²) is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television (EDTV) PALplus.

Generally 16:9 is pronounced "Sixteen-Nine", "Sixteen-by-Nine," or "Sixteen-to-Nine."

History[link]

Equal area comparison of the aspect ratios used by Dr. Powers to derive the SMPTE 16:9 standard.^[1] TV 4:3/1.33 in red, 5:3/1.66 in orange, 16:9/1.77 in blue, 1.85 in yellow, Panavision 11:5/2.2 in mauve and CinemaScope/2.35 in purple.

When the 16:9 (1.77:1) aspect ratio was proposed by Kerns H. Powers, a member of the SMPTE Working Group On High-Definition Electronic Production, nobody was creating 16:9 videos. The popular choices in 1980 were: 1.33:1 (based on television standard's ratio at the time), 1.66:1 (the European "flat" ratio), 1.85:1 (the American "flat" ratio), 2.20:1 (the ratio of 70 mm films and Panavision) and 2.35:1 (the CinemaScope ratio for anamorphic widescreen films).

Powers cut out rectangles with equal areas, shaped to match each of the popular aspect ratios. When overlapped with their center points aligned, he found that all of those aspect ratio rectangles fit within an outer rectangle with an aspect ratio of 1.77:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.77:1.^[1] The value found by Powers is exactly the geometric mean of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 (1.33:1) and 2.35:1, which is coincidentally close to 16:9 (1.77:1). Applying the same geometric mean technique to 16:9 and 4:3 yields the 14:9 aspect ratio, which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.^[2]

While 16:9 (1.77:1) was initially selected as a compromise format, the subsequent popularity of HDTV broadcast has solidified 16:9 as perhaps the most important video aspect ratio in use.^{[citation needed]} Most 4:3 (1.33:1) and 2.39:1 video is now recorded using a "shoot and protect" technique^[3] that keeps the main action within a 16:9 (1.77:1) inner rectangle to facilitate HD broadcast.^{[citation needed]}. Conversely it is quite common to use a technique known as center-cutting, to approach the challenge of presenting material shot (typically 16:9) to both a HD and legacy 4:3 audience simultaneously without having to compromise image size for either audience. Content creators frame critical content or graphics to fit within the 1.33 raster space.^{[citation needed]} This has similarities to a filming technique called Open matte.

After the original 16:9 Action Plan of the early 1990s, the European Union has instituted the 16:9 Action Plan,^[4] just to accelerate the development of the advanced television services in 16:9 aspect ratio, both in PAL and also in HDTV. The Community fund for the 16:9 Action Plan amounted to €228 million.

In 2008 the computer industry started to use 16:9 as standard aspect ratio for monitors and laptops. According to a report by displaysearch the reasons for this were/are:^[5][6]

• Innovative product concepts drives a new product cycle and stimulating the growth of the notebook PC and LCD monitor market.
• 16:9 provides better economic cut (panelization) in existing TFT LCD fabs.
• 16:9 products provide higher resolution and wider aspect ratio.^[7]
• The widespread adoption of High Definition in the consumer entertainment sector will help end users readily adopt the new products with the wider aspect ratio.
• The 16:9 panels provide an opportunity for PC brands to further diversify their products.^[5][6]

In 2011 Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors capable of 1920x1200 resolutions aren't being manufactured anymore. “It is all about reducing manufacturing costs. The new 16:9 aspect ratio panels are more cost effective to manufacture locally than the previous 16:10 panels”.^[8] Since computer displays are advertised by their diagonal measure, for monitors with the same display area, a wide screen monitor will have a larger diagonal measure, thus sounding more impressive. Within limits, the amount of information that can be displayed, and the cost of the monitor depend more on area than on diagonal measure.

In March 2011 the 16:9 resolution 1920x1080 became the most common used resolution among Steam's users. The earlier most common resolution was 1680x1050 (16:10).^[9]

Properties[link]

16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD format. Anamorphic DVD transfers store the information as 5:4 (PAL) or 6:4 (NTSC), which is set to expand to either 16:9 or 4:3, which the television or video player handles. For instance, a PAL DVD with a full frame image may contain a video resolution of 720x576, but a video player will stretch this to 1024x576 with a 16:9 flag in order to maintain the correct aspect ratio.

DVD producers can also choose to show even wider ratios such as 1.85:1 and 2.39:1^[10] within the 16:9 DVD frame by hard matting or adding black bars within the image itself. Some films which were made in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, such as the U.S.-Italian co-production Man of La Mancha and Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, fit quite comfortably onto a 1.77:1 HDTV screen and have been issued anamorphically enhanced on DVD without the black bars. Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9.

Super 16 mm film is frequently used for television production due to its lower cost, lack of need for soundtrack space on the film itself, and aspect ratio similar to 16:9.^{[citation needed]}

Common resolutions[link]

Common resolutions for 16:9 are 640x360, 854x480, 960x540, 1024×576, 1280×720, 1366×768, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 2048x1152, 2560×1440, 3840×2160 and 4096x2304.

1080p (Full HD) is 1920×1080, while 720p (HD) is 1280×720.

In Europe[link]

In Europe, 16:9 is being adopted as the standard broadcast format for digital and HDTV. Some countries have even adopted the format for analog television by means of the PALplus standard.

Country	Channel
Albania	TV Klan, Klan HD, Digi Gold, DigitALB HD (1,2,3,4,5,6), SuperSport (1,2,3,4,5)*, Top Channel**, Digi Plus**, Film Autor**, Film Hits**, Film Thriller**, Film Drame**, Film Aksion**, Film Komedi** * Do not set the aspect ratio correctly when broadcasting in 16:9 and the image appears squashed on 4:3 TV sets. ** These channels do broadcast in 16:9 and 4:3 but the aspect ratio is always kept 4:3 so 16:9 programs appear squashed.
Austria	ORF1, ORF2, ORF Sport Plus, ORF1 HD, ATV, Puls 4, Servus TV, and others (all main channels)
Belarus	Belsat
Belgium	All channels
Bosnia and Herzegovina	BHT 1, Kanal 1, TV1, Hayat music, BDC TV,
Bulgaria	BNT 1*, The Voice, TV+, FILM+/SPORT+, TV7*, RING.BG, bTV Action* * These stations do not set the aspect ratio correctly when broadcasting in 16:9 and the image appears stretched on 4:3 TV sets. Such stations use mostly 4:3 programming.
Cyprus	ANT1 Cyprus RIK HD Sigma TV
Croatia	RTL Televizija*, RTL 2*, Doma TV**, Sportska televizija**, Kapital Network** Older programmes filmed in 4:3 are: * cropped. ** transmitted in their original format.
Czech Republic	TV Nova, Česká televize, TV Nova HD, TV Prima, TV Barrandov
Denmark	Almost all main channels as 16:9 is the national standard for television.
Estonia	All main digital channels (ETV, Kanal 2 and TV3) and their sister channels are 16:9.
Finland	Almost all main channels as 16:9 is the national standard for television, including but not limited to Yle TV1, Yle TV2, MTV3, Nelonen, TV5, Liv, Jim, Sub, Yle Fem, Yle Teema, The Voice, Fox, AVA
France	All nationwide channels on the French DVB-T (TNT) And almost all pay channel via TNT, ADSL, DVB-C and DVB-S; Canal+ Décalé, Canal+ Family, Poker Channel, CinePlay, Ciné Cinéma Premier, OL TV, Motors TV, Disney Cinemagic, Disney Cinemagic + 1, NRJ Hits, Ciné Cinéma Premier HD and SD, National Geographic HD and SD, Ushuaia TV HD and SD, Disney Cinemagic HD and SD, MTV HD, NRJ 12 HD and SD, iConcert HD, HD1, Melody Zen HD, Sci Fi Channel HD and SD, 13ème Rue HD and SD, Orange cinemax HD...
Germany	ARD (Das Erste, EinsExtra, EinsFestival, EinsPlus; BR and BR-alpha, HR, WDR, SWR, RBB, RB), ZDF, 3sat, Arte, DW-TV, Phoenix; kabel eins, ProSieben, Sat.1; RTL, RTL II, Super RTL, VOX; and others (all main channels)
Greece	Exclusively in 16:9 aspect ratio: Skai TV, Star Channel, Prisma+, Cine+, Sport+, MTV Greece, NovaCinema1, NovaCinema2, NovaCinema3, NovaCinema4, NovaCinema HD, NovaSports1, NovaSports2, NovaSports3, NovaSports4, NovaSports Highlights, NovaSports6, NovaSports7, NovaSports HD, Nickelodeon (Greece), KONTRA Channel, ERT HD Occasional in 16:9 aspect ratio: ET1, NET, ET3, Mega Channel, Alpha TV, ANT1
Hungary	All main channels (RTL Klub,[11] TV2,[12] Magyar Televízió (m1, m2), Duna TV (both standard and HD),[13] Duna 2) FEM3, PRO4, Story4*, Sport Klub , Sport 1, Sport 2, Sport M, Life Network, Ozone Network, Viasat3*, TV6*, ATV, Spektrum, DigiSport, 1 Music Channel, MusicMix, Discovery Channel * Do not set the aspect ratio correctly when broadcasting in 16:9 and the image appears stretched on 4:3 TV sets. Such stations use mostly 4:3 programming.
Iceland	All three national stations broadcast in 16:9 with occasional 4:3 programs. Some smaller local stations still use 4:3.
Ireland	RTÉ One, RTÉ Two, TV3, TG4, and Setanta Ireland
Italy	All the 10 SKY Cinema channels, all the 6 SKY Sport channels, all the 15 SKY Calcio channels, all the 30 SKY Prima Fila channels, Cult, Sky TG24, Sky Meteo24, Sky Uno, MGM (localized version), Discovery Channel Italy, Discovery Science Italy, Discovery Travel & Living Italy, National Geographic Channel Italy, National Geographic Adventure(Italy), National Geographic Wild (Italy), History Channel Italy, AXN Italy, AXN Sci Fi, Comedy Central Italy, E! (localized version), all the 6 dahlia TV channels, all the 6 Premium Calcio, all the 3 Premium Cinema channels, Studio Universal, Rai Sport 1/2, QVC Italy. Most of the actual broadcast of RAI public service and of few major local television stations and almost all of the broadcast of Mediaset and La7 networks (except some rerun, a handful of minor programs and the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful on Canale 5) is shown in the 16:9 ratio. Many television networks do not set correctly the aspect ratio when broadcasting.
Latvia	TV3 Latvia, TV6, LTV7
Lithuania	Lietuvos rytas TV, LNK, TV3 Lithuania, TV6, TV8, TV1, Info TV.
Luxembourg	RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, Luxe.tv
Macedonia	Alfa tv, MTV1 HD
Malta
Montenegro	RTV Panorama
Netherlands	All nationwide channels (Netherlands Public Broadcasting, RTL, SBS), BravaHDTV. Only older programmes filmed in 4:3 are usually transmitted in their original format, as cropping a 4:3 picture for 16:9 TVs has proved unpopular.
Norway	16:9 is the national standard for television — almost all channels conform to this format.
Poland	TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info (except some regional opt-outs), TVP Polonia, TVP HD, TVP Sport, TVP Kultura, TVP Historia, TVP Seriale, Polsat, Polsat 2, Polsat News, Polsat Sport, Polsat Sport Extra, Polsat Café, Polsat Film, Polsat Play, Canal+, Canal+ Film, Canal+ Sport, Ale Kino!, TVS, TVN, TVN +1, TVN Siedem, Religia TV, TVN 24, TVN Meteo, TVN CNBC, TVN Style, TVN Turbo, TVN Warszawa, nSport, Mango 24, nFilm HD, nFilm HD 2, 4fun.tv, Eska TV, TV4, TV6, Orange Sport Info, Domo, Kuchnia.tv, MiniMini, TV Biznes, AXN, National Geographic Channel, NatGeo Wild HD, Fox, FOX Life HD, MGM HD, Wojna i pokój, BBC Knowledge HD, Animal Planet HD, TLC, Radio na wizji
Portugal	RTP2, TVCine, Canal Q, Eurosport, AXN, AXN Black, AXN White, National Geographic Channel, SportTV, Syfy Universal, Económico TV, História, Odisseia, Fuel TV
Romania	Occasional 16:9 widescreen programming shown on The Romanian Public Broadcaster's channels (TVR 1, TVR 2, TVR Cultural), Sport.ro, B1 TV and DigiSport. SD version aired in 16:9-in-4:3 letterbox on PRO Cinema and MTV Romania. Full 16:9 widescreen programming aired on all HD channels: TVR HD, PRO TV HD and Sport.ro HD.
Russian Federation	Channel 1, Sport 1 HD, Dozhd Optimistic Channel, Expert TV HD, Fox Life HD, NTV+, Eurosport, HDMedia, RT
Serbia	RTS HD, RTS Digital, Arena Sport 1, 2, 3 & 4 HD, Prva, Sport Klub, Sport Klub+, SK Prime
Slovakia	Markíza, Slovenská televízia (STV1, STV2, STV3 HD), JOJ, TV Doma
Slovenia	All main channels (RTV Slovenija (TVS 1, TVS 2, TVS 3, TV KP), Info TV, POP TV, POP BRIO, Kanal A, Sport TV 1, Sport TV 2, Sportklub+, Golfklub, HBO Slovenija, TV3 Slovenia, RTS Maribor) and all HD channels (Televizija Slovenija HD, Info TV HD, RTS Maribor HD)
Spain	Always on 16:9: Antena 3, Cuatro, laSexta, Telecinco, Veo7, MTV Spain, Neox, Nova, Nitro, Teledeporte, Marca TV, Intereconomia, AXN (PPV), FOX Spain (PPV), Discovery Channel Spain (PPV), Calle 13 (PPV), Canal+ Spain (PPV), Eurosport (PPV), Gol Televisión (PPV), ETB (Euskadi), Canal Sur (Andalusia), TV3 (Catalonia), Telemadrid (Madrid), and Aragon TV (Aragón). All HD channels like TVE HD, Antena 3 HD, TV3 HD, Telemadrid HD, FOX HD (PPV), MTVnHD (PPV) or Disney Cinemagic Spain (PPV). Older programmes filmed in 4:3 are transmitted in their original format or zooming to 14:9 Pillarbox, stretched programs are not common. Advertisements filmed in 4:3 often are zoomed to 16:9, only some of them are transmitted with 4:3 Pillarbox. Never stretching. Often on 16:9: La 1, La 2, Disney Channel Spain, La 10, La Siete, FDF, laSexta 2, laSexta 3 and practically all of the regional tv channels like Cyl TV, CMT or TVG. Sometimes on 16:9: Canal 24 Horas, Clan, Intereconomia (stretches most of its programming to 16:9) and practically all of the local tv channels. Always on 4:3: Practically all PPV Channels like The History Channel, Cartoon Network, Canal de las Estrellas or CNN+. Shop channels.
Sweden	Almost all main channels as 16:9 is the national standard for television.
Switzerland	All SRG SSR channels
Turkey	TRT 1, TRT Türk, CNBC-e, e2, a Haber, World Travel Channel, Semerkand TV, Altaş TV, HTV, TarımTürk TV, TürkMax, Lig TV, Moviemax, Sinema TV
Ukraine	English Club TV
United Kingdom	In 1997, BBC, ITV and Channel 4 began producing 16:9 idents and switched some television shows to 16:9. In 1998, with the introduction of digital television, digital versions of BBC One, BBC Two, ITV 1 and Channel 4 were created. An On Digital set top box or a subscription to Sky Digital was required to view the digital versions. On 1 July 2000, "C-Day", most of the UK broadcast industry began requiring commercials to be delivered in 16:9 full-height format (with a 14:9 safe area for those channels still broadcasting in 4:3). ITV and C4 upgraded their continuity suites to be 16:9 capable at the same time, allowing idents to be broadcast in widescreen format on digital. In 2001, the UK's fourth broadcaster Channel 5 switched to 16:9. In 2002, On Digital became defunct and free-to-air digital television services began to operate under the name of Freeview. In 2003, Sky branded channels were re-branded which included the switch to 16:9. In 2006, BBC HD began broadcasting in 1080i which became the standard for all HD channels. Similar to the switch to Digital in 1998, viewers required an additional set-top-box which was HD capable, one that could be provided from either Sky or Virgin Media. In 2007, Channel 4 HD was launched on Sky. It was later added to Virgin Media in 2009 and then to Freeview HD in 2011. In 2008, ITV 1 HD was launched on Sky and was later added to Virgin Media and Freeview HD in 2010. In 2009, Freeview HD launched allowing viewers to watch BBC HD and ITV 1 HD without a subscription to either Sky or Virgin Media, a Freeview HD set-top box was required. In 2010, Channel 5 HD and BBC One HD were launched on Sky and Virgin Media. BBC One HD was later added to Freeview HD in 2011. As of 2012; All Freeview channels broadcast in 16:9 Almost all cable/satellite channels broadcast in 16:9 with the rest expected to switch by the end of 2012.

In Oceania[link]

Country	Channel
Australia	All major channels since the introduction of DVB-T in 2001
New Zealand	Almost all channels

In Asia[link]

Japan's Hi-Vision originally started with a 5:3 ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced a wider ratio of 5¹⁄₃ to 3 (=16:9).

Country	Channel
Hong Kong	All major channels since the digital television broadcasting in 2007.
India	HD channels were added by most DTH operators.
Israel	All main channels, including but not limited to Hot, Yes.
Japan	Japan pioneered in its analogue HDTV system (MUSE) in 16:9 format, started in 1980s. Currently all main channels have Digital terrestrial television channels in 16:9 while being simulcast in analogue 4:3 format. Many satellite broadcast channels are being broadcast in 16:9 as well.
South Korea	All major channels currently feature 16:9 aspect.
Qatar	All Al Jazeera Sports channels, ESPN channels and NBA TV.
Thailand	Thai PBS, Spring News TV and Voice TV
United Arab Emirates	Alarabiya (Since 06.14.2011).
Vietnam	All of VTC HD's channel, K+'s channel (selected programme)

In America[link]

Country	Channel
Brazil	Telecine Premium, Telecine Action, Telecine Fun, Telecine Touch, Telecine Pipoca, HBO, Max HD, Megapix, TBS, FOX Sports, FOX News, BBC World News, Deutsche Welle, NHK, SporTV, Sky Sports+

See also[link]

• High-definition television
• Display resolution
• 1080p / 1080i
• 720p
• 4:3
• 14:9
• 16:10

References[link]

Cited references

General references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 16:9

Kelvin Doe (born ca. 1997), also known as DJ Focus, is an African engineer. He is known for teaching himself engineering at the age of 13 and building his own radio station in Sierra Leone, where he plays music and broadcasts news under the name "DJ Focus". He was one of the finalists in GMin's Innovate Salone idea competition, in which Doe built a generator from scrap metals. As a result of his accomplishment, he received an invitation to the US and subsequently became the youngest person to participate in the "Visiting Practitioner's Program" at MIT.^[1][2][3] His accomplishments were documented by @radical.media and presented on their corporate YouTube channel. When the video went viral, the story was picked up by CNN, NBC News, and The Huffington Post.^[3][4][5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Self-taught African Teen Wows M.I.T. on YouTube

This article contains Japanese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of kanji and kana.

Michio Kaku (加来 道雄, Kaku Michio^?, born January 24, 1947) is an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, a co-founder of string field theory,^[1] a futurist, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science. He has written several books about physics and related topics; he has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and film; and he writes extensive online blogs and articles. He has written two New York Times best sellers, Physics of the Impossible (2008) and Physics of the Future (2011). He has hosted several TV specials for BBC-TV, the Discovery Channel, and the Science Channel.

Early life and education[link]

Kaku was born in San Jose, California to Japanese immigrant parents. His grandfather came to the United States to take part in the clean-up operation after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake^{[citation needed]}. His father was born in California but was educated in Japan and spoke little English. Both his parents were put in the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, where they met and where his two brothers were born.

At Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, Kaku assembled an atom smasher in his parents' garage for a science fair project.^[2] At the National Science Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he attracted the attention of physicist Edward Teller, who took Kaku as a protégé, awarding him the Hertz Engineering Scholarship. Kaku graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1968 and was first in his physics class. He attended the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley and received a Ph.D. in 1972, and in 1972 he held a lectureship at Princeton University.

During the Vietnam War, Kaku completed his U.S. Army basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and his advanced individual training at Fort Lewis, Washington.^[3] However, the Vietnam War ended before he was deployed as an infantryman.

Academic career[link]

Kaku became a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton,^[4] and New York University.^[5] He currently holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York.^[6]

Kaku has had over 70 articles published in physics journals such as Physical Review, covering topics such as superstring theory, supergravity, supersymmetry, and hadronic physics.^[7] In 1974, along with Prof. Keiji Kikkawa of Osaka University, he authored the first papers describing string theory in a field form.^[8][9]

Kaku is the author of several textbooks on string theory and quantum field theory.

Popular science[link]

Kaku is most widely known as a popularizer of science.^[10] He has written books and appeared on many television programs as well as film. He also hosts a weekly radio program.

Books[link]

Kaku is the author of various popular science books.

• Hyperspace (1994)
• Beyond Einstein (with Jennifer Thompson) (1995)
• Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century^[11] (1998)
• Einstein's Cosmos (2004)
• Parallel Worlds (2004)
• Physics of the Impossible (2008)
• Physics of the Future (2011)

Hyperspace was a best-seller and was voted one of the best science books of the year by both The New York Times^[10] and The Washington Post. Parallel Worlds was a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction in the UK.^[12]

Radio[link]

Kaku is the host of the weekly, one-hour radio program Explorations, produced by the Pacifica Foundation's WBAI in New York. "Explorations" is syndicated to community and independent radio stations and makes previous broadcasts available on the program's website. Kaku defines the show as dealing with the general topics of science, war, peace, and the environment.

In April 2006, Kaku began broadcasting Science Fantastic on 90 commercial radio stations, the only nationally syndicated science program on commercial radio in the United States. It is syndicated by Talk Radio Network and now reaches 130 radio stations and America's Talk on XM. The program is formatted as a live listener call-in show, focusing on "futurology," which he defines as the future of science.^{[citation needed]} Featured guests include Nobel laureates and top researchers on the topics of string theory, time travel, black holes, gene therapy, aging, space travel, artificial intelligence, and SETI. When Kaku is busy filming for television, Science Fantastic goes on hiatus, sometimes for several months. Kaku is also a frequent guest on many programs, where he is outspoken in all areas and issues he considers of importance, such as the program Coast to Coast AM, where on 30 November 2007, he reaffirmed his belief that there is a 100% probability of extraterrestrial life in the universe.^[13]

Kaku has appeared on The Opie and Anthony Show a number of times, discussing popular fiction such as Back to The Future, Lost, and the theories behind time-travel that these and other fictional entertainment focus on.

Television and film[link]

Kaku has appeared in many forms of media and on many programs and networks, including Good Morning America, The Screen Savers, Larry King Live, 60 Minutes, Nightline, 20/20, Naked Science, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Al Jazeera English, Fox News Channel, The History Channel, Conan, The Science Channel, The Discovery Channel, TLC, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Colbert Report, The Art Bell Show and its successor, Coast To Coast AM, BBC World News America, The Opie & Anthony Show, The Covino & Rich Show, Head Rush, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Real Time with Bill Maher.

In 1999, Kaku was one of the scientists profiled in the feature-length film Me and Isaac Newton, directed by Michael Apted. It played theatrically in the United States, was later broadcast on national TV, and won several film awards.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Kaku appeared in the short documentary Obsessed & Scientific. The film is about the possibility of time travel and the people who dream about it. It screened at the Montreal World Film Festival and a feature film expansion is in development talks. Kaku also appeared in the ABC documentary UFOs: Seeing Is Believing, in which he suggested that while he believes it is extremely unlikely that extraterrestrials have ever actually visited Earth, we must keep our minds open to the possible existence of civilizations a million years ahead of us in technology, where entirely new avenues of physics open up. He also discussed the future of interstellar exploration and alien life in the Discovery Channel special Alien Planet as one of the multiple speakers who co-hosted the show, and Einstein's Theory of Relativity on The History Channel.

In February 2006, Kaku appeared as presenter in the BBC-TV four-part documentary Time which seeks to explore the mysterious nature of time. Part one of the series concerns personal time, and how we perceive and measure the passing of time. The second in the series deals with cheating time, exploring possibilities of extending the lifespan of organisms. The geological time covered in part three explores the ages of the earth and the sun. Part four covers the topics of cosmological time, the beginning of time and the events that occurred at the instant of the big bang.

On January 28, 2007, Kaku hosted the Discovery Channel series 2057. This three-hour program discussed how medicine, the city, and energy could change over the next 50 years.

In 2008, Kaku hosted the three-hour BBC-TV documentary Visions of the Future, on the future of computers, medicine, and quantum physics, and he appeared in several episodes of the History Channel's Universe series.

On December 1, 2009, he began hosting a 12-episode weekly TV series for the Science Channel at 10 pm, called Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, based on his best-selling book. Each 30-minute episode discusses the scientific basis behind imaginative schemes, such as time travel, parallel universes, warp drive, star ships, light sabers, force fields, teleportation, invisibility, death stars, and even superpowers and flying saucers. Each episode includes interviews with the world's top scientists working on prototypes of these technologies, interviews with science fiction fans, clips from science fiction movies, and special effects and computer graphics. Although these inventions are impossible today, the series discusses when these technologies might become feasible in the future.^[14]

In 2010, he began to appear in a series on the website Gametrailers.com called Science of Games, discussing the scientific aspects of various popular video games such as Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Kaku is popular in mainstream media because of his knowledge and his accessible approach to presenting complex subjects in science. While his technical writings are confined to theoretical physics, his public speaking and media appearances cover a broad range of topics, from the Kardashev scale to more esoteric subjects such as wormholes and time travel. In January 2007, Kaku visited Oman. While there, he talked at length to select members of that country's decision makers. In an interview with local media, Dr Kaku elaborated on his vision of mankind's future. Kaku considers climate change and terrorism as serious threats in man's evolution from a Type 0 civilization to Type 1.^[15]

He is pictured in Symphony of Science's newest song (as of September 6, 2011), 'The Quantum World.'

On October 11, 2010, Michio Kaku appeared in the BBC program "What Happened Before the Big Bang" (along with Laura Mersini-Houghton, Andrei Linde, Roger Penrose, Lee Smolin, Neil Turok, and other notable cosmologists and physicists), where he propounded his theory of the universe created out of nothing.^[16]

Social policy advocacy[link]

Kaku has publicly stated his concerns over matters including the anthropogenic cause of global warming, nuclear armament, nuclear power and the general misuse of science.^[17] He was critical of the Cassini–Huygens space probe because of the 72 pounds (33 kg) of plutonium contained in the craft for use by its radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Conscious of the possibility of casualties if the probe's fuel were dispersed into the environment during a malfunction and crash as the probe was making a 'sling-shot' maneuver around earth, Kaku publicly criticized NASA's risk assessment.^[18] He has also spoken on the dangers of space junk and called for more and better monitoring. Kaku is generally a vigorous supporter of the exploration of outer space, believing that the ultimate destiny of the human race may lie in extrasolar planets; but he is critical of some of the cost-ineffective missions and methods of NASA.

Kaku credits his anti-nuclear war position to programs he heard on the Pacifica Radio network, during his student years in California. It was during this period that he made the decision to turn away from a career developing the next generation of nuclear weapons in association with Edward Teller and focused on research, teaching, writing and media.^{[citation needed]} Kaku joined with others such as Helen Caldicott, Jonathan Schell, Peace Action and was instrumental in building a global anti-nuclear weapons movement that arose in the 1980s, during the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Kaku was a board member of Peace Action and on the board of radio station WBAI-FM in New York City where he originated his long running program, Explorations, that focused on the issues of science, war, peace and the environment.

His remark from an interview in support of SETI, "We could be in the middle of an intergalactic conversation...and we wouldn't even know.", is used in the third Symphony of Science installment "Our Place in the Cosmos".

Personal life[link]

Kaku is married to Shizue Kaku and has two daughters.^[19]

Bibliography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michio Kaku

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Photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937

Arthur Rubinstein (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982) was a Polish-American classical pianist who received international acclaim for his performances of the music written by a variety of composers; many regard him as the greatest Chopin interpreter of his time.^[1][2] He is widely considered one of the greatest classical pianists of the twentieth century.^[1]

Early life[link]

Rubinstein grew-up on Piotrkowska street, Łódź, Poland

Rubinstein was born in Łódź, Congress Poland (part of the Russian Empire for the entire time Rubinstein resided there) on January 28, 1887, to a family of assimilated Jews. He was the youngest of eight children,^[3] and his father was a wealthy factory owner.^[4]

Rubinstein's birth name was Artur Rubinstein, although in English-speaking countries, he preferred to be known as Arthur Rubinstein. However, his United States impresario Sol Hurok insisted he be billed as Artur, and records were released in the West under both versions of his name.^[5]

At the age of two, Rubinstein demonstrated perfect pitch and a fascination with the piano, watching his elder sister's piano lessons. By the age of four, he was recognised as a child prodigy. Rubinstein first studied piano in Warsaw. His early piano training came from Karl Heinrich Barth.

As a student of Barth, Rubinstein inherited a renowned pedagogical lineage: Barth was himself a pupil of Liszt, who had been taught by Czerny, who had in turn been a pupil of Beethoven. The Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, on hearing the four-year-old child play, was greatly impressed, and began to mentor the young prodigy. In 1894, at the age of 7, Rubinstein had his first public performance.^[6]

At the age of ten, Rubinstein moved to Berlin to continue his studies, and made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1900, at the age of 13.^[1]

Career[link]

In 1904, Rubinstein moved to Paris to launch his career in earnest, where he met the composers Maurice Ravel and Paul Dukas and the violinist Jacques Thibaud. He also played Camille Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 in the presence of the composer. Through the family of Juliusz Wertheim (to whose understanding of Chopin's genius Rubinstein attributed his own inspiration in the works of that composer) he formed friendships with the violinist Paul Kochanski and composer Karol Szymanowski.^[7]

Rubinstein in 1906

Rubinstein made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1906, and thereafter toured the United States, Austria, Italy, and Russia. According to his own testimony and that of his son in François Reichenbach's film L'Amour de la vie (1969), he was not well-received in the United States. By 1908, Rubinstein, destitute and desperate, hounded by creditors, and threatened with being evicted from his Berlin hotel room, made a failed attempt to hang himself. Subsequently he said that he felt "reborn" and endowed with an unconditional love of life. In 1912, he made his London debut, and found a home there in the Edith Grove, Chelsea, musical salon of Paul and Muriel Draper, in company with Kochanski, Igor Stravinsky, Jacques Thibaud, Pablo Casals, Pierre Monteux and others.^[7]

During World War I, Rubinstein stayed in London, giving recitals and accompanying the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. In 1916 and 1917, he made his first tours in Spain and South America where he was wildly acclaimed. It was during those tours that he developed a lifelong enthusiasm for the music of Enrique Granados, Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. He was the dedicatee of Villa-Lobos's Rudepoêma and Stravinsky's Trois mouvements de Petrouchka.

Rubinstein was disgusted by Germany's conduct during the war, and never played there again. His last performance in Germany was in 1914.^[7]

In the fall of 1919 Rubinstein toured the English Provinces with soprano Emma Calvé and tenor Vladimir Rosing.^[8]

In 1921 Rubinstein gave two American tours, travelling to New York with Karol Szymanowski and his close friend Paul Kochanski, who died in 1934. The autumn voyage was the occasion of Kochanski's permanent migration to the USA.^[7]

In 1932, the pianist, who stated he neglected his technique in his early years, relying instead on natural talent, withdrew from concert life for several months of intensive study and practice.

During World War II, Rubinstein's career became centered in the United States. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1946.

A cast of the pianist's hands, at the Łódź museum

Although best known as a recitalist and concerto soloist, Rubinstein was also considered an outstanding chamber musician, partnering with such luminaries as Henryk Szeryng, Jascha Heifetz, Pablo Casals, Gregor Piatigorsky, and the Guarneri Quartet. Rubinstein recorded much of the core piano repertoire, particularly that of the Romantic composers. At the time of his death, the New York Times in describing him wrote, "Chopin was his specialty . . . it was [as] a Chopinist that he was considered by many without peer".^[1] With the exception of the Études, he recorded most of the works of Chopin. ^[9] He was one of the earliest champions of the Spanish and South American composers and of French composers who, in the early twentieth century, were still considered "modern" such as Debussy and Ravel. In addition, Rubinstein was the first champion of the music of his compatriot Karol Szymanowski. Rubinstein, in conversation with Alexander Scriabin, named Brahms as his favorite composer, a response that enraged Scriabin.^[10]

Rubinstein, who was fluent in eight languages,^[11] held much of the repertoire, not simply that of the piano, in his formidable memory.^[11] According to his memoirs, he learned César Franck’s Symphonic Variations while on a train en route to the concert, without the benefit of a piano, practicing passages in his lap. Rubinstein described his memory as photographic, to the extent that he would visualize an errant coffee stain while recalling a score.^[12]

Rubinstein also had exceptionally developed aural abilities, which allowed him to play whole symphonies in his mind. "At breakfast, I might pass a Brahms symphony in my head" he said. "Then I am called to the phone, and half an hour later I find it's been going on all the time and I'm in the third movement." This ability was often tested by Rubinstein's friends, who would randomly pick extracts from opera and symphonic scores and ask him to play them from memory.^[1]

By the mid-1970s, Rubinstein's eyesight had begun to deteriorate. He retired from the stage at age eighty-nine in May 1976, giving his last concert at London's Wigmore Hall, where he had first played nearly seventy years before.

Personal life[link]

Rubinstein in 1963

Family[link]

Of his youth, Rubinstein once said: "It is said of me that when I was young I divided my time impartially among wine, women and song. I deny this categorically. Ninety percent of my interests were women."^[1] At the age of forty-five, in 1932, Rubinstein married Nela Młynarska, a twenty-four-year-old Polish ballerina (who had studied with Mary Wigman). Nela was the daughter of the Polish conductor Emil Młynarski and his wife Anna Hrynewicz, who was from a Lithuanian aristocratic family. Nela had first fallen in love with Rubinstein when she was eighteen, but when Rubinstein began an affair with an Italian princess she married Mieczysław Munz.^[13][14] Nela subsequently divorced Munz and three years later married Rubinstein.^[14] They had five children (one died in infancy), including daughter Eva, who married William Sloane Coffin, and son John Rubinstein, a Tony Award-winning actor and father of actor Michael Weston.^[15] Nela subsequently authored Nela's Cookbook, which included the dishes she prepared for the couple's legendary parties.^[16]

Both before and during his marriage, Rubinstein carried on a series of affairs with women, including Irene Curzon. In 1977, at age 90, he left his wife for the young Annabelle Whitestone, though he and Nela never divorced. Rubinstein also fathered a daughter with a South American woman,^[6] and he may have been the father of Muriel Draper's son, Sanders, who perished in World War II.^[6]

Jewish affiliation[link]

While he was an agnostic, Rubinstein was nevertheless proud of his Jewish heritage.^[17] He was a great friend of Israel,^[18] which he visited several times with his wife and children, giving concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, recitals, and master classes at the Jerusalem Music Centre.

Polish affinity[link]

Throughout his life, Rubinstein was deeply attached to Poland. At the inauguration of the UN in 1945, Rubinstein showed his Polish patriotism at a concert for the delegates. He began the concert by stating his deep disappointment that the conference did not have a delegation from Poland. Rubinstein later described becoming overwhelmed by a blind fury and angrily pointing out to the public the absence of the Polish flag. He then sat down at the piano and played the Polish national anthem loudly and slowly, repeating the final part in a great thunderous forte. When he had finished, the public rose to their feet and gave him a great ovation.^[19]

On practice[link]

Rubinstein believed that a foremost danger for young pianists is to practice too much. Rubinstein regularly advised that young pianists should practice no more than three hours a day. "I was born very, very lazy and I don't always practice very long," he said, "but I must say, in my defense, that it is not so good, in a musical way, to overpractice. When you do, the music seems to come out of your pocket. If you play with a feeling of 'Oh, I know this,' you play without that little drop of fresh blood that is necessary – and the audience feels it." Of his own practice methods, he said, "At every concert I leave a lot to the moment. I must have the unexpected, the unforeseen. I want to risk, to dare. I want to be surprised by what comes out. I want to enjoy it more than the audience. That way the music can bloom anew. It's like making love. The act is always the same, but each time it's different."^[1][20]

Pupils[link]

Rubinstein was reluctant to teach in his earlier life, refusing to accept William Kapell's request for lessons. It was not until the late 1950s that he accepted his first student Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak. Other students of Rubinstein include François-René Duchâble, Avi Schönfeld, Ann Schein Carlyss, Eugen Indjic, Dean Kramer, and Marc Laforêt. Rubinstein also gave master classes towards the end of his life.^[21]

Death and legacy[link]