What is Ki, from a physicist’s standpoint? Most scientists believe that there are only two kinds of substance in the universe: matter and energy. I, however, believe that light cannot be classified completely into either category, since light has characteristics of being both a particle and a wave. Similarly, Ki is not so simple to define. While it is often referred to as "life energy," Ki can at times have characteristics of matter. Therefore, I will place light and Ki into a category of particle-wave duality. My reasoning for this is because Ki can be manipulated into many different forms. The most common form of external Ki, aside from the Ki field, is the orb of Ki, commonly called a Ki blast. Roughly spherical in shape, it is basically concentrated Ki transformed into a sort of high explosive. When at rest, the Ki blast has an unbelievable amount of potential energy, on the same order of magnitude as a nuclear missile. Considering that Ki blasts always travel at high velocities, we can assume that the initial acceleration is extremely large in order to boost the Ki blast to its high initial velocity in an infinitesimal amount of time. According to Newtonian physics, we can also assume that at that point in time, the force, regardless of the mass, is considerably large. Since the velocity and potential energy are very large, we can assume that when a Ki blast is set into motion, its kinetic energy grows to unbelievable levels, but the potential energy is so large that it never disappears entirely. We know this is true because of the explosive qualities of a Ki blast, even after having traveled a long distance. Ki can also take the form of a beam. The most common examples of this are the Makankosappo or several attacks by Frieza and Cooler. The physics for Ki beams and Ki waves (such as the Kamehameha) are little different from the physics behind the Ki orb; therefore, we will skip a hefty analysis of waves and beams in favor of jumping to Ki fields.

When watching the Z Fighters power up, one cannot help but notice that gravity seems to be affected by their auras. I theorize that these auras, hereafter referred to as Ki fields, affect gravity because compared to most other natural forces (e.g. electromagnetism and nuclear forces), gravity is comparatively weak. Although it seems to be strong, gravity does not act instantaneously, whereas electromagnetism does. Therefore, under the energy nature of Ki, Ki fields create an attractive force that counteracts gravitational attraction. This is evidenced by the ability to manipulate objects such as rocks and boulders with an applied Ki field. Ki fields, in a sense, act as a more powerful force of gravity, pulling rocks into orbit around the individual as if they were planets around a star. The attractive nature of Ki fields also work in deflecting Ki attacks of various natures. This works much in the way the deflector shields in Star Trek are assumed to operate, with the Ki field acting as the gravitons.

In accordance with the Ki field acting as gravitons, it makes sense that training under increased gravity would boost Ki fields. Assume the attractive force by a Ki field is initially equal to 1 G in a room where we can freely adjust the gravity. If we increase the gravitational acceleration in the room to 2 G (assuming G= 10 m/s²), the acceleration of the Ki field must increase to 20 m/s² in order to remain equal and opposite. Extended exposure to the increased gravitational field will generally let the attractive force converge with the gravitational force once again. Therefore, the increase of the Ki field’s intensity is proportional to the increase in gravity. However, if one goes up too high too fast, the Ki field does not have enough time to acclimate and can reabsorbed into the body, causing unconsciousness, serious injury, or death.

Instant Transmission, also known as Instantaneous Movement, is defined as travel at the speed of light. Under relativity, the speed of light is the universal speed limit. But, as the velocity of an object approaches the speed of light, time dilates. The travel time seems to be shorter for the traveller, but the actual time is longer. This is especially notable on large distances, such as a light-year or longer. The trip may seem instantaneous to the traveler, but for the "stationary" observers in an inertial reference frame, the time takes longer. Also, Instant Transmission cannot be truly "instant." The various planets of DBZ are light-years apart, and it would take decades to reach them at the universal speed limit. Even a trip to the sun would not be instantaneous, as the light from the sun takes eight minutes to travel to Earth. My theory is that Instant Transmission takes the user into a higher dimension, a dimension where trans-light travel of space-time is far easier to obtain. This is highly possible, considering that our universe resides in four dimensions (or three and ½ dimensions, if you, like me, count time as a semi-dimension). In addition, it has been theorized that there are 22 dimensions above our space-time plane. According to my theory, Instant Transmission takes the user into a higher dimension (we will assume this is the fifth dimension). From the fifth dimension, the user can actually travel outside the universe much faster than one ever could inside it and is thereby able to travel truly instantaneously.

The physics of Ki may seem complicated, but it is actually very easy to explain the actions of Ki with simple, introductory level physics. In fact, in this analysis, the most complicated physics used were relativity and references to M-theory. Of course, a more in-depth analysis could be done by experimentation. Since experimentation is not possible at this time, I instead worked off of examples from the Dragon Ball Z series. I am convinced that if such an application of Ki were possible, experimentation would confirm what I have already proven.