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I agree with you and I also don't think that existence of intelligent life will necessarily lead to all stars being surrounded by Dyson spheres. Maybe there are

I agree with you and I also don't think that existence of intelligent life will necessarily lead to all stars being surrounded by Dyson spheres. Maybe there are other sources of energy that are easier to harvest for an advanced civilization. However, in case there actually is a Dyson sphere around a star, it will probably emit energy in the form of infrared radiation and we should be able to detect it. Especially if there are billions of stars like that.

danieltillett 10y ago
You can only detect a Dyson sphere in the infrared if the Dyson sphere is relative close into the star. If the outer sphere is at the orbit of Pluto then the emission would be close to the cosmic microwave background [1]. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background
- Phlarp 10y ago
  Where are you going to find the material to build a sphere around a star the size of Pluto's orbit? How are you going to arrange this material into energy harvesting equipment in a way that results in a net positive energy outcome?
  - danieltillett 10y ago
    The energy collector sphere only needs to be one atom thick and spaced just below the wavelength you want to capture. There is more than enough matter in our solar system to do this at the orbit of Pluto if you use a series of shells.
    - Tloewald 10y ago
      And you do this why? You're making the assumption that capturing all of a star's energy is somehow a good thing. Something worth devoting goodness knows what effort to. And whoops another comet destroyed a ludicrously big section of it.
      - Phlarp 10y ago
        There will, of course, be a fleet of space faring repair robots with infinite delta-v that can zip around the solar system and patch these things up! Doesn't a pluto orbit sized energy collection unit leave a lot of energy on the table? Something about inverse squares..?
        danieltillett 10y ago
        No. A. Pluto sized Dyson sphere is actually 99.5% Carnot efficient [1]. 1. https://www.tillett.info/2016/08/03/carnot-efficient-dyson-spheres-are-undetectable-by-infrared-surveys/ https://www.tillett.info/2016/08/03/carnot-efficient-dyson-s...

danieltillett 10y ago

You can only detect a Dyson sphere in the infrared if the Dyson sphere is relative close into the star. If the outer sphere is at the orbit of Pluto then the emission would be close to the cosmic microwave background [1]. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background

Phlarp 10y ago
Where are you going to find the material to build a sphere around a star the size of Pluto's orbit? How are you going to arrange this material into energy harvesting equipment in a way that results in a net positive energy outcome?
- danieltillett 10y ago
  The energy collector sphere only needs to be one atom thick and spaced just below the wavelength you want to capture. There is more than enough matter in our solar system to do this at the orbit of Pluto if you use a series of shells.
  - Tloewald 10y ago
    And you do this why? You're making the assumption that capturing all of a star's energy is somehow a good thing. Something worth devoting goodness knows what effort to. And whoops another comet destroyed a ludicrously big section of it.
    - Phlarp 10y ago
      There will, of course, be a fleet of space faring repair robots with infinite delta-v that can zip around the solar system and patch these things up! Doesn't a pluto orbit sized energy collection unit leave a lot of energy on the table? Something about inverse squares..?
      - danieltillett 10y ago
        No. A. Pluto sized Dyson sphere is actually 99.5% Carnot efficient [1]. 1. https://www.tillett.info/2016/08/03/carnot-efficient-dyson-spheres-are-undetectable-by-infrared-surveys/ https://www.tillett.info/2016/08/03/carnot-efficient-dyson-s...