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Kardashev scale
- DiabloD3 16y agoSo when is Google going to start building the framework that gets us to Type I? ;)
- bane 16y agoThis scale can be a wonderful focal point to explore different kinds of energy technologies. Once it gets to type I, the mega-structures we think would be required stir the imagination.
- collypops 16y agoI love that the example of Type I is a synopsis of Stargate Universe
- DiabloD3 16y agoI almost misread that as "the example is a synopsis of a television channel canceling the only show worth watching on their entire network to make room for more male drama shows such as wrestling"
- burgerbrain 16y agoThis scale is very cool and all, but speculation about when we will acheive these levels is a guessing game. In the very least it ignores the possibility of a technological singularity, beyond which speculation becomes impossible.
- phrotoma 16y agoI agree about the guessing game, but games are fun! I spent a good long while reading this site that speculates on all sorts of cool future achievements. http://www.futuretimeline.net/ http://www.futuretimeline.net/
- aspiringsensei 16y agoGreat link, I've definitely spent much longer than I expected reading these articles.
- Jsarokin 16y agoIve just spent the last two hours reading all the links that were posted on here. Future Timeline is an awesome site.
- sixtofour 16y agoI think the point of a guessing game like this is to get you thinking.
- iqster 16y agoOne of the coolest sci-fi ideas related to the scale is that of a Dyson Sphere (a megastructure that surronds a star to collect it's energy). I recall personally encountering the idea for the first time in a Star Trek episode. The wikipedia article mentions it. Sends a chill down my spine. Edit: Here's a link to the ST-TNG episode: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Gen...
- Dn_Ab 16y agoAn even more interesting extrapolation of the genre is the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrioshka_brain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrioshka_brain.
- nitrogen 16y agoIs a Dyson sphere or swarm even possible? It seems to me that the sun's gravity could collapse the sphere, since it wouldn't actually be orbiting. A swarm has similar problems: is it possible to orbit within an orbital plane that doesn't intersect the center of gravity of the sun?
- amalcon 16y agoDyson's original concept was basically to completely obscure the star in a cloud of satellites. It would be a little inefficient, insofar as some satellites would obscure others at any given time, but it's at least physically possible. There's been some speculation that the integrity of a Dyson shell (the thing most people know as a Dyson sphere) could be maintained by basically running large masses in orbits along the shell. Again, it would be a little inefficient (you're using some of the star's energy to power "not collapsing"), but we don't necessarily know it's impossible.
- drKarl 16y agoI first read about Kardashev Scale on Michio Kaku's Parallel worlds. Nice starting point to speculation!!
- lukifer 16y agoAlso worth a link: Greydon Square's excellent science-themed hip-hop album of the same name: http://greydonsquare.bandcamp.com/album/the-kardashev-scale http://greydonsquare.bandcamp.com/album/the-kardashev-scale
- kabdib 16y agoI also recommend _Stellar Migration and the Human Experience_, which is chock full of stuff about Dyson spheres, "star lifting" (reducing a star's mass to prolong its life), and discussion of starship design.
- electromagnetic 16y agoThat book was a great piece. The information was fantastic, I can't believe I left it behind when I moved country, and even more I regret it because I've seen people trying to sell copies for $150 when I bought it for $5 new.