The Kardashev Scale is a simple tool that is used to measure the level of advancement of an alien species. There are 3 main types and 2 added on types: Type 1 - A civilization that can store all of its planets energy. Type 2 - A civilization that is able to use the energy of its planetary system (solar system). Type 3 - A civilization that can manipulate the energies of their entire galaxy. The two additional types include Type 4 - A civilization that can manipulate their entire universe. Type 5 - A civilization that can alter multiple different universes. Tip: Don't ponder about that for too long.

What is the Kardashev Scale?

sciencefiction

Science Fiction

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization">civilization </a>'s level of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology">technological </a>advancement based on the amount of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy">energy </a>it is able to use. The measure was proposed by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union">Soviet </a><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomer">astronomer </a><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Kardashev">Nikolai Kardashev </a>in 1964.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Kard_TransInfoCiv-1">[1] </a>

The scale has three designated categories. This is the first 3 of 6 parts of the Kardashev scale.

<ul><li>A Type I civilization , also called a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_civilization">planetary civilization </a>, can use and store all of the energy available on its <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet">planet </a>. </li><li>A Type II civilization , also called a stellar civilization, can use and control energy at the scale of its <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_system">planetary system </a>. </li><li>A Type III civilization , also called a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_civilization">galactic civilization </a>, can control energy at the scale of its entire host <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy">galaxy </a>. </li> </ul>

In 1964, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Kardashev">Kardashev </a>defined three levels of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization">civilization </a>, based on the order of magnitude of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_(physics)">power </a>available to each:

Kardashev believed that a Type 4 civilization was impossible, so he did not go past Type 3. However, new types (0, IV, V, VI) have been proposed.[<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed </a> ]

At the current time, humanity has not yet reached Type I civilization status. Physicist and futurist <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku">Michio Kaku </a>suggested that, if humans increase their energy consumption at an average rate of 3 percent each year, they may attain Type I status in 100–200 years, Type II status in a few thousand years, and Type III status in 100,000 to a million years.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Interstellar_Travel-3">[3] </a>

<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan">Carl Sagan </a>suggested defining intermediate values (not considered in Kardashev's original scale) by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpolation">interpolating </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrapolation">extrapolating </a>the values given above for types I (1016  W), II (1026  W) and III (1036  W), which would produce the formula

where value K is a civilization's Kardashev rating and P is the power it uses, in watts. Using this extrapolation, a "Type 0 " civilization, not defined by Kardashev, would control about 1 MW of power, and humanity's civilization type as of 2021 is about 0.73 (apparently using 20.0 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt#Terawatt">terawatts </a>(TW) as the value for 2020s humanity).<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-books.google.com-4">[4] </a>

In 2019, the total <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_consumption">world energy consumption </a>was 14864.9 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Tonnes_of_Oil_Equivalent">Mtoe </a>(175,249 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt_hour#Watt_hour_multiples_and_billing_units">TWh </a>),<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-5">[5] </a> equivalent to an average power consumption of 20.0 TW or 0.73 on Sagan's interpolated Kardashev scale.

In 2015, a study of galactic mid-<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared">infrared </a>emissions came to the conclusion that "Kardashev Type-III civilizations are either very rare or do not exist in the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe">local Universe </a>".<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-6">[6] </a>

In 2016, Paul Gilster, author of the Centauri Dreams website, described a signal apparently from the star <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_164595">HD 164595 </a>as requiring the power of a Type I or Type II civilization, if produced by extraterrestrial lifeforms.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-7">[7] </a> However, in August 2016 it was discovered that the signal's origin was most likely a military satellite orbiting the Earth.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-8">[8] </a>

<ul><li>Large-scale application of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_power">fusion power </a>. According to <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalence">mass–energy equivalence </a>, Type I implies the conversion of about 2 kg of matter to energy per second. An equivalent energy release could theoretically be achieved by fusing approximately 280 kg of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen">hydrogen </a><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton%E2%80%93proton_chain_reaction">into </a><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium">helium </a>per second,<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-9">[9] </a> a rate roughly equivalent to 8.9× 109  kg/year. A cubic km of water contains about 1011  kg of hydrogen, and the Earth's <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean">oceans </a>contain about <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean#Physical_properties">1.3× 109  cubic km of water </a>, meaning that humans on Earth could sustain this rate of consumption over geological time-scales, in terms of available hydrogen. </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter">Antimatter </a>in large quantities would provide a mechanism to produce power on a scale several magnitudes above the current level of technology.[<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed </a> ] In antimatter-matter collisions, the entire <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rest_mass">rest mass </a>of the particles is converted to <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant_energy">radiant energy </a>. Their <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density">energy density </a>(energy released per mass) is about four orders of magnitude greater than that from using <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission">nuclear fission </a>, and about two orders of magnitude greater than the best possible yield from <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion">fusion </a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-10">[10] </a> The reaction of 1 <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilogram">kg </a>of anti-matter with 1 kg of matter would produce 1.8× 1017  <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule">J </a>(180 petajoules) of energy.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-11">[11] </a> Although antimatter is sometimes proposed as a source of energy, this does not appear feasible. Artificially producing antimatter—according to current understanding of the laws of physics—involves first converting energy into mass, which yields no net energy. Artificially created antimatter is only usable as a medium of energy storage, not as an energy source, unless future technological developments (contrary to the conservation of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baryon_number">baryon number </a>, such as a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CP_violation">CP violation </a>in favor of antimatter) allow the conversion of ordinary matter into anti-matter. Theoretically, humans may in the future have the capability to cultivate and harvest a number of naturally occurring sources of antimatter.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-12">[12] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-13">[13] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-14">[14] </a> </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy">Renewable energy </a>through converting sunlight into electricity—either by using <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell">solar cells </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrating_solar_power">concentrating solar power </a>or indirectly through <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel">biofuel </a>, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power">wind </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectric_power">hydroelectric power </a>. There is no known way for <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization">human civilization </a>to use the equivalent of the Earth's total absorbed solar energy without completely coating the surface with human-made structures, which is not feasible with current technology. However, if a civilization constructed very large <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power">space-based solar power </a><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite">satellites </a>, Type I power levels might become achievable—these could convert sunlight to microwave power and beam that to collectors on Earth. </li> </ul>

<ul><li>Type II civilizations might use the same techniques employed by a Type I civilization, but applied to a large number of planets in a large number of planetary systems. </li><li>A <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere">Dyson sphere </a>or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_swarm">Dyson swarm </a>and similar constructs are hypothetical <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megastructure">megastructures </a>originally described by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson">Freeman Dyson </a>as a system of orbiting <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_satellite">solar power satellites </a>meant to enclose a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star">star </a>completely and capture most or all of its energy output.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-15">[15] </a> </li><li>Another means to generate usable energy would be to feed a stellar mass into a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole">black hole </a>, and collect photons emitted by the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accretion_disc">accretion disc </a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-16">[16] </a> <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-17">[17] </a> Less exotic would be simply to capture photons already escaping from the accretion disc, reducing a black hole's <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_momentum">angular momentum </a>; this is known as the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrose_process">Penrose process </a>. </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_lifting">Star lifting </a>is a process where an advanced civilization could remove a substantial portion of a star's matter in a controlled manner for other uses. </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter">Antimatter </a>is likely to be produced as an industrial <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byproduct">byproduct </a>of a number of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megascale_engineering">megascale engineering </a>processes (such as the aforementioned star lifting) and, therefore, could be recycled.[<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed </a> ] </li><li>In <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_system">multiple-star systems </a>of a sufficiently large number of stars, absorbing a small but significant fraction of the output of each individual star. </li> </ul>

<ul><li>Type III civilizations might use the same techniques employed by a Type II civilization, but applied to all possible stars of one or more galaxies individually.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-kardashev1984-18">[18] </a> </li><li>They may also be able to tap into the energy released from the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermassive_black_hole">supermassive black holes </a>believed to exist at the center of most galaxies. </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_holes">White holes </a>could theoretically provide large amounts of energy from collecting the matter propelling outwards. </li><li>Capturing the energy of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst">gamma-ray bursts </a>is another theoretically possible power source for a highly advanced civilization. </li><li>The emissions from <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasars">quasars </a>are comparable to small active galaxies and could provide a massive power source if collectible. </li> </ul>

There are many historical examples of human civilization undergoing large-scale transitions, such as the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution">Industrial Revolution </a>. The transition between Kardashev scale levels could potentially represent similarly dramatic periods of social upheaval since they entail surpassing the hard limits of the resources available in a civilization's existing territory. A common speculation<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-19">[19] </a> suggests that the transition from Type 0 to Type I might carry a strong risk of self-destruction since, in some scenarios, there would no longer be room for further expansion on the civilization's home planet, as in a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_catastrophe">Malthusian catastrophe </a>. Excessive use of energy without adequate heat disposal, for example, could plausibly make the planet of a civilization approaching Type I unsuitable to the biology of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human">dominant life-forms </a>and their food sources. If Earth is an example, then sea temperatures in excess of 35 °C (95 °F) would jeopardize marine life and make the cooling of mammals to temperatures suitable for their <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolism">metabolism </a>difficult if not impossible. Of course, these <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretical">theoretical </a>speculations may not become problems, possibly through the applications of future <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering">engineering </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology">technology </a>. Also, by the time a civilization reaches Type I it may have colonized other planets or created <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder">O'Neill-type colonies </a>, so that waste heat could be distributed throughout the planetary system.

The limitation of biological life-forms and the evolution of computing technology may lead to the transformation of the civilization through <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading">mind uploading </a>and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligence">artificial general intelligence </a>in general during the transition from Type I to Type II, leading to a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrioshka_brain">digitalized civilization </a>.

Many extensions and modifications to the Kardashev scale have been proposed.

<ul><li>Types 0, IV, and V Kardashev rating: The most straightforward extension of the scale to even more hypothetical Type IV beings who can control or use the entire universe or Type V who control collections of universes. This would also include Type 0 civilizations, who do not rank on the Kardashev scale. The power output of the visible <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe">universe </a>is within a few orders of magnitude of 1045  W. Such a civilization approaches or surpasses the limits of speculation based on current scientific understanding and may not be possible. <ul><li>Zoltán Galántai has argued that such a civilization could not be detected, as its activities would be indistinguishable from the workings of nature (there being nothing to compare them to).<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Zoltan-20">[20] </a> </li><li>In his book Parallel Worlds , <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku">Michio Kaku </a>has discussed a Type IV civilization that could harness "extragalactic" energy sources such as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_energy">dark energy </a>.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-ParallelWorlds-21">[21] </a> </li> </ul> </li> </ul>

Kardashev alternative rating characteristics

Other proposed changes to the scale use different metrics such as 'mastery' of systems, amount of information used, or progress in control of the very small as opposed to the very large:

<ul><li>Planet mastery (Robert Zubrin): Metrics other than pure power usage have also been proposed. One is 'mastery' of a planet, system or galaxy rather than considering energy alone.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Entering_Space-22">[22] </a> </li><li>Information mastery (Carl Sagan): Alternatively, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan">Carl Sagan </a>suggested adding another dimension in addition to pure energy usage: the information available to the civilization. <ul><li>He assigned the letter A to represent 106 unique bits of information (less than any recorded human culture) and each successive letter to represent an order of magnitude increase so that a level Z civilization would have 1031 bits. </li><li>In this classification, 1973 Earth is a 0.7 H civilization, with access to 1013 bits of information, in 2018, Earth was a 0.73 J civilization. </li><li>Sagan believed that no civilization has yet reached level Z, conjecturing that so much unique information would exceed that of all the intelligent species in a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_supercluster">galactic supercluster </a>and observing that the universe is not old enough to exchange information effectively over larger distances. </li><li>The information and energy axes are not strictly interdependent so that even a level Z civilization would not need to be Kardashev Type III.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-books.google.com-4">[4] </a> </li> </ul> </li><li>Microdimensional mastery (John Barrow): <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Barrow">John D. Barrow </a>observed that humans have found it more cost-effective to extend their abilities to manipulate their environment over increasingly small scales rather than increasingly large ones. He, therefore, proposes a reverse classification downward from Type I-minus to Type Omega-minus: <ul><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_engineering">Type I-minus </a> is capable of manipulating objects over the scale of themselves: building structures, mining, joining and breaking solids; </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_engineering">Type II-minus </a> is capable of manipulating genes and altering the development of living things, transplanting or replacing parts of themselves, reading and engineering their genetic code; </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_engineering">Type III-minus </a> is capable of manipulating molecules and molecular bonds, creating new materials; </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology">Type IV-minus </a> is capable of manipulating individual atoms, creating nanotechnologies on the atomic scale, and creating complex forms of artificial life; </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_physics">Type V-minus </a> is capable of manipulating the atomic nucleus and engineering the nucleons that compose it; </li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_physics">Type VI-minus </a> is capable of manipulating the most elementary particles of matter (quarks and leptons) to create organized complexity among populations of elementary particles; culminating in: </li><li>Type Omega-minus is capable of manipulating the basic structure of space and time.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Impossibility:_Limits_of_Science_and_the_Science_of_Limits-23">[23] </a> </li> </ul> </li> </ul>

<ul><li>Civilizational range (Robert Zubrin): <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Zubrin">Robert Zubrin </a>adapts the Kardashev scale to refer to how widespread a civilization is in space, rather than to its energy use. <ul><li>In his definition, a Type I civilization has spread across its planet. </li><li>A Type II has extensive colonies in its respective stellar system, and </li><li>A Type III has colonized its galaxy.<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Entering_Space-22">[22] </a> </li> </ul> </li> </ul>

It has been argued that we cannot predict their behavior because we cannot understand advanced civilizations. Thus, the Kardashev scale may not be relevant or useful for classifying extraterrestrial civilizations. This central argument is found in the 2002 book <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolving_the_Alien:_The_Science_of_Extraterrestrial_Life">Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life </a> .<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Cohen_and_Stewart-24">[24] </a>

Kardashev scale

What is the Kardashev Scale?

Sidharth Bharatwaj's ideas are part of this journey:

Related collections

Similar ideas