The Kardashev scale

The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is able to use. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964 and came to bear his name.

The scale is hypothetical, and regards energy consumption on a cosmic scale. Various extensions of the scale have since been proposed, including a wider range of power levels (types 0, IV to V) and the use of metrics other than pure power (e.g., computational growth or food consumption). Kardashev first outlined his scale in a paper presented at the 1964 Byurakan conference, a scientific meeting that reviewed the Soviet radio astronomy space listening program. This paper, entitled "Передача информации внеземными цивилизациями" ("Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations"),[1] proposes a classification of civilizations into three types, based on the postulate of exponential progression:

A type I civilization is able to access all the energy available on its planet and store it for consumption. Hypothetically, they should also be able to control natural events such as earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.

A type II civilization can directly consume the energy of a star, most likely through the use of a Dyson sphere.

A type III civilization is able to capture all the energy emitted by its galaxy, including energy from any objects in that galaxy, such as every star, black holes, etc.

Type I

A civilization "close to the level presently attained on Earth, with energy consumption at ≈4×1019 erg/sec" (4×1012 watts).[9] A Type I civilization is usually defined as one that can harness all the energy that reaches its home planet from its parent star (for Earth, this value is around 2×1017 watts), which is about four orders of magnitude higher than the amount presently attained on Earth, with energy consumption at ≈2×1013 watts as of 2020. The astronomer Guillermo A. Lemarchand defined Type I as a level near contemporary terrestrial civilization with an energy capability equivalent to the solar insolation on Earth, between 1016 and 1017 watts.

Type II

A civilization capable of harnessing the energy radiated by its own large star—for example, by means of the successful completion of a Dyson sphere or Matrioshka brain—with energy consumption at ≈4×1033 erg/sec.[9] Lemarchand defined civilizations of this type as being capable of using and channelling the entire radiation output of its star. The energy use would then be comparable to the luminosity of the Sun, about 4×1033 erg/sec (4×1026 watts).

Type III

A civilization in possession of energy at the scale of its own galaxy, with energy consumption at ≈4×1044 erg/sec.[9] Lemarchand defined civilizations of this type as having access to power comparable to the luminosity of the entire Milky Way galaxy, about 4×1044 erg/sec (4×1037 watts).[10] Kardashev believed that a Type 4 civilization was impossible[citation needed], so he did not go past Type 3. However, new types (0, IV, V, VI) have been proposed.

At the current time, humanity has not yet reached Type I civilization status. Physicist and futurist Michio Kaku 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.

Source: wikipedia

The Kardashev scale

Type I

Type II

Type III

The Kardashev scale is very interesting!