The Kardashev Scale

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Explanation

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.

In 1964, Kardashev defined three levels of civilization, based on the order of magnitude of power available to each:

• Type I: Technological level of a civilization that is "close to the level presently attained on Earth, with energy consumption at ≈4×1019 erg/sec" (4×1012 watts). Currently, the civilization of Type I is usually defined as one that can harness all the energy that falls on a planet from its parent star (for Earth–Sun system, this value is close to 1.74×1017 watts), which is about four orders of magnitude higher than the amount presently attained on Earth, with energy consumption at ≈2×1013 watts. The astronomer Guillermo A. Lemarchand stated this 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 star—for example, the stage of successful construction of a Dyson sphere or Matrioshka brain —with energy consumption at ≈4×1033 erg/sec. Lemarchand stated this as a civilization capable of using and channeling 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. Lemarchand stated this as a civilization with access to the power comparable to the luminosity of the entire Milky Way galaxy, about 4×1044 erg/sec (4×1037 watts).

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. As time passed, the Scale was expanded, with Type 0 Civilizations (Those who have yet to master the Geothermal Energy of their home planet) and Type IV Civilizations (Civilizations that can drain the available power of an entire universe) being added.

At the current time, humanity has not yet reached Type 1 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.

Carl Sagan suggested defining intermediate values (not considered in Kardashev's original scale) by interpolating and extrapolating 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 1973 was about 0.7 (apparently using 10 terawatts (TW) as the value for 1970s humanity).

In 2018, the total world energy consumption was 13864.9 Mtoe (161,249 TWh), equivalent to an average power consumption of 18.40 TW or 0.73 on Sagan's interpolated Kardashev scale.

The Scale

• Type 0: 0 – 1E16 watts. A civilization that harnesses significant portion of the energy of its home planet, but not to its full potential.
  • Humanity (Real Life) (Type 0.73)

• Type I: 1E16 – 1E26 watts. A civilization that can harness the entirety of the geothermal energy of Earth.

• Type II: 1E26 – 1E36 watts. A civilization that can harness the energy of a star.

• Type III: 1E36 – 1E46 watts. A civilization that can harness the energy of a galaxy.

• Type IV: 1E46 – 1E56 watts. A civilization that can harness the energy of a galactic supercluster.

• Type V: 1E56 – 1E69 watts. A civilization that can harness all of the energy of its universe.

• Type VI: 3.9 x 1E69 watts and above. A civilization that generates more energy than the universe every second.

• Type VII: Immeasurable. Civilizations beyond any known quantification of joules.