When Will We Advance to a Type 1 Civilization on the Kardashev Scale?
From Wikipedia:
The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy a civilization is able to use. It was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964. The scale has three designated categories:
- A Type I civilization—also called a planetary civilization—can use and store all of the energy available on its planet.
- A Type II civilization—also called a stellar civilization—can harness the total energy of its planet's parent star (the most popular hypothetical concept being the Dyson sphere—a device which would encompass the entire star and transfer its energy to the planet(s)).
- A Type III civilization—also called a galactic civilization—can control energy on the scale of its entire host galaxy
This is a very intriguing question...
as long as you are a Type 0 civilization.
... and believe that the sun is a giant ball of gas making energy by nuclear fusion.
... and believe gravity holds the solar system together
... and believe space is a vacuum
... and believe in the laws of thermodynamics
... and don't believe in God
What if we live on a flat earth and the sun is only 3000 miles away?
That, the sun we see is actually here, for and only for the earth.
We are already getting all of the energy from the sun.
So, we would already be a Type I civilization and never know it.
What if the electric universe model is correct and gravity does not keep the solar system together?
Then there is BOTH a lot more energy in the solar system, and a lot less energy being produced by the sun.
There could be huge amount of untapped energy right here in our solar system, enough to put us at a "Type 3 civilization" without ever having left out planet
What if the laws of thermodynamics are complete bunk at a solar system level?
That energy is constantly being produced and pumped into our solar system? That there is no conservation of energy. That energy is constantly being added?
Or, what if we find out the real laws of the galaxy and find that we do not have to expend so much energy to do the things we want to do?
Instead of huge rockets to launch a little bitty piece of junk into a near earth orbit, what if we, like, tied it to a helium balloon that just floated it out there? Well, there are scientific experiments that have done very much just that. So, we go from using huge amounts of energy, to practically none.
What if we discovered the laws of radiation, and thus learned that radioactive materials, instead of being used as the most expensive steam engine ever produced, could instead be used to directly provide motion? You put a tiny chunk of plutonium in your car, and drive forever. Not by decay, but by directing its emissions.
What if we could get light from a bulb just by playing it a tune? Tesla did it. A bulb filled with just air. Light, anywhere you want it, and at an efficiency that makes LEDs seem wasteful.
What would extreme reduction of energy needs do to the idea of Kardashev Scale?
If we could do 10x as much for 1/10 the energy, that shifts the scale over two factors.
What if, instead of burning "fossil" fuels to heat homes and provide electricity that we found a completely free and green source? Like say, geothermal or ocean-wave motion.
What if we finally learn how to tap into universal energy, and create a free energy device? What does the existence of this item do to the Kardashev Scale?
Why would anyone go through the trouble of creating a Dyson sphere when, far easier, and far more elegantly, we just have a box that produces the amount of energy we need.
So, right as scientists are jumping for joy that we are moving closer to a Type 1 civilization we will discover that the whole scale is pretty much meaningless. That we have plotted both end points wrong, and the ruler in between doesn't even exist.
Lastly, what if the amount of energy we have is based on exactly how much energy we need? Like, there is a force in the universe that cares for every living thing showering each and every one of them with the amount of energy that they need.
Galaxy from wikiacommons