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
SovietastronomerNikolai Kardashev in 1964
[1] and came to bear his name.
Categories defined by Kardashev[edit]
The hypothetical classification known as the Kardashev scale distinguishes three stages of the evolution of civilizations according to the double criterion of the access and the use of the
energy.
[3][4] The purpose of this classification is to guide the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, particularly within
SETI, in which Kardashev participated,
[5] and this on the assumption that a fraction of the energy used by each type is intended to communicate with other civilizations. To make this scale more understandable, Lemarchand compares the speed of transmission across the galaxy of a volume of information equivalent to a medium-sized
library. A type II civilization can send this data by means of a transmission beam emitting for only 100 seconds. A similar amount of information can be sent across
intergalactic distances of about ten million light years, with a transmission time of several weeks. A type III civilization can transmit this same amount of data to the entire
observable universe with a transmission time of 3 seconds.
[3][6]
Kardashev's classification is based on the assumption of a growth rate of 1% per year. Kardashev believed that it will take humanity 3,200 years to reach Type II, and 5,800 years to reach Type III.
[7] These types are thus separated from each other by a growth rate of several billion.
[7]
Type I[edit]
A civilization "close to the level presently attained on Earth, with energy consumption at ≈4×1019
erg/sec" (4×1012 watts).
[8] 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.
[9]
Type II[edit]
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.
[8] 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).
[9]
Type III[edit]
A civilization in possession of energy at the scale of its own
galaxy, with energy consumption at ≈4×1044 erg/sec.
[8] 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).
[9]
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.[10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale
