How the Kardashev Scale Will Determine Our Future
By: Trevor Mahoney
Tags: Astronomy, Space, Ideas, Science, Future

One of the most fascinating theories regarding space is that of the Kardashev scale. Meant to describe what alien civilizations would look like, it labels our own in comparison to what may be in the cosmos.

What is the Kardashev Scale?

Proposed originally by Russian astrophysicist, Nikolai Kardashev, this scale measures potential civilizations by energy output in 3 stages.

He believed that a civilization is measured on a cosmic level by its’ energy usage and the technology it uses. According to Kardashev, these two aspects ran parallel to one another.

As more energy is produced, higher levels of technology are needed to produce it. Therefore, a society that has a high energy output must have matching technology.

In other words, more energy output = more technologically advanced.

Here’s the sad part…humans aren’t even on this scale yet.

We still harvest most of our energy from dead animals, plants, and the Earth itself. Society as we know it is a Type 0 civilization. Ouch.

Current estimates on when we may even be promoted onto the scale aren’t for another few hundred years. That being said, what does each stage of the Kardashev Scale mean and how is it applicable to our future?

Type I Civilization

This relatively low-level civilization that we have almost achieved is characterized by one that harnesses the complete energy of its’ neighboring star. Basically solar power.

Essentially, natural disasters can be converted into energy rather than destruction by civilizations of this caliber. Our energy production would need to be 100,000 times what it is now to achieve this.

Yeah, that’s the low level of this scale…start imagining the rest.

A very important characteristic, and perhaps why we haven’t achieved it, is that a Type I civilization has the ability to store enough energy for its’ growing population.

In other words, overpopulation is no longer a problem.

The entire planets’ resources would be utilized for energy and the light from our star as well.

While it may sound extremely far fetched, energy production is largely exponential and one or two large breakthroughs could help us achieve this stage.

Type II Civilization

This form of civilization is similar to Type I in the sense that a civilization of this rank controls the energy from its’ star. However, it goes beyond just converting solar energy.

Type II civilizations have the ability to directly manipulate their star and convert its’ energy to something more powerful than anything we’ve seen.

An idea would be a device that can capture the energy released from fusion which powers stars. This energy could then theoretically be transferred back to a home planet for use.

If gathered this way, the energy would be far more powerful than any form of solar energy we have seen.

Having the ability to actually manipulate a star means that all-natural universal disasters would no longer pose a threat to the planet.

The capability of celestial manipulation means that any asteroid on a collision path with us could be vaporized, for example. We are an estimated 1000–2000 years away from this level of technology, provided we don’t wipe ourselves out first.

Type III Civilization

Finally, we get to the big dogs of the universe. Advanced civilizations of this level have harnessed all the energy available from their galaxy in a sustainable way.

Complete colonization and the energy gathered from hundreds of millions of stars power a civilization of this magnitude. A society this advanced is at least a million years ahead of us in development.

One of the only ways society would successfully reach this point is by overcoming light-speed travel, which may entail using wormholes or some other form of travel.

The technology used by a society such as this would most likely appear as magic to us at our current level. Truthfully, if beings of this strength came across us they would probably terraform our world due to our low development.

It’s worth noting that in recent years, researches have extended the scale by two notches: Type IV and Type V. Universal and Multiversal civilizations, respectively, these groups would transcend time and space as we know it.

Given that civilizations of those types aren’t even comprehensible, scientists haven’t officially added them to the scale.

The truth of the matter is that we are a Type 0. We’ve wasted centuries fighting one another for resources, attempting to beat one another when we really should have been collaborating.

Any hope we have of advancing into the stars and onto the scale requires that we work together. Achieving a Type I civilization would put an end to our resource use and overpopulation problems, but only if we can put our differences aside.

The future of our society depends on it. We’ll see how it all plays out.