Kardashev scale - wikipedia.org ![rw-book-cover|200x400](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Consommations_%C3%A9nerg%C3%A9tiques_des_trois_types_de_l%27%C3%A9chelle_de_Kardashev.svg/1200px-Consommations_%C3%A9nerg%C3%A9tiques_des_trois_types_de_l%27%C3%A9chelle_de_Kardashev.svg.png) ## Metadata - Author: **wikipedia.org** - Full Title: Kardashev scale - Category: #articles - URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale ## Highlights - The **Kardashev scale** is a method of measuring a [civilization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization)'s level of [technological](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology) advancement based on the amount of [energy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy) it is able to use. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjygyvc0ehecn9twggagjd08)) - A civilization "close to the level presently attained on Earth, with energy consumption at ≈4×1019 [erg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erg)/sec" (4×1012 watts).[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Kard_TransInfoCiv-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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_irradiance) on Earth, between 1016 and 1017 watts. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjyh7qzm8p2r9554fj5rtr2m)) - A civilization capable of harnessing the energy radiated by its own star—for example, by means of the successful completion of a [Dyson sphere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere) or [Matrioshka brain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrioshka_brain)—with energy consumption at ≈4×1033 erg/sec.[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Kard_TransInfoCiv-8) Lemarchand defined civilizations of this type as being 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun), about 4×1033 erg/sec (4×1026 [watts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt)). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjyh7y6khqxc8xt7qfp249s4)) - A civilization in possession of energy at the scale of its own [galaxy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy), with energy consumption at ≈4×1044 erg/sec.[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Kard_TransInfoCiv-8) Lemarchand defined civilizations of this type as having access to power comparable to the luminosity of the entire [Milky Way](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way) galaxy, about 4×1044 erg/sec (4×1037 watts).[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale#cite_note-Lemarchand-9) 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. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjyh9bfek61k88hxyh5em6kb)) - According to the astronomer [Carl Sagan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan), humanity is currently going through a phase of technical adolescence, "typical of a civilization about to integrate the type I Kardashev scale." At the current time, humanity has not yet reached Type I civilization status. Physicist and futurist [Michio Kaku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hjyha8fmg3v9719w44hjd6zs))