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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kardashev scale | 1/17 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:16:55.587707+00:00 | kb-cron |
The Kardashev scale (Russian: шкала Кардашёва, romanized: shkala Kardashova) is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing and using. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964, and was named after him. Kardashev first outlined his scale in a paper presented at the 1964 conference that communicated findings on BS-29-76, Byurakan Conference in the Armenian SSR, which he initiated, a scientific meeting that reviewed the Soviet radio astronomy space listening program. The paper was titled "Передача информации внеземными цивилизациями" ("Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations"). Starting from a functional definition of civilization, based on the immutability of physical laws and using human civilization as a model for extrapolation, Kardashev's initial model was developed. He proposed a classification of civilizations into three types, based on the axiom of exponential growth:
A Type I civilization (planetary) is able to access all the energy available on its planet and store it for consumption. A Type II civilization (stellar) can directly consume a star's energy, most likely through the use of a Dyson sphere. A Type III civilization (galactic) is able to capture all the energy emitted by its galaxy, and every object within it, such as every star, black hole, etc. Under this scale, the sum of human civilization does not reach Type I status, though it continues to approach it. Extensions of the scale have since been proposed, including a wider range of power levels (Types 0, IV, and V) and the use of metrics other than pure power, e.g., computational growth or food consumption. In a second article, entitled "Strategies of Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence", published in 1980, Kardashev wonders about the ability of a civilization, which he defines by its ability to access energy, to sustain itself, and to integrate information from its environment. Two more articles followed: "On the Inevitability and the Possible Structure of Super Civilizations" and "Cosmology and Civilizations", published in 1985 and 1997, respectively; the Soviet astronomer proposed ways to detect super civilizations and to direct the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) programs. A number of scientists have conducted searches for possible civilizations, but with no conclusive results. However, in part thanks to such searches, unusual objects, now known to be either pulsars or quasars, were identified.
== Origin of the classification ==
=== First publication (1964) ===
Kardashev presented for the first time a classification of civilizations according to the level of the rate of their energy consumption, or ability to harness power, in an article entitled Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations, published in 1964 first in Russian in the March–April issue of the Astronomicheskii Zhurnal, then in English in the September–October 1964 issue of the Soviet Astronomical Journal. In this article, the scientist presents a calculation of the evolution of the power needs of humanity. Assuming that overall human power use will continue to increase, he calculated that the rate of energy consumption will cross specific mileposts. Kardashev proposed a typology of technological civilizations based on the evolutive attainment of the three power harnessing mileposts he described. A civilization known as "Type I" has achieved a technological level close to the one attained on Earth at the time Kardashev's article was submitted (December 1963), with a rate of energy consumption evaluated at about 4 × 1012 watts (W). A civilization known as "Type II" would surpass the first by fourteen orders of magnitude, matching the entire power emitted by the Sun in about 3,200 years, i.e, Earth's home star's "output" at that time, predicted at 4 × 1026 W. Finally, a civilization known as "Type III" reaches the milepost set in 5,800 years when humanity's rate of energy consumption is predicted by the author to match the power emitted by the approximated 1011 stars in the Milky Way galaxy, which involves harnessing power of up to an estimated 4 × 1037 W. Assuming the development of radio, Kardashev predicted that in the following two decades (i.e. in the 1980s) it would be possible to build antennas of 100,000 m2 capable of detecting Type II and III civilizations. A Type I civilization like that of Earth would be able to receive the extraordinary energetic emissions of the other types of civilizations, which would supposedly be able to emit continuously. Kardashev then examined the characteristics of a transmission from an artificial source. He mentioned the two cosmic radio sources discovered in 1963 by the California Institute of Technology, CTA-21 and CTA-102 in particular, which would have characteristics close to those of a presumed artificial source. The most suitable region of the galaxy for observing Type II and III civilizations would then be the Galactic Center, due to the high density of the stellar population it harbors. He then recommended that the search programs for such artificial sources should focus on other nearby galaxies, such as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds, M87, or Centaurus A. Kardashev concluded his paper by noting that the possible discovery of even the simplest organisms on Mars would increase the likelihood that Type II civilizations exist in the galaxy.
=== Second publication (1980) ===
==== Towards an energetic definition of civilization ==== In 1980, Nikolai Kardashev published a second article entitled Strategies of Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: A Fundamental Approach to the Basic Problem, in which he stated that:Detection and studies of extraterrestrial civilizations constitute a problem of immense significance for the progress of humanity and for its culture and philosophy. The discovery of intelligent life in the Universe would provide a guideline to the possible development of our civilization over astronomical time spans.