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| {{About|a measuring method|the album by Greydon Square|The Kardashev Scale (album)}}
| | John could be the name my parents gave me and I totally love this named. Her friends say it's not good for her but what she loves doing to be able to read books but she can't cause it to her work. Auditing is how I make cash. For a while I've experienced Kentucky and definitely will never take. Go to her how do people find out more: http://www.partybus.com/philadelphia/pa/united-states |
| The '''Kardashev scale''' is a method of measuring a [[civilization|civilization's]] level of [[technology|technological]] advancement, based on the amount of [[energy]] a civilization is able to utilize. The scale has three designated categories called ''Type I'', ''II'', and ''III''. A Type I civilization uses all available resources impinging on its home planet, Type II harnesses all the energy of its star, and Type III of its galaxy. The scale is only hypothetical, but it puts energy consumption in a [[Cosmos|cosmic]] perspective. It was first proposed in 1964 by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[astronomer]] [[Nikolai Kardashev]]. Various extensions of the scale have been proposed since, from a wider range of power levels (types 0, IV and V) to the use of metrics other than pure power.
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| ==Definition==
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| In 1964, Kardashev defined three levels of civilizations, based on the order of magnitude of [[power (physics)|power]] available to them:
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| ; Type I
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| : ''"Technological level close to the level presently'' ''attained on earth, with energy consumption at ≈4{{e|19}} [[erg]]/sec''<ref name= Kard_TransInfoCiv>{{cite journal| last = Kardashev| first =Nikolai| title=Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations| year = 1964 | journal=Soviet Astronomy | bibcode = 1964SvA.....8..217K |format=PDF| volume = 8 | page=217}}</ref> (4 × 10<sup>12</sup> watts.) Guillermo A. Lemarchand stated this as "''A level near contemporary terrestrial civilization with an energy capability equivalent to the solar insolation on Earth, between 10<sup>16</sup> and 10<sup>17</sup> watts.''"<ref name= Lemarchand>{{Cite journal | url = http://www.coseti.org/lemarch1.htm | title = Detectability of Extraterrestrial Technological Activities | first = Guillermo A | last = Lemarchand | publisher = Coseti}}.</ref>
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| ; Type II
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| : "''A civilization capable of harnessing the energy radiated by its own star'' (for example, the stage of successful construction of a [[Dyson sphere]]),'' with energy consumption at ≈4{{e|33}} erg/sec.''<ref name = Kard_TransInfoCiv /> Lemarchand stated this as "''A civilization capable of utilizing and channeling the entire radiation output of its star. The energy utilization would then be comparable to the luminosity of our [[Sun]], about 4 × 10<sup>26</sup> watts."''<ref name=Lemarchand/>
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| ; Type III
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| : "''A civilization in possession of energy on the scale of its own [[galaxy]], with energy consumption at ≈4{{e|44}} erg/sec.''"<ref name=Kard_TransInfoCiv/> Lemarchand stated this as "''A civilization with access to the power comparable to the luminosity of the entire [[Milky Way]] galaxy, about 4 × 10<sup>37</sup> Watts.''"<ref name=Lemarchand/>
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| ==Current status of human civilization==
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| {{Further2|[[World energy resources and consumption]]}}
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| [[Michio Kaku]] suggested that humans 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.<ref>{{cite web
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| | last = Kaku
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| | first = Michio
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| | authorlink = Michio Kaku
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| | title = The Physics of Interstellar Travel: To one day, reach the stars.
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| | year = 2010
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| | url = http://mkaku.org/home/?page_id=250
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| | accessdate = 2010-08-29}}</ref>
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| [[Carl Sagan]] suggested defining intermediate values (not considered in Kardashev's original scale) by [[interpolation|interpolating]] and [[extrapolation|extrapolating]] the values given above for types I (10<sup>16</sup> W), II (10<sup>26</sup> W) and III (10<sup>36</sup> W), which would produce the formula
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| :<math>K = \frac{\log_{10}P - 6} {10}</math>,
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| where value ''K'' is a civilization's Kardashev rating and ''P'' is the power it uses, in [[watt]]s. Using this extrapolation, a "Type 0" civilization, not defined by Kardashev, would control about 1 MW of power, and humanity's civilization type as of 1973 was about 0.7 (apparently using 10 [[Watt#Terawatt|terawatt]] (TW) as the value for 1970s humanity).<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last=Sagan |first=Carl |authorlink=Carl Sagan |coauthors= |editor= Jerome Agel|others= [[Freeman J. Dyson]], David Morrison|title= Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective |origdate= |origyear= 1973|month= |url= http://books.google.com/?id=lL57o9YB0mAC&pg=PA156|accessdate= 2008-01-01|edition= |series= |date= |year= 2000|month= October|publisher= Cambridge Press |location= |language= |isbn= 0-521-78303-8|oclc= |doi= |id= |pages= |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote=I would suggest Type 1.0 as a civilization using 10<sup>16</sup> watts for interstellar communication; Type 1.1, 10<sup>17</sup> watts; Type 1.2, 10<sup>18</sup> watts, and so on. Our present civilization would be classed as something like Type 0.7.}}</ref>
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| In 2008, total [[world energy consumption]] was 474 [[joule|exajoules]] ({{val|474|e=18|u=J}}=132,000 TWh), equivalent to an average power consumption of 15 TW (or 0.717 on Sagan's Kardashev scale).<ref name=EIA>{{cite web | publisher=Statistical Review of World Energy 2009, [[BP]] |url= http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/2009_downloads/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_report_2009.xls#'Primary Energy – Consumption'!A1| title = Consumption by fuel, 1965–2008 | format = XLS | date = 31 July 2006 | accessdate=24 October 2009}}</ref>
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| ==Energy development==
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| {{See also|Energy development}}
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| ===Type I civilization methods===
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| * Large-scale application of [[fusion power]]. According to [[mass-energy equivalence]], Type I implies the conversion of about 2 kg of matter to energy per second. An equivalent energy release could theoretically be achieved by fusing approximately 280 kg of [[hydrogen]] into [[helium]] per second,<ref>{{cite book
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| | last = Souers | first = P. C.
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| | title = Hydrogen properties for fusion energy
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| | publisher = University of California Press
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| | year = 1986
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| | pages = 4
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| | url = http://books.google.com/?id=I2K6DKA1IMwC&printsec=frontcover
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| | isbn = 978-0-520-05500-1}}</ref> a rate roughly equivalent to 8.9×10<sup>9</sup> kg/year. A cubic km of water contains about 10<sup>11</sup> kg of hydrogen, and the Earth's [[ocean]]s contain about [[ocean#Physical properties|1.3×10<sup>9</sup> cubic km of water]], meaning that this rate of consumption could be sustained over geological time scales.
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| * [[Antimatter]] in large quantities would have a mechanism to produce power on a scale several magnitudes above our current level of technology. In antimatter-matter collisions, the entire [[rest mass]] of the particles is converted to [[kinetic energy]]. Their [[energy density]] (energy released per mass) is about four orders of magnitude greater than that from using [[nuclear fission]], and about two orders of magnitude greater than the best possible yield from [[nuclear fusion|fusion]].<ref>{{cite conference | first = Steve K. | last = Borowski| authorlink = Lewis Research Center | title = Comparison of Fusion/Anti-matter Propulsion Systems for Interplanetary Travel| booktitle = Technical Memorandum 107030| pages = 1–3| publisher = [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] | date = 1987-07-29| location = San Diego, California, USA| url = http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov/reports/1996/TM-107030.pdf | accessdate = 2008-01-28|format=PDF}}</ref> The reaction of 1 [[kilogram|kg]] of anti-matter with 1 kg of matter would produce 1.8×10<sup>17</sup> [[joule|J]] (180 petajoules) of energy.<ref>By the [[mass-energy equivalence]] formula ''E'' = ''mc''². See [[Antimatter fuel|anti-matter as a fuel source]] for the energy comparisons.</ref> Although antimatter is sometimes proposed as a source of energy, this is currently infeasible. Artificially producing antimatter according to current understanding of the laws of physics involves first converting energy into mass, so there is no net gain. Artificially created antimatter is only usable as a medium of energy storage but not as an energy source, unless future technological developments (contrary to the conservation of the [[baryon number]], such as a [[CP Violation]] in favour of antimatter) allow the conversion of ordinary matter into anti-matter. There are a number of naturally occurring sources of antimatter <ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110810-antimatter-belt-earth-trapped-pamela-space-science/ |title=Antimatter Found Orbiting Earth—A First |first=Ker |last=Than |work=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] News |date=August 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author1=Adriani | author2=Barbarino | author3=Bazilevskaya | author4=Bellotti | author5=Boezio | author6=Bogomolov | author7=Bongi | author8=Bonvicini | author9=Borisov | title=The discovery of geomagnetically trapped cosmic ray antiprotons | doi=10.1088/2041-8205/736/1/L1 | year=2011 | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=736 | pages=L1 | issue=29 | arxiv=1107.4882 |bibcode = 2011ApJ...736L...1H | display-authors=9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12158718 | work=[[BBC News]] | title=Antimatter caught streaming from thunderstorms on Earth | date=2011-01-11}}</ref> we may theoretically be able to cultivate and harvest in the future.
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| * [[Renewable energy]] through converting sunlight into electricity by either [[solar cell]]s and [[concentrating solar power]] or indirectly through [[wind power|wind]] and [[hydroelectric power]]. Currently, there is no known way for [[civilization|human civilization]] to successfully use the equivalent of the Earth's total absorbed solar energy without completely coating the surface with man-made structures, which is presently not feasible. However, if a civilization constructed very large [[space-based solar power]] [[satellite]]s, Type I power levels might be achievable.
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| [[Image:Dyson Swarm.GIF|thumb|right|150px|Figure of a Dyson swarm surrounding a star]]
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| ===Type II civilization methods===
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| * A [[Dyson sphere]] or [[Dyson Sphere#Dyson swarm|Dyson swarm]] and similar constructs are hypothetical [[megastructure]]s originally described by [[Freeman Dyson]] as a system of orbiting [[solar power satellite]]s meant to enclose a [[star]] completely and capture most or all of its energy output.<ref>{{Cite news
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| | last=Dyson
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| | first=Freeman J.
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| | author-link=Freeman Dyson
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| | editor-last = Marshak
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| | editor-first = R. E.
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| | title=The Search for Extraterrestrial Technology
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| | newspaper=Perspectives in Modern Physics
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| | publisher = John Wiley & Sons
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| | place = New York
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| | year=1966
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| }}</ref>
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| * Perhaps a more exotic means to generate usable energy would be to feed a stellar mass into a [[black hole]], and collect photons emitted by the [[accretion disc]].<ref>{{cite web
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| | last = Newman
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| | first = Phil
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| | authorlink =
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| | coauthors =
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| | title = New Energy Source "Wrings" Power from Black Hole Spin
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| | work =
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| | publisher = [[NASA]]
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| | date = 2001-10-22
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| | url = http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20011015blackhole.html
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| | doi =
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| | accessdate = 2008-02-19 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080209231442/http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20011015blackhole.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-02-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
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| | last = Schutz
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| | first = Bernard F.
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| | authorlink =
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| | coauthors =
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| | title = A First Course in General Relativity
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| | publisher = Cambridge University Press
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| | year = 1985
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| | location = New York
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| | pages = 304, 305
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| | url = http://books.google.com/?id=qhDFuWbLlgQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Bernard+Schutz+%22A+First+Course+in+General+Relativity%22
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| | doi =
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| | id =
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| | isbn = 0-521-27703-5}}</ref> Less exotic would be simply to capture photons already escaping from the accretion disc, reducing a black hole's [[angular momentum]]; known as the [[Penrose process]].
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| * [[Star lifting]] is a process where an advanced civilization could remove a substantial portion of a star's matter in a controlled manner for other uses.
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| * [[Antimatter]] is likely to be produced as an industrial [[byproduct]] of a number of [[megascale engineering]] processes (such as the aforementioned star lifting) and therefore could be recycled.
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| * In [[star system|multiple-star systems]] of a sufficiently large number of stars, absorbing a small but significant fraction of the output of each individual star.
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| * [[White holes]], if they exist, theoretically could provide large amounts of energy from collecting the matter propelling outwards.
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| * Capturing the energy of [[gamma-ray burst]]s is another theoretically possible power source for a highly advanced civilization.
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| ===Type III civilization methods===
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| * Type III civilizations might use the same techniques employed by a Type II civilization, but applied to all possible stars of one or more galaxies individually.<ref>[[Nikolai Kardashev|Kardashev, Nikolai]]. "[http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1985IAUS..112..497K On the Inevitability and the Possible Structures of Supercivilizations]", The search for extraterrestrial life: Recent developments; Proceedings of the Symposium, Boston, MA, June 18–21, 1984 (A86-38126 17-88). Dordrecht, D. Reidel Publishing Co., 1985, p. 497–504.</ref>
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| * They may also be able to tap into the energy released from the [[supermassive black hole]]s which are believed to exist at the center of most galaxies.
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| * The emissions from [[quasars]] can be readily compared to those of small active galaxies and could provide a massive power source if collectable.
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| ==Civilization implications==
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| There are many historical examples of human civilization undergoing large-scale transitions, such as the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The transition between Kardashev scale levels could potentially represent similarly dramatic periods of social upheaval, since they entail surpassing the hard limits of the resources available in a civilization's existing territory. A common speculation<ref>{{cite journal
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| | last = Dyson
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| | first = Freeman
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| | authorlink = Freeman Dyson
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| | coauthors =
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| | title = Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation
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| | journal = Science
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| | volume = 131
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| | issue = 3414
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| | pages = 1667–1668
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| | publisher = W. A. Benjamin, Inc
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| | location = New York
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| | date = 1960-06-03
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| | url = http://www.islandone.org/LEOBiblio/SETI1.HTM
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| | doi = 10.1126/science.131.3414.1667
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| | accessdate = 2008-01-30
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| | pmid = 17780673
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| | bibcode=1960Sci...131.1667D}}</ref> suggests that the transition from Type 0 to Type I might carry a strong risk of self-destruction since, in some scenarios, there would no longer be room for further expansion on the civilization's home planet, as in a [[Malthusian catastrophe]]. Excessive use of energy without adequate disposal of heat, for example, could plausibly make the planet of a civilization approaching Type I unsuitable to the biology of the [[human|dominant life-forms]] and their food sources. If Earth is an example, then sea temperatures in excess of 35 C would jeopardize marine life and make the cooling of mammals to temperatures suitable for their [[metabolism]] difficult if not impossible. Of course, these [[theoretical]] speculations may not become problems in reality thanks to [[evolution]] or the application of future [[engineering]] and [[technology]]. Also, by the time a civilization reaches Type I it may have colonized other planets or created [[Island Three|O'Neill-type colonies]], so that waste heat could be distributed throughout the solar system.
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| ==Extensions to the original scale==
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| Many extensions and modifications to the Kardashev scale have been proposed. The most straightforward extend the scale to even more hypothetical Type IV beings who can control or use the entire universe or Type V who control collections of universes.
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| The energy output of the visible [[universe]] is within a few orders of magnitude of 10<sup>45</sup> W. Such a civilization approaches or surpasses the limits of speculation based on current scientific understanding, and may not be possible. [[Frank J. Tipler]]'s [[Omega point (Tipler)|Omega point]] would presumably occupy this level, as would the [[Biocosm]] hypothesis. Zoltan Galantai has argued that such a civilization could not be detected, as its activities would be indistinguishable from the workings of nature (there being nothing to compare them to).<ref name = "Zoltan">{{cite web| url=http://longfuture.inno.bme.hu/long_futures_article1.pdf| title=Long Futures and Type Ⅳ Civilizations| format=PDF| first=Zoltan| last=Galantai| accessdate=2006-05-26| date=September 7, 2003}}</ref>
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| In his book ''Parallel Worlds'', [[Michio Kaku]] has discussed a Type IV civilization that could harness "extragalactic" energy sources such as [[dark energy]].<ref name="ParallelWorlds">{{cite book
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| | last = Kaku
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| | first = Michio
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| | authorlink = Michio Kaku
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| | coauthors =
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| | title = [[Parallel Worlds (book)|Parallel Worlds: The Science of Alternative Universes and Our Future in the Cosmos]]
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| | publisher = Doubleday
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| | year = 2005
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| | location = New York
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| | page = 317
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| | url =
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| | doi =
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| | id =
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| | isbn = 0-7139-9728-1}}</ref>
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| Other proposed changes to the scale use different metrics such as 'mastery' of systems, amount of information used, or progress in control of the very small as opposed to the very large. Metrics other than pure power usage have also been proposed. One is 'mastery' of a planet, system or galaxy rather than considering energy alone.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zubrin |first=Robert |year=1999 |title=[[Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization]] |isbn=978-1585420360}}</ref>
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| Alternatively, [[Carl Sagan]] suggested adding another dimension in addition to pure energy usage: the information available to the civilization. He assigned the letter A to represent 10<sup>6</sup> unique bits of information (less than any recorded human culture) and each successive letter to represent an order of magnitude increase, so that a level Z civilization would have 10<sup>31</sup> bits. In this classification, 1973 Earth is a 0.7 H civilization, with access to 10<sup>13</sup> bits of information. Sagan believed that no civilization has yet reached level Z, conjecturing that so much unique information would exceed that of all the intelligent species in a [[galactic supercluster]] and observing that the universe is not old enough to exchange information effectively over larger distances. The information and energy axes are not strictly interdependent, so that even a level Z civilization would not need to be Kardashev Type Ⅲ.<ref name="books.google.com"/>
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| [[John D. Barrow]], going by the fact that humans have found it more cost-effective to extend any abilities to manipulate their environment over increasingly smaller dimensions rather than increasingly larger ones, reverses the classification downward from Type Ⅰ-minus to Type Omega-minus:
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| '''Type Ⅰ-minus''' is capable of manipulating objects over the scale of
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| themselves: building structures, mining, joining and breaking solids;
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| '''Type Ⅱ-minus''' is capable of manipulating genes and altering the
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| development of living things, transplanting or replacing parts of
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| themselves, reading and engineering their genetic code;
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| '''Type Ⅲ-minus''' is capable of manipulating molecules and molecular
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| bonds, creating new materials;
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| '''Type Ⅳ-minus''' is capable of manipulating individual atoms, creating
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| nanotechnologies on the atomic scale and creating complex forms of
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| artificial life;
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| '''Type Ⅴ-minus''' is capable of manipulating the atomic nucleus and
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| engineering the nucleons that compose it;
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| '''Type ⅤI-minus''' is capable of manipulating the most elementary particles
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| of matter (quarks and leptons) to create organized complexity among
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| populations of elementary particles;
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| culminating in.
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| '''Type Omega-minus''' is capable of manipulating the basic structure of space and
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| time.''<ref name="Impossibility: Limits of Science and the Science of Limits">{{cite book
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| | last = Barrow
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| | first = John
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| | authorlink = John D. Barrow
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| | coauthors =
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| | title = [[Impossibility: Limits of Science and the Science of Limits]]
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| | publisher = Oxford University Press
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| | year = 1998
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| | location = Oxford
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| | page = 133
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| | url =
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| | doi =
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| | id =
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| | isbn = 0-09-977211-6}}</ref>
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| According to this scale, human civilization is between III- and IV-minus.
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| [[Robert Zubrin]] adapts the Kardashev scale to refer to how widespread a civilization is in space, rather than to its energy use. In his definition, a Type I civilization has spread across its planet, a Type II has extensive colonies in its respective stellar system, and a Type III has colonized its galaxy.<ref>Zubrin, Robert (2000). ''Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization''. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam. ISBN 1-58542-036-0. p. x</ref>
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| ==Examples in science fiction==
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| ===Type 0===
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| A Type 0 civilization extracts its energy, information, raw-materials from crude organic-based sources (i.e. food/wood/fossil fuel/books/[[oral tradition]]); pressures via [[natural disaster]], [[natural selection|selection]], and [[societal collapse]] creates extreme (99.9%) risk of extinction; it's capable of [[orbital spaceflight]]; in fiction, societies that fail to improve [[Social justice|social]], [[Environmentalism|environmental]] and [[Healthcare science|medical]] understanding concurrently with other advancements, frequently accelerated their own extinction:<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTi4v3HveqE "The Dark Side of Technology", at youtube.com, interview with Michio Kaku]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnmmnpj_pX8 "The Birth-Pangs of a Planetary Civilization", at youtube.com, interview with Michio Kaku]</ref>
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| *[[Cyberpunk]] genre (and [[Cyberpunk derivatives|post-cyberpunk]]) is frequently centered on the transitional inter-periods between Type-0 and Type-I status. While frequently focused on how the concepts of "Transhumanism" and "Singularity" will eventually overcome the problems that have, up until now, been endemic to human nature, Cyberpunk subverts this to describe the Dystopian side should a civilization "self-destruct" in the process of achieving Type-I status. In such fiction, most current world problems are local in warfare, local in culture, and usually mono-cultural, and theistic; further aggravated by various groups trying to retain a Type-0 monoculture through [[religious fanaticism]] and opposition to technological progress, and others trying to move forward to a Type-I global civilization through technological advances and institutional change.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEMq_ux4q4w |title=Type 0 Civilization |publisher= |accessdate= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.exopoliticsinstitute.org/index.php/transitioning-from-type-0-oil-dependency-to-a-type-1-civilization-etufo-disclosure/
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| |title=Transitioning from Type 0 oil dependency to a Type 1 civilization & ET/UFO disclosure |publisher= |accessdate= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=5570 |title=Type 1, 2, & 3 Civilizations |publisher= |accessdate= }}</ref>
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| ===Type I===
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| A Type I civilization extracts its energy, information, and raw-materials from fusion power, hydrogen, and other "high-density" renewable-resources; is capable of [[interplanetary spaceflight]], interplanetary communication, [[megascale engineering]], and [[space colonization|colonization]], [[life extension|medical]] and [[technological singularity]], [[planetary engineering]], [[world government]], [[globalization|trade]] and [[Asteroid impact avoidance|defense]], and [[stellar system]]-scale influence; but are still vulnerable to [[extinction]]:
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| *[[Mundane science fiction]] is frequently characterized by its setting on a "Type I Earth", or within the "Sol"-solar system, and a lack of interstellar travel or contact with aliens.
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| *In ''[[Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom]]'', which takes place in the 22nd century, mostly in [[Walt Disney World]]. Disney World is run by rival [[Adhocracy|adhocracies]], each dedicated to providing the best experience to the park's visitors and competing for the [[Whuffie]] the guests offer. Synthesized memory, [[suspended animation]], [[life extension]], [[rejuvenation (aging)|rejuvenation]] and [[genetic enhancement]] technologies have made death obsolete, material goods are no longer scarce, and everyone is granted basic [[human right]]s that in our present age are mostly considered luxuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://craphound.com/down/ |title=Cory Doctorow: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom |publisher= |accessdate= }}</ref>
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| *In "[[Gears of War]]", the humans of Sera have obtained type I status. By 16 A.E. they were capable of controlling the weather, using the Adaptive Atmospheric Manipulator which would create artificial hurricanes.
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| ===Type II===
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| A Type II civilization extracts fusion energy, information, and raw-materials from multiple solar systems; it is capable of [[Uplift (science fiction)|evolutionary intervention]], [[interstellar travel]], [[interstellar communication]], [[stellar engineering]], and [[star cluster]]-scale influence; the resulting proliferation and diversification would theoretically negate the probability of extinction:
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| *[[Michio Kaku]], in a lecture, said that the ''Star Trek fictional universe'' is considered as Type II.<ref name="Type III civilization">{{cite web|title=The Physics of Interstellar Travel|url=http://mkaku.org/home/?page_id=250|work=The Physics of Interstellar Travel|publisher=Michio Kaku}}</ref>
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| * In the ''[[Ringworld]]'' series by [[Larry Niven]], a ring a million miles wide is built and spun (for gravity) around a star roughly one [[astronomical unit]] away. The ring can be viewed as a functional version of a [[Dyson sphere]] with the interior surface area of 3 million Earth-sized planets. Because it is only a partial Dyson sphere, it can be viewed as an intermediary between Type I and Type II. Both Dyson spheres and the Ringworld suffer from gravitational instability, however—a major focus of the Ringworld series is coping with this instability in the face of partial collapse of the Ringworld civilization.
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| * Stephen Baxter's "[[Morlocks|Morlock]]" of ''[[The Time Ships]]'' occupy a spherical shell around the sun the diameter of earth's orbit, spinning for gravity along one band. The shell's inner surface along this band is inhabited by cultures in many lower stages of development, while the K II Morlock civilization uses the entire structure for power and computation.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
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| * In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "[[Relics (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Relics]]", the ''Enterprise'' discovers an abandoned [[Dyson sphere]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708764/ |title=Star Trek: The Next Generation Relics (TV episode 1992) - IMDb |publisher=IMDB |accessdate=2011-11-21}}</ref>
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| * In the ''[[Halo (series)|Halo]]'' universe, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the hostile alien society known as the Covenant have both attained Type II status. The UNSC is shown to be able to induce a star to go supernova, terraform entire planets and has a territory consisting of more than 800 planetary systems. The Covenant are able to perform exceedingly accurate slipspace navigation, near-instantaneous interstellar communication and man-portable application of energy manipulation.<ref name="Technological Achievement Tiers">{{cite web|url=http://www.halopedia.org/Technological_Achievement_Tiers |title=Technological Achievement Tiers |publisher= |accessdate= }}</ref>
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| * In the ''[[Mass Effect (series)|Mass Effect]]'' Universe, according to [[Michio Kaku]],<ref>[http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/fwpvtn/gt-tv-the-science-of-mass-effect-2 "The Science of Mass Effect 2", at Gametrailers.com, interview with Michio Kaku]</ref> Humanity has advanced to a Type II civilization, having [[Uplift (science fiction)|uplifted earth species]], colonized several planets, and competing with other Type II civilizations (such as the Asari, Salarians, and Turians).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7qqGvfuV7g |title=Science of Mass Effect by Dr. Michio Kaku |publisher=TheClark501 |accessdate=Feb 13, 2012 }}</ref>
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| ===Type III===
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| A Type III civilization extracts fusion energy, information, and raw-materials from all possible star-clusters; it's capable of [[intergalactic travel]] via [[wormhole]]s,<ref name="Type III civilization"/> intergalactic communication, galactic engineering and galaxy-scale influence:
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| *[[Michio Kaku]], in a lecture, said that the ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe|Star Wars fictional universe]]'' is considered as Type III.<ref name="Type III civilization"/>
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| * In ''[[Star Maker]]'' by [[Olaf Stapledon]]. The stellar energy output of the whole galaxy is used by the Galactic Community of Worlds.<ref>Stapledon, Olaf ''[[Last and First Men]] [ 1931 ] and [[Star Maker]] [ 1937 ] '' New York:1968—Dover Chapters IX through XI Pages 346 to 396</ref>
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| * While not much is known about them, the Ancient Humanoids from ''[[Star Trek]]'' have manipulated the course of biological evolution across the entire galaxy billions of years ago. As a result, the vast majority of species in the Milky Way is humanoid, and possess a secret code embedded in their DNA.<ref>{{cite episode|title=The Chase|episodelink=The Chase (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Season=6|Episode=20|series=The Next Generation|accessdate=December2012}}</ref>
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| ===Type IV===
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| A Type IV civilization extracts energy, information, and raw-materials from all possible galaxies; it's effectively immortal and omnipotent with universal-scale influence, possessing the ability of theoretical time travel and instantaneous matter-energy transformation and teleportation (their apparent abilities may include moving entire asteroid belts and stars, creating alternate timelines, and affecting universal states of nature such as the gravitational constant); in fiction, these civilizations may be perceived as [[Cosmic entity|omnipresence/omnipotent gods]]:
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| * Certain factions of Humanity in Peter F. Hamilton's [[Commonwealth Saga]] and [[Void Trilogy|Void Saga]] would be Type IV, death has been all but removed, and transportation via wormholes and teleportation has been achieved. Some factions have technology to move planets with a hyperdrive.
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| * The backstory of ''[[The Dancers at the End of Time]]'' series by [[Michael Moorcock]] describes a civilization which consumed all the energy in all the stars in the universe, save Earth's own star, in order to fuel an existence in which the inheritors of Earth lived as near omnipotent gods.<ref>Moorcock, Michael: ''Tales From the End of Time'', page 121. Berkley Publishing, 1976.</ref>
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| * In a rare mention of the scale within a work of fiction, the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novel ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles (2005 novel)|The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'', a [[Time Lord]] named Marnal asserts that "the Time Lords were ''the'' Type-4 civilization. We had no equals. We controlled the fundamental forces of the entire universe. Nothing could communicate with us on our level." It also could be argued that the Daleks -also from ''[[Doctor Who]]''- were a Type Ⅳ civilization at the time of the Last Great Time War, as they had the same universe-altering capabilities of the Time Lords.<ref>{{Cite book| title=The Gallifrey Chronicles| page=56| first=Lance| last= Parkin| isbn=0-563-48624-4| publisher=BBC Books| year=2005}}</ref> Throughout the entirety of the TV series' history, Timelords have been shown to manipulate the very fabric of the universe, such as the TARDIS being powered by a dying star caught in the event horizon of a black hole (the [[tenth doctor]] had mentioned that timelords invented gravity in [[the satan pit]].) As suggested in [[Genesis of the daleks]], Time Lords also are capable of manipulating the evolution of life itself, including themselves when they gave themselves their ability to [[regeneration (Doctor Who)|cheat death]].
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| * [[Michio Kaku]], in a lecture, said that in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', the god-like [[Q Continuum]] could be considered above Type Ⅳ, drawing their energy from outside the universe.
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| * The Players of ''The New Cosmogony'', a fictional Nobel Prize oration in ''[[A Perfect Vacuum]]'' by [[Stanisław Lem]], are altering the laws of physics for their own purposes.<ref>{{cite book | title=The art and science of Stanislaw Lem | first=Peter | last=Swirski | publisher=McGill-Queen's Press | year=2006 | isbn=0-7735-3046-0 | page=147 }}</ref>
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| * In ''[[Lexx]]'' a character named Mantrid uses exponential growth to make copies upon copies of his constructor arms called "Mantrid drones", eventually using all the matter in the light universe, which ends up destroying the universe when too much matter accumulates in one place, "unbalancing" it.
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| * In ''[[The Gods Themselves]]'' by [[Isaac Asimov]], a sentient species from another universe reaches Type Ⅰ in conjunction with humanity, by developing a technique of exchanging [[electrons]] and [[protons]] across universes. To combat the flux of energy, humans reach Type Ⅳ by developing a technique of harvesting the energy from yet another universe, which exists in a pre-big-bang state, or a "[[World egg|Cosmic Egg]]" state.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
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| * In the [[Bionicle]] universe, the Great Beings attained this type. While they have not been shown travelling through space, they have shown to be capable of constructing a 40 million foot high sentient robot that is capable of moving planets, and capable of creating fully sentient and synthetic cyborg civilisations. They have the ability to genetically engineer creatures to give them superpowers. Amongst their notable achievements are objects capable of manipulating fundamental forces of the universe, such as the Mask of Life and the Mask of Creation. They also possess the ability to travel between dimensions and even universes.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
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| * The immortal "[[Guardians of the Universe]]", creators of the [[Green Lantern Corps]] ([[DC Comics]]), have manipulated events on an intergalactic scale for three billion years.
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| * The [[Xeelee]] from [[Stephen Baxter]]'s ''[[Xeelee Sequence]]'' are present throughout the universe, have instantaneous communication and constructed an artefact 10 million light year across, using the material of many galaxies. They possess time travel capabilities which they used to construct [[closed timelike curve]]s in which they modified their own evolution, becoming the most advanced baryonic civilization.
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| * The "Ancients" from the multiple ''[[Stargate]]'' series. The building of wormhole travel devices, time travel devices as well as the potential to bridge parallel universes for the purpose of travel and energy production classify these as a class IV civilisation. The ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' series is based with technology hundreds of thousands of years beyond that of space travel on a universal scale, as shown in the ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' series, potentially classifying them as class V, but with no proof.
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| *The Forerunners from the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series are also to be classified as a Type IV civilization. They had had the power to move planets at will, and create ringworlds (Halo Rings) whose purpose was to destroy all organic life in the galaxy in the event of contamination of the Flood. They also had the capabilities to create "Shield Worlds" (essentialy Micro - Dyson Spheres) which contained a time locked reality, which is much larger on the inside. They created ships that could travel across the galaxy in a matter of seconds, and had a galaxy-wide information network that could be accessed at any time from anywhere in said galaxy. They had the ability to manipulate gravitational force, create [[synthetic intelligence]], fabricate ''extremely dense'' and artificial materials, perform highly accurate [[Faster-than-light|slipspace navigation]], [[Biological engineering|the ability to create life]], and [[Astroengineering|the ability to create worlds]] powered by man-made stars.<ref name="Technological Achievement Tiers"/> It could be argued that the Forerunners are only a Type III civilization by the fact that they are mostly confined to their own galaxy, but that is mainly for the reason that they didn't wish to leave their own galaxy, even though they fully had the capabilities to do so. Their power sources are said to draw energy from entire alternate universes.
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| ===Type V, and beyond===
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| Such hypothetical civilizations have either transcended their universe of origin or arose within a [[multiverse]] or other higher-order [[Membrane (M-Theory)|membrane]] of existence, and are capable of [[universe]]-scale manipulation of individual discrete universes from an external frame of reference. In fiction, their "god-like" artifacts or endowed abilities (such as [[Monolith (Space Odyssey)|monolith]]) find their way into the hands of relatively juvenile "Type 0" civilizations (such as humanity):
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| * The 2011 ''God and the Universe'' episode of the American [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] television series ''[[The Universe (TV series)|The Universe]]'' explored the possibility of sufficiently advanced civilizations custom-building new universes.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHczawkB5N4 God and the Universe].</ref>
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| * The organization known as the Infinite Consortium from ''[[Magic: the Gathering]]'' stretches between the planes of existence throughout the multiverse.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
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| * The Downstreamers from ''[[Manifold: Time]]'', after completely controlling their universe, used time travel to induce the creation of a multiverse.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
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| * The [[Combine (Half-Life)|Combine]] from the ''[[Half-Life (series)|Half-Life]]'' video game series are a multi-dimensional empire capable of traversing between Universes.
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| * In the webcomic [[Homestuck]], the unknown creators of the game "Sburb", as the game is capable of altering reality, opening wormholes, endowing players with godlike capabilities (e.g. control of time or space, creating objects out of nothing, transforming into wind, etc.), and creating or destroying entire universes, along with all of their individual timelines.
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| ==Connections with sociology and anthropology==
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| Kardashev's theory can be viewed as the expansion of some [[social theories]], especially from [[social evolutionism]]. It is close to the theory of [[Leslie White]], author of ''The Evolution of Culture: The Development of Civilization to the Fall of Rome'' (1959). White attempted to create a theory explaining the entire history of humanity. The most important factor in his theory is [[technology]]: ''Social systems are determined by technological systems'', wrote White in his book, echoing the earlier theory of [[Lewis Henry Morgan]]. As a measure of society advancement, he proposed the measure of energy consumption of a given society (thus his theory is known as the energy theory of [[cultural evolution]]). He differentiates between five stages of human development. In the first stage, people use energy of their own muscles. In the second stage, they use energy of [[domestication of animals|domesticated animals]]. In the third stage, they use the energy of plants (which White refers to as ''agricultural revolution''). In the fourth stage, they learn to use the energy of natural resources—such as coal, oil, and gas. Finally, in the fifth stage, they harness [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]]. White introduced a formula P=E×T, where P measures the advancement of the culture, E is a measure of energy consumed, and T is the measure of efficiency of technical factors utilizing the energy.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
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| ==Criticism==
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| It has been argued that, because we cannot understand advanced civilizations, we cannot predict their behavior. Thus the Kardashev scale may not be relevant or useful for classifying extraterrestrial civilizations. This central argument is found in the book ''[[Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life]]''.<ref name="Cohen and Stewart">Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart: ''Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life'', Ebury Press, 2002, ISBN 0-09-187927-2</ref>
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| ==See also==
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| {{Portal|Sustainable development|Technology|Energy|Engineering}}
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| {{columns-list|3|
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| * [[Astroengineering]]
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| * [[Clarke's three laws]]
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| * [[Drake equation]]
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| * [[Law of Complexity/Consciousness]]
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| * [[Michio Kaku]]
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| * [[Orders of magnitude (power)]]
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| * [[Orders of magnitude (energy)]]
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| * [[Sustainability]]
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| * [[Terraforming]]
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| * [[Technological singularity]]
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| * [[White's Law]]
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| * [[World energy resources and consumption]]
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| }}
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
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| ==Further reading==
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| {{Refbegin}}
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| * Dyson, Freeman J. ''Energy in the Universe'' Article in September 1971 [[Scientific American]] magazine (Special September Issue on ''Energy'')
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| * {{Cite web|url=http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1998/MarvinRusinek.shtml|title=Energy Consumption of Europe|year=1998|last=Rusinek|first= Marvin|work=The Physics Factbook}}
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| * [http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/femp/cannonfiles/sld006.htm Wind Powering America]
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| * [http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-64514-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html Clean Energy for Planetary Survival: International Development Research Centre]
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| * [http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/global-warming.html LBL Scientists Research Global Warming]
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| * [http://www.oit.doe.gov/e3handbook/appenf.shtml E³ Handbook]
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| * [http://web.gat.com/hydrogen/images/pdf%20files/clarke_h2_energy_systems.pdf Clarke H2 energy systems]
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| * {{Cite web| url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/bulletin/fall2003/holdren.pdf| format=PDF| title= Environmental Change and the Human Condition| first=John P.| last= Holdren| accessdate=2006-08-10| pages=24–31| work= Bulletin Fall| year= 2003| coauthors= Carl Kaysen}}
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| * {{Cite book| chapter=Exponential Expansion: Galactic Destiny or Technological Hubris?| title=The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Recent Developments| editor=B. R. Finney, M. D. Papagiannis| last=Dordrecht| first=D.| publisher=Reidel Publ. Co.| year=1985| pages=465–463}}
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| * [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/Shkadov.html Shkadov Thruster]
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| *{{Cite book |last=Korotayev |first=A. |last2=Malkov |first2=A. |last3=Khaltourina |first3=D. |title=Introduction to Social Macrodynamics: Compact Macromodels of the World System Growth |url=http://urss.ru/cgi-bin/db.pl?cp=&lang=en&blang=en&list=14&page=Book&id=34250 |location=Moscow |publisher=URSS |year=2006 |isbn=5-484-00414-4 }}
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| * {{Cite journal| last=Kardashev| first=Nikolai| title=Cosmology and Civilizations | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 252 |date=March 1997}}
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| * ''Supercivilizations as Possible Products of the Progressive Evolution of Matter'': also by Kardashev
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| * ''Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation'', by [[Freeman J. Dyson]]
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| * ''The Radio Search For Intelligent Extraterrestral Life'', by [[Frank Drake]]
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| * {{Cite book| first=Robert A.| last=Freitas Jr.| title=Energy and Culture (chapter 15)}}
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| * {{Cite book| first=John| last=Griffin| title=Operation TOGA: Type One Go Ahead |isbn=1-4502-0702-2}}
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| {{Refend}}
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| ==External links==
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| * [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/K/Kardashevciv.html Kardashev civilizations]
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| * [http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/index.php?page=concepts04 Astrobiology: The Living Universe]
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| * [http://www.coseti.org/lemarch1.htm Detectability of Extraterrestrial Technological Activities]
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| * [http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/index.php?page=concepts04#1 Flash Animation on Civilizations]
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| * [http://contactincontext.org/cic/v2i2/farewell.htm After Kardashev: Farewell to Super Civilizations]
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| * [http://astranaut.org/library/exotic-civilizations-beyond-ka.php Exotic Civilizations: Beyond Kardashev]
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| * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AbusingTheKardashevScaleForFunAndProfit Useful Comparisons of Fictional Works Using the Kardashev Scale]
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| * [http://bigthink.com/videos/the-birth-pangs-of-a-planetary-civilization Description of civilization types from Dr. Michio kaku]
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| {{Extraterrestrial life}}
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| {{Technology}}
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Kardashev Scale}}
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| [[Category:Energy development]]
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| [[Category:Extraterrestrial life]]
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| [[Category:Fictional technology]]
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| [[Category:Futurology]]
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| [[Category:Scales]]
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| [[Category:Technology timelines]]
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| [[Category:Science fiction themes]]
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