<h2>The New Scheme</h2>
Researchers have developed a <a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-09-earth-hybrid-planet-classification-anthropocene.html" target="_blank">new classification system</a> for planets, based on the reality of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. That sounds really complicated, but in simpler terms, the new schema takes account of the (possibly) negative effects a global species with industrial technology can have on the overall biosphere. The chemical composition of a planet and its average temperatures change when human-like species interfere with the biosphere.<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-kardashev-scale-alien-intelligence-are-we-advanced-yet-comic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/05/Homepage-Thumbnail-1.jpg" alt="The Kardashev Scale: Are We Advanced Yet? [Comic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-kardashev-scale-alien-intelligence-are-we-advanced-yet-comic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
The system is split into five different categories. Class-I planets have no atmosphere, rather like our Moon or Mercury, but a Class-V planet is profoundly affected by the presence of a post-industrial species that contributes entropy, or chaos, to the host planet.
Since we&#8217;ve begun studying how humans induced <a href="https://futurism.com/bradley-is-editing-2-experiment-in-the-arctic-shows-how-drastic-1-degree-of-warming-can-be/" target="_blank">climate change</a>, scientists have concluded that we are entering the Anthropocene epoch — the era defined by our profound impact on the environment. Earth is said to be transitioning from a Class IV to a Class V planet, going by the newly developed metric.
<h2>Keeping up with Kardashev</h2>
The <a href="https://futurism.com/images/kardashev-scale-the-kinds-of-alien-civilizations-in-our-universe/" target="_blank">Kardashev scale</a> is a well-established method of classifying advanced civilizations based on the scale at which they have the capacity to harness energy (e.g., planetary, solar, interstellar, galactic, et al.). This new study describes it as the &#8220;gold standard&#8221; for ways of thinking about technologically advanced societies, but argues the case for a different type of scheme.
<iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fFJKhwuc5oo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The original purpose of the Kardashev scale was to help SETI organize its <a href="https://futurism.com/reddit-users-aski-seti-founder-space-legend-anything/" target="_blank">attempts to find intelligent life</a>. This new scheme instead sets out to understand the intertwined trajectories of the evolution of planets and their inhabitants. This information will hopefully help us learn what makes a civilization sustainable in the long-term.
The paper hypothesizes that the key is to &#8220;think like a planet.&#8221; If civilizations don&#8217;t consider their ecological impact on their home world, they&#8217;re liable to thwart their own evolutionary progress.
<h2>The Bigger Picture</h2>
&#8220;The discovery of <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-just-found-the-first-evidence-that-the-trappist-1-system-might-contain-water/" target="_blank">seven new exoplanets</a> orbiting the relatively-close star TRAPPIST-1 forces us to rethink life on Earth,&#8221; said Marina Alberti, one of the paper&#8217;s authors, in a <a href="https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/09/06/earth-as-hybrid-planet-new-classification-scheme-places-anthropocene-era-in-astrobiological-context/" target="_blank">press release</a> published by the University of Washington. &#8220;It opens the possibility to broaden our understanding of coupled system dynamics and lay the foundations to explore a path to long-term sustainability by entering into a cooperative ecological-evolutionary dynamic with the coupled planetary systems.&#8221;
The study examines the relationship between technologically-advanced civilizations and their home worlds on the largest possible scale — but doing so might reveal harsh truths about the way humans treat Earth in the precarious here-and-now.
By looking at sustainability on a macro scale, we can see the greater consequences of a <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/al-gore-climate-denial-thats-ongoing-didnt-happen-by-itself/" target="_blank">blasé approach</a> to problems like climate change. Failing to treat our planet with the proper care could be the mistake of humanity&#8217;s lifetime; a self-condemnation that denies our species the chance to evolve beyond its current form.

This system seeks to offer an understanding of how technologically-advanced civilizations can sustain their home world's ecology.

Due to human impact, the earth is now considered a "hybrid planet"

Earth & Energy

Scientists announced a new classification schema for life in our universe that takes into account the global effects of industrious species.

Due to Human Impact, the Earth is Now Considered a “Hybrid Planet”

"The discovery of seven new exoplanets orbiting the relatively-close star TRAPPIST-1 forces us to rethink life on Earth."

There are two theories for time travel that are most popular: <a href="https://futurism.com/magnetic-wormhole-device-creates-invisible-tunnel-between-two-points-in-space/">wormhole tunneling</a> and <a href="https://futurism.com/stringing-along-cosmic-strings/">cosmic strings</a>. A wormhole is a hypothetical, bi-directional tunnel connecting two space-time locations. <a href="http://www.livescience.com/1339-travel-time-scientists.html" target="_blank">Physicist Michio Kaku</a> doesn&#8217;t entirely rule this possibility out, but he cautions that powering a time machine to travel in this way is beyond human capabilities right now, and would demand either negative energy or the energy of a star. <a href="http://www.livescience.com/1339-travel-time-scientists.html" target="_blank">Physicist Brian Greene</a>, a string theory expert, doubts that this kind of approach could ever work.
The other popular theory focuses on cosmic strings—thin energy tubes that theoretically stretch all the way across the universe which is continually expanding. Some predict that these narrow spaces, holdovers from the earliest days of the cosmos, contain tremendous amounts of mass. This mass would allow the strings to warp whatever space-time surrounds them.
Princeton astrophysicist J. Richard Gott points out that cosmic strings are either in the shape of loops without ends or are infinite. If two such strings were configured the right way, they might bend space-time in a way that could allow for time travel, in theory. However, <a href="http://www.livescience.com/1339-travel-time-scientists.html" target="_blank">according to Gott</a>, this would be capable only for a &#8220;super civilization&#8221; much higher on the Kardashev scale.
<h2>Nye On Time Travel</h2>
<iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x5k5jr1Y1jQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Bill Nye answers this question for kids by referring to heat and energy which always spread out—entropy. Without outside intervention, heat will not spontaneously concentrate somewhere. Instead, it will disperse towards cooler places.
What does this have to do with time travel? When something spreads outward and moves across a distance, it does so over time. This, he says, means that time and the spreading out of energy are closely related. It is this intimate connection that prevents us from building time machines.

Sci-Fi Visions

Bill Nye explains some of the theory behind time travel.

How Much Energy Would We Need to Power a Time Machine?

Time travel could rely on entropy.

<h2>An Intergalactic Culture</h2>
To measure the level of a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to harness. Obviously, the amount of power available to a civilization is linked to how widespread the civilization is (you can’t harness the power of a star if you are confined to your home planet, and you certainly can’t harness the power of a galaxy if you can’t even get out of your solar system).
In short, according to the Kardashev scale, Interstellar Travelers = Advanced society.
In a previous article, we offered <a href="https://futurism.com/the-kardashev-scale-type-i-ii-iii-iv-v-civilization/">an overview of the various civilization types</a>: Subglobal Cultures, Galactic Cultures, Multiverse Cultures, etc.  We’ve already discussed a <a href="https://futurism.com/civilization-type-0-living-in-a-subglobal-culture/" target="_blank">Subglobal Culture</a>, a <a href="https://futurism.com/kardashev-scale-what-itll-be-like-when-we-harness-the-power-of-an-entire-world/">Planetary Culture</a>, a <a href="https://futurism.com/the-kardashev-scale-type-i-civilization/">Stellar Culture</a>, and a <a href="https://futurism.com/kardashev-scale-what-itll-be-like-when-we-harness-the-power-of-an-entire-galaxy/">Galactic Culture</a>. Today, we want to talk about what it would be like to live in a Type IV Civilization—a culture that can harness the energy of the cosmos.
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-kardashev-scale-alien-intelligence-are-we-advanced-yet-comic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/05/Homepage-Thumbnail-1.jpg" alt="The Kardashev Scale: Are We Advanced Yet? [Comic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-kardashev-scale-alien-intelligence-are-we-advanced-yet-comic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
<h2>Beyond Kardashev</h2>
Complete disclosure here: Kardashev believed a Type IV civilization was too advanced—that no species could ever reach that level—so he didn&#8217;t go beyond Type III on his scale. So we can all go home, right? This whole Kardashev scale thing is all over?
Not quite.
Aerospace engineer Robert Zubrin weighed in on what could exist beyond Kardashev&#8217;s initial scale. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Entering-Space-Creating-Spacefaring-Civilization/dp/1585420360">Zubrin proposed</a> metrics other than pure energy use that could help species excel beyond what a Type III civilization would be capable of. One classification he suggested is simply the &#8216;mastery&#8217; of a planet, system, galaxy, galactic group, etc. Similarly, Carl Sagan suggested adding another dimension in addition to pure energy usage: the information available to the civilization. And in his book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Parallel-Worlds-Journey-Creation-Dimensions/dp/1400033721">Parallel Worlds</a>, Michio Kaku discussed a Type IV civilization that could harness &#8220;extragalactic&#8221; energy sources, such as dark energy.
The first two are rather self-explanatory, but let&#8217;s dive a little deeper into what it would mean to truly harness the power of the cosmos, as Kaku suggests.
<div class="summary module">
<h2>Unknown Laws of Physics</h2>
As previously noted (several times now), Type IV Civilizations are able to harness the energy content of the entire universe. This means that Type IV societies would be capable of undertaking projects of gargantuan, superhuman proportions, such as changing the structure of spacetime itself or the deliberate slowing of entropy. Since they can manipulate spacetime, advanced races like this could traverse the accelerating expansion of space to get to the other side of the cosmos faster than light can travel (something that our own species can only dream about, as a trip to just the next star would currently take us thousands of years).
<figure style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/10/Multiverse_by_BellaCielo-1200x861.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: This Is What Life Will Look Like When We Harness the Energy of the Entire Universe" width="1200" height="861" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Bella Cielo</figcaption></figure>
Such peoples (aliens?) would likely span the whole of the universe. They would have colonized numerous star systems and entire galaxies. Such a society would be able to use planets like building blocks, moving them about in order to create the exact kind of star systems that they want to live in and merging them together in order to create the exact kinds of planets that they want to live on. They would be able to harness all the energy output of stars&#8230;and even create them.
This seems impossible to civilizations like ours, as this type of advanced civilization would need to tap into energy sources unknown to us, and they would have to do so using strange (and currently unknown) laws of physics.
Sadly, due to the fundamental constraints of our physical reality—due to the physics of being human—such accomplishments could be forever beyond our reach. This level of advancement may be achievable only by incorporeal beings, such as members of Star Trek’s Q Continuum, or the Gallifreyans from Doctor Who.
But who knows. Someday, we may figure out how to use cybernetic technologies to evolve into such beings, or maybe new physics will unveil itself, and we could command the power of a billion trillion suns.
&#8230;or maybe the immutable laws of physics will forever forbid it.
</div>

Off World

A Type IV civilization is a society that has managed to harness the energy of the entire universe. 
To get here, we would need to tap into energy sources unknown to us using strange laws of physics (laws that may or may not exist). 

Kardashev Scale: This Is What Life Will Look Like When We Harness the Energy of the Entire Universe

Welcome to a universe of possibilities. 

<h2>A Galactic Culture</h2>
To measure the level of a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to harness. Obviously, the amount of power available to a civilization is linked to how widespread the civilization is (you can’t harness the power of a star if you are confined to your home planet, and you certainly can’t harness the power of a galaxy if you can’t even get out of your solar system).
In short, according to the Kardashev scale, interstellar travelers = advanced society
In a previous article, we offered <a href="https://futurism.com/the-kardashev-scale-type-i-civilization/target=">an overview of the various civilization types</a>: Subglobal Cultures, Galactic Cultures, Multiverse Cultures, etc.  We’ve already discussed a <a href="https://futurism.com/civilization-type-0-living-in-a-subglobal-culture/" target="_blank">Subglobal Culture</a>, a <a href="https://futurism.com/kardashev-scale-what-itll-be-like-when-we-harness-the-power-of-an-entire-world/">Planetary Culture</a>, and a <a href="https://futurism.com/the-kardashev-scale-type-i-civilization/">Stellar Culture</a>. Today, we want to talk about what it would be like to live in a Type III Civilization—A Galactic Culture.
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/kardashev-scale-the-kinds-of-alien-civilizations-in-our-universe/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2015/12/TypesofCivilization_home_v2.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: The Kinds of Alien Civilizations in Our Universe" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/kardashev-scale-the-kinds-of-alien-civilizations-in-our-universe/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
<h2>The Inhabitants</h2>
A Galactic Culture would be able to harnesses the energy output of a galaxy (about 10 billion times the energy output of a Type II civilization, and about 100,000 to 1 million years more advanced than we are currently). These galactic traversers will have colonized the galaxy itself, extracting energy from hundreds of billions of stars, traveling across interstellar space, and populating innumerable worlds.
In terms of humans, hundreds of thousands of years of evolution – both biological and mechanical – may result in the inhabitants of this Type III civilization being incredibly different from the human race as we currently know it. Ever seen the Borg from Star Trek? What about the Empire from Star Wars? This civilization could resemble either of them (but hopefully, something a little friendlier).
<img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/09/sto_borg_red-alerts_screen05-1200x675.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Harness the Power of an Entire Galaxy" />
These may be cyborgs (or <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/26-rise-of-the-cyborgs#.UlQlDBDan1k" target="_blank">cybernetic organism</a>, beings both biological and robotic), with the descendants of today&#8217;s &#8220;regular&#8221; humans being a sub-species among these now-highly advanced future cyborg humans. These wholly biological humans would likely be seen as being &#8220;disabled&#8221;— inferior or unevolved— by their cybernetic counterparts.
<h2>Challenges Abound</h2>
At this stage, inhabitants of a Type III civilization would likely have developed colonies of robots that are capable of ‘self replication;’ their population may increase into the billions (or trillions) as they spread out across the galaxy, colonizing planet after planet. And these beings might build Dyson Spheres to encapsulate each star, creating a huge network that would carry energy back to the home planet.
What about other ways of gathering energy? It has been theorized that the inhabitants could tap into energy released from supermassive black holes, which are believed to exist at the center of most galaxies. <a href="https://futurism.com/white-holes-wormholes-how-do-they-work/">White holes</a>, if they exist, could potentially provide a ton of energy from collecting the matter propelling outwards. Another theory involves capturing the energy of gamma-ray bursts, or the emissions from quasars.
<figure style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/07/New-type-of-black-hole-spotted-in-the-early-universe-A-1200x514.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Harness the Power of an Entire Galaxy" width="1200" height="514" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">NASA</figcaption></figure>
But, energy sources aside, stretching over the galaxy in such a manner comes with several problems; namely, the species would be constrained by the laws of physics. Particularly, light-speed travel. That is, unless they develop <a title="Sci-Fi Becomes Sci-fact; The Real Star Trek:" href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/sci-fi-becomes-sci-fact-the-real-star-trek/" target="_blank">a working warp drive</a>, or use that immaculate energy cache to master wormhole teleportation (two things that remain theoretical for the time being), they can only get so far&#8230;and traveling about the galaxy would still be an amazingly time-consuming process. It would take decades, or even hundreds of years, to travel between the stars.
However, cryogenic preservation could make such feats possible for biological organisms, while biosynthetic organisms will likely live far, far longer than we can possibly imagine—so such timescales may very well be the blink of and eye to them.
Or maybe we&#8217;ll break the laws of physics 100,000 million years into the future and invent warp drive. Who knows?

Taken From Dizorb.com

According to the Kardashev scale, a Type III civilization is a society that has managed to harness (and control) the energy output of a galaxy. Here's what that means.

Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Harness the Power of an Entire Galaxy

Ever seen the Borg from Star Trek or the Reapers from Mass Effect? This could be where we are headed.

<h2 style="text-align: justify;">A Stellar Culture</h2>
To measure the level of a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to harness. Obviously, the amount of power available to a civilization is linked to how widespread the civilization is (you can’t harness the power of a star if you are confined to your home planet, and you certainly can’t harness the power of a galaxy if you can’t even get out of your solar system).
In short, according to the Kardashev scale, interstellar travelers = advanced society.
In a previous article, we offered <a href="target=">an overview of the various civilization types</a>: Subglobal Cultures, Galactic Cultures, Multiverse Cultures etc.  We&#8217;ve already discussed a <a href="https://futurism.com/civilization-type-0-living-in-a-subglobal-culture/" target="_blank">Subglobal Culture</a> and a <a href="https://futurism.com/kardashev-scale-what-itll-be-like-when-we-harness-the-power-of-an-entire-world/">Planetary Culture</a>. Today, we want to talk about what it would be like to live in a Type II Civilization—A Stellar Culture.
You might be saying to yourself, &#8220;but aren&#8217;t we already harnessing the power of the Sun?&#8221; When we talk about a Type II Civilization, we aren&#8217;t merely discussing transforming starlight into energy — we&#8217;re talking about controlling the star. Does this sound like the plot of a bad super-villain film? Keep reading.
<h2>How Do We Do It?</h2>
This isn&#8217;t about capturing a star&#8217;s energy for nefarious means. Instead, it would be necessary for the continued advancement of the civilization in question, as exponential technology requires exponential energy.
Several methods for capturing the sun&#8217;s rays have been proposed. The most popular of which is the <a href="https://futurism.com/could-humanity-ever-really-build-a-dyson-sphere/">&#8216;Dyson Sphere.&#8217;</a> This moonshot device, if you want to call it that, is best described by Carl Sagan,
<blockquote>&#8220;Imagine the energy crisis of a really advanced planetary civilization. They&#8217;ve used up all their fuels, they depend on solar power. An enormous amount of energy is generated by the local star, but most of the star&#8217;s light doesn&#8217;t fall on their planet. So perhaps, they would build a shell, to surround their star, and harvest every photon of sunlight. Such beings, such civilizations, would bear little resemblance to anything we know.&#8221;</blockquote>
If this idea sounds familiar, it may be because the Dyson Sphere has made appearances in <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DysonSphere">popular television</a> quite a lot. In fact, such methods of energy harvesting are  frequently used by species that are Type II on the Kardashev scale (or beyond). For example, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode &#8220;Relics,&#8221; the Enterprise encounters a Dyson Sphere that was abandoned after the encased star became unstable, rendering the inner surface uninhabitable. Likewise, in the Doctor Who episode &#8220;Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS,&#8221; it is revealed that the TARDIS itself is a Dyson Sphere.
Alternatively, if fusion power (the mechanism that powers stars) has been mastered by the race, a reactor on a truly immense scale could be used to satisfy their energy needs. Nearby gas giants can be utilized for their hydrogen, slowly drained of life by the orbiting reactor. In this case, the civilization would be controlling planets for their energy needs.
<img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/09/dyson-sphere-artist-2-1200x675.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Control the Power of an Entire Star" />
<h2>How Will This Affect Life?</h2>
So, what would this much energy mean for a species? Well, we would have clear skies, as fossil fuels would be a thing of the past. No more anthropogenic global warming. And with virtually unlimited energy, traveling around the globe (or the solar system) would be a breeze. It would be amazingly inexpensive to power rockets and ground transport, bringing our fellow planets (and citizens) closer than ever.
People would take a quick jaunt to the Moon like people today take a trip to the beach.
It&#8217;s likely that no natural catastrophe could wipe out such a species. Just as they control their star, they control their planet (including all its weather patterns&#8230;so goodbye, hurricanes!). Moreover, if humans survived long enough to reach this level of civilization, and a moon-sized asteroid entered our solar system on a collision course with our little blue planet–our technology would have advanced to a point were we’d have the ability to vaporize it out of existence. Or if we had time, we could move our planet out of the way, completely dodging it.
But let’s say we didn’t want to move Earth… are there any other options?
Well yes, because we’d have the ability to move Jupiter, or another planet of our choice, into the path of the asteroid – pretty cool, right? A better choice, of course, would probably be to just move the asteroid (though that&#8217;s not so impressive sounding).
In any case, that&#8217;s what it means to literally control planets and stars.
We are a LONG way from all this though. It&#8217;s estimated that getting to a Type II civilization <a href="https://futurism.com/images/the-kardashev-scale-alien-intelligence-are-we-advanced-yet-comic/">will take between</a> 1,000 and 2,000 years. Right now, we&#8217;re probably closer to a 0.72.
It&#8217;ll be a while until we can use Jupiter as a shield. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Hard Science

According to the Kardashev scale, a Type II civilization is a society that has managed to harness (and control) the energy of a star. Here's what that means. 

Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Control the Power of an Entire Star

Here's what it would be like on a world with unlimited energy. 

Let’s be honest, we have our fair share of problems on planet Earth: war, floods, disease, poverty, and environmental destruction (the list goes on and on, really). But we also have a lot of things going for us: the <a title="The Alcubierre warp-drive" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=353767568042992&amp;set=a.339114152841667.80486.313312622088487&amp;type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank">Alcubierre Warp Drive</a>, <a title="invisibility cloaks" href="https://futurism.com/?p=1546" target="_blank">invisibility cloaks</a>, the <a title="Mars rover" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=337093103043772&amp;set=a.338058762947206.80193.313312622088487&amp;type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank">Mars rover</a> missions, the <a title="discovery of the Higgs" href="http://tinyurl.com/fqtq-countdown-1" target="_blank">discovery of the Higgs</a> (again, the list goes on and on).
How can we weigh all the exciting and inspiring scientific discoveries against all the destruction and chaos? We have an ever-expanding list of catastrophes that is coupled with (indeed, that parallels) our unrelenting march towards technological perfection. With such a coupling of unimaginable horrors and magnificent advancements, how can we possibly measure our status as a civilization?
One of the easiest ways to answer this question is to form a scale that will allow us to scientifically measure our technological abilities against the technological possibilities. Or in layman’s terms, something that will allow us to measure our awesomeness against the total possible awesomeness. Fortunately, there are several ways of conducting such measurements.
One is “The <a title="Kardashev Scale" href="http://tinyurl.com/KardashevScale-fqtq-fb" target="_blank">Kardashev Scale</a>.”
If you just want to understand the basics of this scale, you can read the following paragraph and skip the more technical section, which is helpfully marked “The TLDR Part.” 
Essentially, to measure a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to utilize. Notably, the amount of power available to a civilization is linked to how widespread the civilization is (whether it populates a planet, galaxy, or an entire universe).
<h2>The TLDR Part</h2>
The Kardashev scale exists because of a Russian astrophysicist known as Nicolai Kardashev (bet you&#8217;ll never guess where the scale got its name from).
In 1964, Kardashev came up with the idea that the status of a culture, as a whole, depends on two primary things: Energy and technology. He theorized that  a civilization&#8217;s technical advancement runs parallel to the amount of energy that the civilization is able to harness and manipulate. Essentially, the more energy that a society can produce, the more technologically advanced they are (this was originally just tied to energy available for communications, but has since been expanded).
In other words, according to this theory, a culture&#8217;s development (in the very widest sense) is a product of energy and of technology: Through technology, energy is harnessed, and as social systems are expressions of this technology, the status of a culture rests upon (and is determined by) the amount of energy that is harnessed.
The scale has a number of different categories (levels of classification). In recent years, scientists have expanded this scale to measure hypothetical civilizations—civilizations that are galactic, intergalactic, and even multiverse in nature.
Are you ready to find out where humanity falls? Then press on!
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/kardashev-scale-the-kinds-of-alien-civilizations-in-our-universe/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2015/12/TypesofCivilization_home_v2.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: The Kinds of Alien Civilizations in Our Universe" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/kardashev-scale-the-kinds-of-alien-civilizations-in-our-universe/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
<h2>Civilization Types</h2>
• Type 0: Subglobal Culture—This civilization extracts its energy and raw-materials from crude organic-based sources such as wood, coal, and oil. Any rockets utilized by such a civilization would necessarily depend on chemical propulsion. Since such travel is so pitifully slow, a civilization at this level would be (for the most part) confined to its home planet. Unfortunately, this is about where we are. We haven’t quite made it to Type I yet.
• Type I: Planetary Culture—This civilization would be slightly more advanced than those found on Earth. They would be capable of utilizing all available resources on their home planet, skillfully harnessing the energy output of an entire world (10^15 watts). With any luck (if we don’t blow ourselves to oblivion, or turn the Earth into an uninhabitable wasteland) we will reach this stage in 100-200 years. So maybe your grandkids will be around to see it; there’s some hope in that (assuming you have kids).
• Type II: Stellar Culture—This civilization would be far more advanced than we are (a few thousand years beyond our stage of evolution). Such a society would be able to harnesses all the energy of its star (in our case, about 10^26 watts). This culture might resemble the Federation of Planets, as seen on Star Trek; or the civilization might be like a majority of the humanoids in the Mass Effect universe, such as the Asari, Salarians, and Turians.
• Type III: Galactic Culture—This civilization would be able to harnesses the energy output of a galaxy (about 10 billion times the energy output of a Type II civilization, and about 100,000 to 1 million years more advanced than we are). They have colonized the galaxy itself, extracting energy from hundreds of billions of stars, <a title="traveling across interstellar space" href="http://mkaku.org/home/?page_id=250" target="_blank">traveling across interstellar space</a>, and populating innumerable worlds. This civilization may resemble the Borg (but hopefully not as mean and “resistant-is-futile-like”), or perhaps they would resemble the Empire from Star Wars (but hopefully not so Darth-Vader-choke-hold-like), or maybe they would be more like the Reapers from Mass Effect (but hopefully not so break-your-body-down-into-biogoop-like)…did anyone else notice that the civilizations at this level all seem to be evil and horrid?
<figure style="width: 4096px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/09/DeathStarLaserConstruction.jpg" alt="A Brief Explanation of the Kardashev Scale: How Far Can Humanity Really Advance?" width="4096" height="1716" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Lucasfilm</figcaption></figure>
• Type IV: Universal Culture —This civilization would be an intergalactic culture, spanning the breadth and width of the Universe. They would travel across the cosmos, commanding the power of a billion trillion suns. These societies would be capable of attempting projects of gargantuan, superhuman proportions, such as changing the structure of space-time or the deliberate slowing of entropy (or even its reversal) to achieve ultimate immortality. (Or, said civilizations may ultimately become capable of living INSIDE the event horizon of extra-massive black holes!) For humanity, such accomplishments might be forever beyond our reach. This level may be achievable only by incorporeal beings, such as members of Star Trek’s Q Continuum, or the Gallifreyans from Doctor Who.
• Type V: Multiverse Culture—This civilization will have transcended their universe of origin. It would be capable of universe-scale manipulation (jumping between multiverses that contain varied forms of matter, physics, and space-time). A civilization such as this would be home to beings of <a title="unimaginable power and energy" href="http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/physics_extraterrestrialcivilizations.htm" target="_blank">unimaginable power and ability</a>.
<h2>Looking to the Future</h2>
It is a little disheartening that we haven’t even reached Type I yet. It would be nice to say something inspiring, like “given our lowly position, there’s nowhere to go but up!” Yet, it is entirely possible that some major catastrophe (be it natural or human induced) will send us spiraling back into the Stone Age.
So, what’s the ultimate take away from all of this?
If we want to <a title="advance beyond" href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/earth-5000-years.htm" target="_blank">advance beyond</a> a Type 0 civilization, we’re going to need to play nice with one another (and maybe invest in science and education; that helps too).

Let’s be honest, we have our fair share of problems on planet Earth: war, floods, disease, poverty, and environmental destruction (the list goes on and on, really). But we also have a lot of things going for us: the Alcubierre Warp Drive, invisibility cloaks, the Mars rover missions, the discovery of the Higgs (again, the […]

A Brief Explanation of the Kardashev Scale: How Far Can Humanity Really Advance?

This is what our world could look like millennia from now.

To measure the level of a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to utilize. Notably, the amount of power available to a civilization is fundamentally linked to how widespread the civilization is (you obviously can’t harness the power of a star if you are confined to your home planet). In<a title="a precious article" href="https://futurism.com/the-kardashev-scale-of-civilization-types/" target="_blank"> a previous article</a>, we offered an overview of the various civilization types, Subglobal Cultures, Galactic Cultures, Multiverse Cultures etc.
Today, I want to talk about what it would be like to live in a Type 0 Civilization—A Subglobal Culture.
This might seem like a rather strange topic for discussion. After all, we are a subglobal culture. So couldn’t I just say, “What you are doing right now is living in a subglobal culture. Congratulations. Look out your window or something.” Wouldn’t that give you a much better understanding of this civilization type than any explanation that I could give? No.
<h2>Understanding Our World</h2>
Based on our energy use, in 1973 astronomer <a title="Carl Sagan" href="http://www.carlsagan.com/" target="_blank">Carl Sagan</a> estimated that Earth represented a Type 0.7 civilization, more current assessments put us at about 0.72. What does this mean? We’ve had 4.5 billion years and we still haven’t made it to a Type 1 civilization.
So there’s a lot more to a Type 0 civilization than simply what you see when you look out your window. What about what came before? And what will come next?
On our own planet, at the lowest civilization type (Type 0.1) you would be a proto-human. You would use sticks and other basic tools to hunt and forage for your food. You probably wouldn’t wear any clothes. Many of your fellow proto-humans would be eaten by proto-lions (which would not be terribly pleasant, I’m afraid).
<figure id="attachment_2367" style="width: 826px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/00000.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2367 size-full" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/00000.jpg" alt="Civilized man: We’re still working on it…" width="826" height="302" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Civilized man: We’re still working on it… (See a larger image <a href="http://c2.plzcdn.com/ZillaIMG/0e8f1fe539f75a7f7efd1aca9979467a_1401129589_medium.jpg">here</a>)</figcaption></figure>
However, as an individual in a proto-society, you’d have to fight to earn mating rights, protect your hunting territories, and establish leadership through a strength based dominance hierarchy…so your fellows getting eaten by proto-lions might actually work to your advantage. Warm showers would (of course) be out of the question. You’d have to rely entirely on natural resources such as hot springs, fires set by lightning, and your own muscle power.
But eventually a proto-human in your proto-society would start carving stones into tools. Thus, your little world would evolve into the Stone Age (how exciting for you!).
<figure id="attachment_2390" style="width: 839px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/oooooo.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2390 " src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/oooooo.jpg" alt="Proto-technology at its best " width="839" height="557" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Proto-technology at its best (Author Unknown)</figcaption></figure>
At this point, as you move to a Type 0.2 civilization and beyond, you figure out how to manipulate fire and use it to your advantage (like making roasted proto-lion). You also start wearing clothing and other items that protect you from the natural environment. Eventually, you harness animals and use them to herd and transport material (proto-Lassie and proto-Mister Ed).
You might use smoke signals to communicate to distant tribes as you expand across the planet. And so you would slowly evolve from relying on natural forms of energy to manipulating resources for use.
<figure id="attachment_2396" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/kay-with-weapons.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2396" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/kay-with-weapons-300x225.jpg" alt="An advanced civilization = having an advanced way of killing other civilizations " width="300" height="225" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">An advanced civilization = having an advanced way of killing other civilizations</figcaption></figure>
As your culture continues to develop, you will begin metalworking. But moving from the Stone Age into the Metal Ages takes time…a lot of time (the Stone Age on Earth lasted some 3.4 million years). But eventually you’ll stop using those ruddy stones, and you’ll progress through the Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages, where metal tools replace previous devices (and you make swords to stab your enemies, which will be of great assistance as you continue to fight to earn mating rights, protect hunting territories, and establish leadership through an economic based dominance hierarchy). Better fuels, such as coal or oil secured from local tar pits, will replace wood in campfires (just be careful with your herds around those tar pits; if one of your animals slips in, it probably won’t be seen again until some bloody scientist from a Type 0.7 civilization unearths it in a few millennia).
As you form into a more advanced community, you develop large structures that allow you to harness water power and wind power. Populations around rivers and other water systems surge and cities begin to truly develop (which makes plague spreading a snap and sewage removal a serious problem). Assuming your civilization isn’t wiped out by dysentery (it’s caused by fecal contamination of food and water), you will plateau here for a bit, at about Type 0.4.
<figure id="attachment_2399" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/mod2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2399" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/mod2-300x215.jpg" alt="Civilization, glorious civilization… " width="300" height="215" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Civilization, glorious civilization… (Author Unknown)</figcaption></figure>
The large structures created to harness wind and water energy are really only capable of producing a tiny amount of energy. So slowly, ever so slowly, you transition into widespread use of fossil fuel burning. And as we all know, a tiny bit of oil or natural gas goes a long way: Cue the industrial revolution!
Of course, steam and electricity are soon to follow.
Once you have electricity, your subglobal culture will evolve at an amazing rate. With electricity comes the advent of instantaneous global communication systems, amazingly fast transportation systems (which enable people to traverse the planet on a whim), global markets and planetary trade activities…and the dawn of a global culture is at hand.
At this level, you begin to truly understand the processes that create the planet and cosmos (your archaeologists delve into the deep recesses of tar pits and learn much about the herding practices of your ancestors). Nuclear energy is soon to follow and, as the energy released by nuclear fission is a million times greater than that released in chemical reactions, it fuels industry and technology even further, bringing society ever closer to breaching the bounds of the planet.
<h2>And here we have the major test</h2>
<figure id="attachment_2404" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/xlarge.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2404 size-medium" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2013/03/xlarge-300x168.jpg" alt="xlarge" width="300" height="168" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">via Wikimedia Commons</figcaption></figure>
Nuclear energy isn’t all fun and games. Sure, you can use it to power cities and expand world markets. But you can also use it to obliterate your enemies (and much of the planet in the process) as you continue to fight to earn mating rights, protect hunting territories, and establish leadership through an economic based dominance hierarchy.
If you pass the test, you will harness the power of your planet and advance to a Type 1 civilization—a united global society that is capable of harnessing all the solar energy that reaches your world, manipulating planetary weather systems, and you’ll start to pull energy from other objects in the cosmos. If you fail, you will quite literally bomb your society back into the Stone Age (assuming, of course, that you don’t completely obliterate every living member of your civilization).
So if we want to advance beyond a Type 0 civilization, we’re going to need to play nice with one another<a title="law" href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/repeal-sequesters-cuts-nasas-spending-public-outreach-and-its-stem-programs/kY7Tw85q" target="_blank"> (and maybe invest in science and education; that helps too).</a>

To measure the level of a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to utilize. Notably, the amount of power available to a civilization is fundamentally linked to how widespread the civilization is (you obviously can’t harness the power of a star if you are confined […]

The Kardashev Scale Type 0: Why Earth is a Level Zero Civilization

Getting out of the Stone Age isn't easy. 

To measure the level of a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to harness. Obviously, the amount of power available to a civilization is linked to how widespread the civilization is (you can’t harness the power of a star if you are confined to your home planet, and you certainly can’t harness the power of a galaxy if you can’t even get out of your solar system).
In short, according to the Kardashev scale, interstellar travelers = advanced society.
In a previous article, we offered <a href="target=">an overview of the various civilization types</a>: Subglobal Cultures, Galactic Cultures, Multiverse Cultures etc.  We&#8217;ve already discussed a <a href="https://futurism.com/civilization-type-0-living-in-a-subglobal-culture/" target="_blank">Subglobal Culture</a>. Today, we want to talk about what it would be like to live in a Type I Civilization—A Planetary Culture.
This type of culture doesn’t sound too terribly interesting. A Planetary Culture…a culture that lives on a planet. Wow. Fascinating. But don&#8217;t be so quick to judge, as such civilizations are generally far more advanced than we are.
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/kardashev-scale-the-kinds-of-alien-civilizations-in-our-universe/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2015/12/TypesofCivilization_home_v2.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: The Kinds of Alien Civilizations in Our Universe" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/kardashev-scale-the-kinds-of-alien-civilizations-in-our-universe/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Earth: Above and Beyond</h2>
While it’s true that such cultures are limited to the energy that can be obtained from a single world, that they are stuck on a single rock, Type I Civilizations have harnessed the power of the entire planet itself (estimated at about ~4 x 10^19 erg/sec.).
This means that their technological advancement isn’t limited by the availability of fossil fuels.
So in essence, if you lived in a Type I Civilization, you wouldn’t need to worry about earthquakes, tornadoes, or other catastrophic phenomena. Horrifying natural disasters like Pompeii, the 2004 South Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina…all of these cataclysms would be things of the past.
Ultimately, harnessing the power of the planet means controlling weather patterns, plate tectonics, oceanic currents, controlling volcanoes…the list goes on and on. As such, Type I Civilizations are able to manipulate (and, in many ways, manufacture) their own world.
You want rain? You can program it, so no more droughts. And no droughts means little to no starvation. This is a very good thing.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">So. What Would it be Like?</h2>
Of course, exploiting the power of a planet takes work. And you certainly can’t do it if your civilization is comprised of a few measly individuals who are confined to one tiny continent. Consequently, if you lived in a Type I civilization, you would be part of a vast population. Cities would stretch across the globe. Literally. Your world would no longer have countries or nations; it would be a single City-Empire. All peoples would act as one. They would be one…a truly global culture.
This is an inspiring and a harrowing thought.
The optimist will assert that Type I Civilizations will have ended war and genocide through peaceful processes. The pessimist will assert that Type I Civilizations will have ended war and genocide through war and genocide—by killing all those who dissented and opposed the majority.
<figure style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/08/Trantor_ZUPZUP_031111-1200x720.jpg" alt="Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Harness the Power of an Entire World" width="1200" height="720" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Trantor</figcaption></figure>
Regardless of the path taken, the main point remains: A Type I Civilization will be a single, global culture that uses a network of highly advanced planetary-wide technologies to harness the total energy output of the Earth. For any world plagued by war and infighting, the large-scale projects required to attain Type I status will simply be out of reach.
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">When Will We get There?</h2>
Obviously, Planetary Civilizations are more advanced than we are. But, with any luck (if we don’t blow ourselves to oblivion, or turn the Earth into an uninhabitable wasteland), we will reach this stage in 100 to 200 years. So maybe your grand-kids will be around to see it; there’s some hope in that (assuming you have kids).
But there are problems that we will need to overcome if we are to attain the vast amount of energy generation needed to advance to a Type I Civilization. In order to reach Type I status using current modes of technology, we would need to essentially coat the entire surface of the planet with man-made structures. Such an enterprise would be astronomically expensive…and insanely detrimental to the environment. Moreover, we lack the material needed to create such large-scale structures.
On top of all this, nearly all forms of energy – electrical, thermal, mechanical, nuclear – they all return to the biosphere in a single degraded form: Heat. And heat is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Without it, we would all be very, very dead. But too much of a good thing is, well, not a good thing. Thermal pollution can rapidly reach catastrophic proportions. As more and more energy (heat) is liberated, the global temperature begins to rise, and the precarious energy balance of the biosphere begins to suffer irreversible damage.
At what point will this ultimate catastrophe occur?
On Earth, it is estimated that our pale blue dot will turn into a dry dead inferno long before we reach the energy levels needed to reach a Type I Civilization. The main point: The coming days will test us. There is a limit to every kind of energy production. At least, there is a limit if we don’t want to kill ourselves. So if we want to really advance, if we hope to boldly go where no one has gone before, then we are going to need to invest in new technologies and new means of production. We are going to need educated individuals to conduct research (we&#8217;re looking at you).

To measure the level of a civilization’s advancement, the Kardashev scale focuses on the amount of energy that a civilization is able to harness. Obviously, the amount of power available to a civilization is linked to how widespread the civilization is (you can’t harness the power of a star if you are confined to your […]

Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Harness the Power of an Entire World

We will be able to manipulate (and, in many ways, manufacture) our own world.

We have reached a turning point in society. According to renowned <a href="http://mkaku.org/" target="_blank">theoretical physicist Michio Kaku</a>, the next 100 years of science will determine whether we perish or thrive. Will we remain a Type 0 civilization, or will we advance and make our way into the stars?
Experts assert that, as a civilization grows larger and becomes more advanced, its energy demands will increase rapidly due to its population growth and the energy requirements of its various machines. With this in mind, <a href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-kardashev-scale-of-civilization-types/" target="_blank">the Kardashev scale</a> was developed as a way of measuring a civilization&#8217;s technological advancement based upon how much usable energy it has at its disposal (this was originally just tied to energy available for communications, but has since been expanded).
<h2>Meet the Kardashev Scale</h2>
<figure id="attachment_7595" style="width: 240px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Karashev-Type-2.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-7595 " src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2014/07/Karashev-Type-2-300x186.jpg" alt="Credit: Chris Cold" width="240" height="149" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Credit: Chris Cold</figcaption></figure>
The scale was originally designed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Kardashev" target="_blank">Nikolai Kardashev</a> (who was looking for signs of extraterrestrial life within cosmic signals). It has 3 base classes, each with an energy disposal level: Type I (10¹⁶W), Type II (10²⁶W), and Type III (10³⁶W). Other astronomers have extended the scale to Type IV (10⁴⁶W) and Type V (the energy available to this kind of civilization would equal that of all energy available in not just our universe, but in all universes and in all time-lines). These additions consider both energy access as well as the amount of knowledge the civilizations have access to.
First, it is important to note that the human race is not even on this scale yet. Since we still sustain our energy needs from dead plants and animals, here on Earth, we are a lowly Type 0 civilization (and we have a LONG way to go before being promoted to a type I civilization). Kaku tends to believe that, all things taken into consideration, <a href="http://mkaku.org/home/?page_id=246" target="_blank">we will reach Type I in 100 – 200 years</a> time. But what does each of these categories actually stand for in literal terms?
A <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/22/opinion/oe-shermer22" target="_blank">Type I designation</a> is a given to species who have been able to harness all the energy that is available from a neighboring star, gathering and storing it to meet the energy demands of a growing population. This means that we would need to boost our current energy production over 100,000 times to reach this status. However, being able to harness all Earth’s energy would also mean that we could have control over all natural forces. Human beings could control volcanoes, the weather, and even earthquakes! (At least, that is the idea.) These kinds of feats are hard to believe, but compared to the advances that may still be to come, these are just basic and primitive levels of control (it&#8217;s absolutely nothing compared to the capabilities of societies with higher rankings).
<figure id="attachment_7593" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/trantor9a.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-7593 " src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2014/07/trantor9a-300x180.jpg" alt="Image Credit: Slawek Wojtowicz" width="210" height="126" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">A Dyson Sphere (Credit: <a href="http://www.elfwood.com/~slawcio/Trantor-from-space.3230279.html" target="_blank">Slawek Wojtowicz)</a></figcaption></figure>
The next step up &#8211; a <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Kardashev_scale.html" target="_blank">Type II civilization</a> &#8211; can harness the power of their entire star (not merely transforming starlight into energy, but controlling the star). Several methods for this have been proposed. The most popular of which is the <a href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/?p=2600" target="_blank">hypothetical ‘Dyson Sphere.&#8217;</a> This device, if you want to call it that, would encompass every single inch of the star, gathering most (if not all) of its energy output and transferring it to a planet for later use. Alternatively, if fusion power (the mechanism that powers stars) had been mastered by the race, a reactor on a truly immense scale could be used to satisfy their needs. Nearby gas giants can be utilized for their hydrogen, slowly drained of life by an orbiting reactor.
What would this much energy mean for a species? Well, nothing known to science could wipe out a Type II civilization. Take, for instance, if humans survived long enough to reach this status, and a moon sized object entered our solar system on a collision course with our little blue planet&#8211;we’d have the ability to vaporize it out of existence. Or if we had time, we could move our planet out of the way, completely dodging it. But let’s say we didn’t want to move Earth&#8230; are there any other options? Well yes, because we’d have the capability to move Jupiter, or another planet of our choice, into the way – pretty cool, right?
<figure id="attachment_7594" style="width: 240px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/my-face-21.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-7594 " src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2014/07/my-face-21-300x200.jpg" alt="A Cyborg (Credit: Justin Lee)" width="240" height="160" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">A Cyborg (Credit: <a href="http://justinlee1128.wordpress.com/2008/07/" target="_blank">Justin Lee</a>)</figcaption></figure>
So we’ve gone from having control over a planet, to a star, which has resulted in us <a href="http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2012/09/what-will-a-civilization-a-million-years-ahead-of-earth-look-like-weekend-feature.html" target="_blank">harboring enough &#8220;disposable&#8221; energy </a>to essentially make our civilization immune to extinction. But now, onto Type III, where a species then becomes galactic traversers with knowledge of everything having to do with energy, resulting in them becoming a master race.  In terms of humans, hundreds of thousands of years of evolution &#8211; both biological and mechanical &#8211; may result in the inhabitants of this type III civilization being incredibly different from the human race as we know it. These may be cyborgs (or <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/26-rise-of-the-cyborgs#.UlQlDBDan1k" target="_blank">cybernetic organism</a>, beings both biological and robotic), with the descendants of regular humans being a sub-species among the now-highly advanced society. These wholly biological humans would likely be seen as being disabled, inferior, or unevolved by their cybernetic counterparts.
At this stage, we would have developed colonies of robots that are capable of ‘self replication’; their population may increase into the millions as they spread out across the galaxy, colonizing star after star. And these being might build Dyson Spheres to encapsulate each one, creating a huge network that would carry energy back to the home planet. But stretching over the galaxy in such a manner would face several problems; namely, the species would be constrained by the laws of physics. Particularly, light-speed travel. That is, unless they develop <a title="Sci-Fi Becomes Sci-fact; The Real Star Trek:" href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/sci-fi-becomes-sci-fact-the-real-star-trek/" target="_blank">a working warp drive</a>, or use that immaculate energy cache to master wormhole teleportation (two things that remain theoretical for the time being), they can only get so far.
<figure id="attachment_7596" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/bb.jpg"><img class="wp-image-7596 " src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2014/07/bb-300x225.jpg" alt="An artist rendering of such a civilization (Credit: Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword)" width="210" height="158" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">An artist rendering of such a civilization (Credit: Sid Meier&#8217;s Civilization IV)</figcaption></figure>
Kardashev believed a <a href="http://www.positivefuturist.com/archive/70.html" target="_blank">Type IV civilization </a>was ‘too’ advanced and didn’t go beyond Type III on his scale. He thought that, surely, this would be the extent of any species’ ability. Many think so, but a few believe there is a further level that could be achieved. (I mean, surely there is a limit?) Type IV civilizations would almost be able to harness the energy content of the entire universe and with that, they could traverse the accelerating expansion of space (furthermore, advance races of these species <a title="How Advanced Races of Intelligent Beings Could Live in Black Holes" href="http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/how-advanced-races-of-intelligent-beings-could-live-in-black-holes/" target="_blank">may live inside supermassive black holes</a>). To previous methods of generating energy, these kinds of feats are considered impossible. A Type IV civilization would need to tap into energy sources unknown to us using strange, or currently unknown, laws of physics.
Type V. Yes, Type V might just be the next possible advancement to such a civilization. Here beings would be like gods, having the knowledge to manipulate the universe as they please. Now, as I said, humans are a very, very long way from ever reaching anything like this. But it’s not to say that it cannot be achieved as long as we take care of Earth and each other. To do so, the first step is to preserve our tiny home, extinguish war, and continue to support scientific advances and discoveries.

We have reached a turning point in society. According to renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, the next 100 years of science will determine whether we perish or thrive. Will we remain a Type 0 civilization, or will we advance and make our way into the stars? Experts assert that, as a civilization grows larger and becomes more advanced, […]

/Kardashev Scale

Earth & Energy

Due to Human Impact, the Earth is Now Considered a “Hybrid Planet”

Sci-Fi Visions

How Much Energy Would We Need to Power a Time Machine?

Off World

Kardashev Scale: This Is What Life Will Look Like When We Harness the Energy of the Entire Universe

Off World

Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Harness the Power of an Entire Galaxy

Hard Science

Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Control the Power of an Entire Star

Hard Science

A Brief Explanation of the Kardashev Scale: How Far Can Humanity Really Advance?

Hard Science

The Kardashev Scale Type 0: Why Earth is a Level Zero Civilization

Hard Science

Kardashev Scale: What It’ll Be Like When We Harness the Power of an Entire World

Off World

The Kardashev Scale – Type I, II, III, IV & V Civilization

Load More