91
votes
War between two type III civilizations from the perspective of a type II civilization
We can examine what a full K-type "difference" looks like in the current context. While we cannot look up yet (there are no K-type 1.7+ civilizations as far as we can see), but we can look down.
...
- 15.5k
48
votes
War between two type III civilizations from the perspective of a type II civilization
Do rats care about human war? Other answers have focused on powerlessness and how the Ⅱs may be accidently trampled by the Ⅲs, as (Zibbobz points out) like the source of the expression of mice and ...
- 69.4k
47
votes
Accepted
Deflecting an incoming star, railgun style
You've got this the wrong way around.
You're trying to deflect an entire star, which engineers refer to as very very heavy.
You're doing this to save a planet, which those engineers might refer to as ...
- 74.7k
36
votes
Accepted
War between two type III civilizations from the perspective of a type II civilization
The best the K2 civilization can do is to attempt to shield themselves from collateral damage caused by whatever the aliens are using. This is problematic since they could be using principles and ...
- 97.7k
22
votes
War between two type III civilizations from the perspective of a type II civilization
Here is some perspective. Human power consumption is 1.23e13 W or 3.87e20 J/year. An 1 Megaton nuclear weapon goes pop with 4.2e15 J of energy, or 5 orders of magnitude less than our yearly ...
- 85.4k
20
votes
What could exist inside and between the walls of a Dyson Sphere?
This is not a reasonable depiction of a Dyson Sphere.
First of all, it must be stated that this kind of Dyson Sphere - a solid "Dyson Shell" - while a popular description, is universally regarded as ...
- 29.1k
12
votes
Logical reasons for Forgoing a Dyson Swarm
The most logical explanation that springs to mind for me is that a Dyson Sphere or Dyson Swarm is not something you can build overnight. It's a gigastructure far beyond anything humanity would have ...
- 14.2k
12
votes
Accepted
How can I make a black dwarf star?
Basically, you're asking how to suck the heat out of a while dwarf without sucking all the mass out. That's really hard.
The classic three methods of heat transport are radiation, convection, and ...
- 14.3k
12
votes
Accepted
Can my advanced civilization halt the expansion of the universe?
This is certainly a question that's been thought about a lot. Hooper (2018) suggested that a Type III civilization could quickly travel outwards from their home and build Dyson spheres around stars in ...
- 101k
11
votes
What type of natural or artificial disaster could devastate a multi galactic civilization?
Ennui.
The disaster is millions of years in the making, but for a civilization that has lived billions, it's as nothing. People have conquered every challenge available. They turn inward. ...
- 391
10
votes
Accepted
Could a civilization engineer supernovae?
I had written up a long spiel that was going to be part of a long answer to another question, but it looks like it'll do all right here. Just so you don't think that I whipped it up in 20 minutes.
...
- 101k
10
votes
Deflecting an incoming star, railgun style
TL;DR don't move the red dwarf - move your planet.
During those six thousand years, adjust the planet's orbit so that, during the encounter - which will last no more than about two months - the planet ...
- 55.2k
9
votes
How can I make a black dwarf star?
Disassembling and reassembling the star
The surface of a star is where all the energy gets out by radiation.
In a regular sphere that is $4 \pi r²$, but it's volume $\frac{4}{3} \pi r³$ implying a ...
- 6,829
7
votes
How would a Type I civilization habitable planet be any different to a Type II civilization habitable planet?
I think you may be experiencing a cart-before-the-horse moment here, so I’m going to issue a bit of a frame-challenge.
Civilisations shouldn’t develop to KS-II and then look around nonplussed, ...
- 66.3k
7
votes
Deflecting an incoming star, railgun style
I'm going to do some rounding and assumptions. Also usually for orbital mechanics there is a whole lot of mathing for approaches, but for stars approaching each other on an orbit around a galaxy ...
- 142k
7
votes
Deflecting an incoming star, railgun style
A few comments:
The question implies that the civilization has just discovered the red dwarf star and is frantically asking for suggestions from far more primitive civilizations.
It also states that ...
- 30.2k
6
votes
What is the least impactful thing that could be done to wipe mankind , but allow the survival of other animal life?
Supervirus
Kardashev Type III civilizations would likely have mastered completely genetic engineering and possibly even removing biological matter from their bodies entirely. To genetically engineer a ...
- 616
6
votes
Accepted
Powersource untill heatdeath
You know that big old supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy? Yeah. That.
The basic idea is to get as much matter as possible into orbit around a black hole and then slowly feed matter ...
- 66.3k
6
votes
What inventions/technology would we have to create to achieve a Type I status on the Kardashev scale?
Fusion power, practical
As the definition is by energy use and the required increase is several orders of magnitude this will require an energy source that is relatively convenient and for practical ...
- 43.2k
6
votes
What type of natural or artificial disaster could devastate a multi galactic civilization?
Computer virus
Any civilization close to or above K1 is going to be heavily automated. Your administrators are computers, your farmers, doctors and technicians are robots. Everything is networked for ...
- 1,588
6
votes
Deflecting an incoming star, railgun style
If ɹɐqooɟ lives in a dense cluster, this is a problem that will need to be solved periodically. That means there must be a better solution.
Fortunately, if ɹɐqooɟ's civilization has built half a ...
- 45.9k
6
votes
Hypothetical energy sources for a picotech utility fog civilzation?
You're actually asking three quite separate questions there... 1. where does the energy come from? (eg. do they need a dyson sphere?), 2. how does the energy get into your picotech... things? devices? ...
- 74.7k
5
votes
Is it possible for type II civ to resuscitate dying star?
Certainly.
Stellar husbandry
That is one of the uses of star lifting.
But you would not revert a white dwarf, anymore than you unburn coal. You start while it’s still in the main sequence, and you ...
- 69.4k
5
votes
Accepted
What is the least impactful thing that could be done to wipe mankind , but allow the survival of other animal life?
Cause geomagnetic storm
Last really bad storm of this type in year 1921 caused telegraphs to go out of the service.
Your rules forbid playing with a planet , whereas the Sun is a star (obviously). ...
- 45.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Logical reasons for Forgoing a Dyson Swarm
The issue is that building a Dyson swarm is so overwhelmingly beneficial that there is no reason not to build it, and indeed every incentive to do so to gain economic and military advantages over your ...
- 97.7k
5
votes
What type of natural or artificial disaster could devastate a multi galactic civilization?
Reality rift.
My answer from this question: Speculative weapon of mass destruction
Someone in your civilization, possibly as an art project, starts unravelling God's stitches. The barriers ...
- 305k
5
votes
What could exist inside and between the walls of a Dyson Sphere?
There's a few things which would make it strange.
The first is that these biomes are bespoke. Someone created them with a purpose. Environments as we are used to occurred through the evolution of ...
- 132k
4
votes
What's the lowest Type on the Kardashev Scale a civilisation could be for us to take it for God?
Many consider Jesus to be God, or at least the son of God. At that time, that part of civilization was probably working its way up to Kardashev Scale 0, which is 1MW of power produced. The Egyptians ...
- 132k
4
votes
War between two type III civilizations from the perspective of a type II civilization
"Safeguards" is impossible. A type II civilisation cannot meaningfully threaten or bribe a type III civilisation: they can take anything they want from us without our being able to do anything ...
- 24.5k
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