The Aliens : The Mystery of the Tabby Star, the Kardashev Scale, and the Dyson Sphere

Continued writing in the previous episode. Before reading this article it is advisable to read my previous article about aliens here https://read.cash/@AnsleyLivy/the-aliens-examining-the-dark-forest-theory-the-mystery-of-oumuamua-and-the-fermi-paradox-53049099 .

After reading my article in the first episode about aliens, do you believe in aliens? The Drake equation answers that the chances of alien life out there are very high. Then the Dark Forest theory answered Fermi's Paradox about why they decided to go into hiding. Is it true that there is an alien civilization out there that is so threatening and terrifying?

To discuss this further, we also need to examine how modern an alien civilization is out there. Can their existence really threaten us? Is there any evidence of their existence, other than blurry UFO photos? I will answer it in this article. But first I want to introduce you to the concept of the Kardashev Scale.

Kardashev Scale

How sophisticated is the alien civilization out there? Fortunately, an astronomer from the Soviet Union named Nikolai Kardashev answered this through his theory published in 1964. Kardashev argued, the more advanced a civilization is, the greater its energy needs. This makes perfect sense. Imagine, a simple house in the village and in the city, which one needs more electricity? Of course the house is in the city, right? Houses in a village may only need electricity for basic needs, such as lamps. However, houses in urban areas certainly have more sophisticated equipment, such as computers, electric stoves, water heaters, water pumps, etc.

So that Kardashev thought, the more advanced the alien civilization is out there, of course, it will require more energy. But where will they meet their energy needs? What energy sources will they use? How do they harvest it? This is what underlies Kardashev's thinking. He put forward a theory on the Kardashev Scale, namely that the alien civilizations out there, if any, would be divided into three categories based on their technological progress.

First Kind Civilization

This type of civilization is also called the Planet Civilization. This civilization can use all the energy that is on the planet. This type of civilization is perhaps the closest to the technological level possessed by humans on Earth. According to Kardashev, this civilization will consume 4 x 10(16) watts of energy. This civilization is only able to harvest solar energy that reaches its planet.

Second Kind of Civilization

This type of civilization is also called the Star Civilization. This civilization can use all the energy contained in their solar system. This civilization requires energy much times greater, namely 4 x 10(26) watts. In order to fulfill it, they must harvest all of their solar energy. In theory, they could use the Dyson Ball (I'll explain later) for this purpose.

Third Kind Civilization

This type of civilization is also known as Galactic Civilization. This civilization can use all the energy contained in their galaxy. This civilization has an energy requirement of up to 4 × 10 (36) watts and to fulfill it, they must harvest the energy from all the stars in their galaxy.

Kardashev believes that alien culture cannot develop into Type Four, so he only stops at Type Third.

Maybe you think, humans have reached the First Level, because we can harvest energy from our sun, for example using solar panels. But it's not that easy. Another astronomer, Carl Sagan, only thought that our civilization level was not even Level One, but had only reached Level Zero point Seven. This is based on the fact that our energy consumption has only reached 2 x 10(13) watts, still far from the 4 x 10(16) watts which is the standard of First Type civilization.

Other physicists also argue, to reach the first level alone, humans still need up to two hundred years. Meanwhile, to reach the second level, humans need thousands of years. Undoubtedly, the third level could only be reached by humans in the next hundred thousand to one million years.

But that doesn't mean humans can't imagine. A scientist named Dyson succeeded in designing a structure called the Dyson Sphere if one day we reached the Second Level.

The Dyson Sphere is a hypothetical mega structure (aka massive structure that has yet to be built) that surrounds a star to harvest its energy. As an illustration, our planet only receives 0.000000000049% of its energy from the Sun. If we want to harvest one hundred percent of the sun's energy, the best way to do this is to cover the sun with a structure called a Dyson Sphere.

Freeman Dyson, a physicist and mathematician, first put forward the idea in his paper published in 1960 entitled "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation". He proposed millions of floating structures around the entire surface of the Sun to capture its energy. Of course this way, more energy will be captured. Making a Dyson Sphere is certainly not easy. In order to make it, we must at least reach the Second Type civilization first.

There are four types of Dyson Sphere that can be made. The first or simplest, but with the lowest energy input, is the Dyson Ring.

If we align the Dyson Ring to cover the entire surface of the sun, then we will get a Dyson Swarm or Dyson Bubble. Uniquely, each unit that makes up the Dyson Bubble is called statites and can be designed as a small planet that can become a new human habitat.

The most radical design of the Dyson Sphere is the Dyson Shell. Of course we can imagine, even the Dyson Bubble cannot capture one hundred percent of the sun's energy because there will be energy going out through the empty space between the "statites" that make up it. Therefore, the most extreme idea is to create a very sturdy structure that can seal off and block all the energy coming out of the sun.

If this Dyson Shell design can be realized, then humans will be able to meet the energy needs of the Second Type, which is 4 x 10(26) watts. But we need to remember, creating such a cool structure will certainly have many challenges. If we used all the materials in our solar system (even mine asteroids and other planets), we could only make a Dyson Shell Eight to Twenty meters centimeter thick! Not to mention blocking the entire sun can change the conditions of our solar system.

We return to our alien theory. If there really is alien life on the Kardashev scale, let alone one that reaches a Type above the Third, then in theory we will be able to observe it.

In October 2015, a group of astronomers at the Kepler Space Telescope caught a strange phenomenon in a star called KIC 8462852 in the constellation Cygnus, about fifteen hundred light years from Earth. The star was later given the nickname Abby Star after the team leader of astronomers, Tabetha S. Boyajian.

The Tabby star attracted astronomers' attention because of its strange behavior, in which the star dims by twenty-two percent for no apparent reason. One possible explanation for stellar dimming is artificial structures that block the star from absorbing its energy.

In other words, the tabby's Star's dimming was probably caused by the Dyson Sphere. But is the theory correct? We may never know given how far away the star is. However, it turns out that the Tabby Star is not the only star that aliens have allegedly used for its energy. In 2016, another star in the constellation Scorpion, named EPIC 204278916 also experienced a similar, even more extreme, phenomenon when it dimmed by 65% ​​during the 25 days of observation. The same speculation is running, that an extraterrestrial race of aliens built a Dyson Sphere around it to harvest its energy.

Some Other Types of Civilization and Their Implications

Perhaps you will remember that Kardashev did not believe that any creature in this universe could reach more than the Third Level. This is because in essence creatures with high technology will tend to destroy themselves if they are not able to keep up with technological advances with solutions. For example, we can now see that on our Earth, we don't need to go far to venture out to an alien planet.

Our technological advances have caused various natural damages, namely holes in the ozone layer, air pollution, extinction of flora and fauna due to habitat destruction, global warming, and climate change. We also need to remember that all technology, however sophisticated it is, will certainly not be able to avoid waste. If we are not wise in managing this waste, our planet will be damaged due to excessive exploitation of energy.

This will lead us to another problem, which is closely related to the theory of the Dark Forest that I introduced in the previous article. What if there were aliens out there who controlled not only First Level, but also Second and even Third Levels. Can you imagine, maybe because of their very high energy requirements, the planet where they live is damaged, or even the stars run out of energy?

Of course there was only one thing they could think of if that happened: they would go elsewhere. If they ever come to our planet, then the inevitable will happen: colonization.

But that's not all the worst happens. Kardashev only limited the scale to the Third, but more modern thinkers have argued differently. It is not impossible, in this vast universe, there will be other civilizations that are much higher. One expert recommends a Type Four civilization or Extra-galactic Civilization where they attack other galaxies to meet their energy needs.

Even more frightening, physicist John D. Barrow proposed the highest level, namely the Omega Type civilization where they have technology that can manipulate space and time, and can even harvest energy from the entire universe. Our craziest minds can certainly guess that they can attack another universe (according to the multiverse concept) if the energy in their universe runs out.