In the middle of 2021, it seems naive to believe that there is no more life in the rest of the universe. In fact, although it may be difficult to imagine, it is even likely that intelligent life exists outside planet Earth, but…How evolutionary could that intelligent life be?? That is precisely what measures the Kardashov scale, proposed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashov.
On the Kardashov scale the only indicator to measure how evolved an intelligent species is is the amount of energy that it uses from its environment.
In this way, Nikolai Kasdashov proposed three different types of intelligent species, although today up to six different types have been numbered, all on an exponential scale over the dominance of energy in the environment. These are:
- Type I civilization
- Type II Civilization
- Type III Civilization
- Type IV Civilization
- Type V Civilization
- Ω-type civilization
Post content:
The Kardashov scale and the 6 types of Intelligent Species
As we have already mentioned before, Kardashov classified civilizations exponentially depending on the amount of energy they could use from their environment; In this way six types of civilization arise, and although civilizations of Type III or higher are outside our range of imagination, we can speculate about them.
Type I Civilization
A Type 1 civilization would be one that manages to use the 100% of the energy that your planet offers. It is also the easiest type to imagine since it is estimated that the Earth is about 150 years away from achieving this type of civilization. We are currently at 73% of this first step.
Type II Civilization
The Type 2 civilizations described by Kardashov would be capable of make the most of the energy emitted by its star, possibly using a Dyson Sphere: a set of solar panels rotating around the star, transmitting energy to the entire civilization. It is estimated that we are several thousand years away from achieving this feat.
Type III Civilization
A Type 3 civilization is already beginning to be difficult to imagine, since in some way it would be an intelligent species that has managed to use all the energy present in your galaxy. The most detailed estimates mention that it would take the human species between 100,000 and 1,000,000 years to reach this phase.
Furthermore, it would be rare for this type of civilization to stop to say hello on a planet like ours, since it would be impossible for us to understand a civilization that is a million years ahead of us. For a Type 3 civilization to try to explain something to us would be like a human trying to explain some mathematical concept to a colony of ants.
Type IV Civilization
Type 4 civilization did not exist in the original Kordashov Scale. This and the two higher categories were added over time.
In this type of civilization, a species is described that uses the energy of entire galaxy clusters, and that he is capable of traveling faster than light, and even manipulate dark energy or anti-matter at will. It is also possible that a Type 3 civilization was already capable of utilizing these resources. As I mentioned before, imagining these intelligent species is far beyond our reach.
Type V Civilization
A Type 5 civilization is one capable of using the energy of the entire universe for your benefit. It is completely unknown how this could happen, nor what the goals or purposes of this species would be.
Type Ω (Omega) Civilization
The Type Ω civilization is described as a species capable of taking advantage the energy of various universes for your benefit. It is also possible that this type of intelligent species is capable of creating universes at will, and manipulating the laws of physics. Be that as it may, it is absurd to speculate about this type of civilizations, since everything that concerns them would be too complex to even be able to imagine.
This type of civilizations has a great resemblance to what I already discussed in another article: Is it possible to create a simulation in which intelligent life appears?
Kardashov Scale – End
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