What Would we be our CIvilization in a type 1 Kardashev scale?
The Kardashev scale is a method used to determine a civilization's technological advancement,
which divides civilizations into three types, with type 1 being the simplest civilization of all.
The civilization created by the human race is not yet advanced enough to be
considered a type 1 civilization. How long until we reach that classification?
Stay to find out. "Introduction"
Astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev developed the Kardashev scale in 1964
to determine some characteristics that would facilitate the search for extraterrestrial life.
After analyzing several conditions in the history of the human race,
Kardashev realized that there is a need that grows as civilization does, energy.
As the human race has expanded worldwide, so needs for energy.
Suppose this is inherent in all species that become an intelligent race.
In that case, a hypothetical race of aliens who come to forge a civilization as significant or
more extensive than that of humans will eventually also have an energy deficit.
To solve this energy need, an extraterrestrial race must develop technologies to meet the
demand for energy needed to sustain all members of their civilization.
Kardashev theorized that in this sense, there must be 3 types of civilizations:
Type 1: A civilization that can harness all the energy its home planet gives them
Type 2: A civilization that can harness the energy of its entire solar system.
Type 3: A civilization that can harness all the energy provided by the galaxy it is in.
This series of videos will talk about each of these civilizations and today we
will talk about to the type 1 civilization. TYPE 1 CIVILIZATION ON THE KARDASHEV SCALE
A type 1 civilization has managed to create the technology to take advantage of
every last drop of energy that its planet produces and the energy it receives from its star.
Currently, if we count all the existing methods of electricity generation such as wind energy,
geothermal, maremothermal, osmotic, wave, tidal, hydraulic, and of course, solar energy,
the planet earth is capable of providing between 1016 and 1017 Watts of energy to humanity,
however of that total, we only take advantage of 0.7%,
that is why currently the human race can not yet be classified as a type 1 civilization.
Human civilization is found in type 0 civilization, that is, one that has not yet
learned to harness the total energy of its planet. But how long until human civilization reaches
the rank of Type 1 on the Kardashev scale? To find out, first, let's talk about what a Type
1 civilization would be capable of. FUSION ENERGY
At present, fusion energy is still far from becoming a reality. However,
some projects are taking essential steps to creating, such as the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France. This consists of a magnetic fusion device
designed to demonstrate the viability of fusion as a large-scale, carbon-free
energy source, based on the same principle by which the sun and stars generate their energy.
Nuclear fusion is a phenomenon in which two atoms fuse by the pressure of gravity
or any other force; during the process, two or more atoms combine to create a single heavier one,
and as a by-product of that fusion, an immense amount of energy is generated.
This is how stars work; the sun, the central star of our solar system,
fuses hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. That process has been working for billions of years,
giving the sun almost unlimited energy. If we can replicate that process on earth,
we would have the sun's power in the palm of our hands.
Unfortunately, all nuclear fusion reactors are in the testing phase.
Although the first lights are already being seen in creating this type of energy,
there is still a long way to go before making this a reliable method to provide energy to humanity.
A Type 1 civilization on the Kardashev scale would have access to nuclear fusion
energy, and much of the world's demand would be supplied with it,
which would serve to meet the needs of all members of its population and much more.
ANTIMATTER Antimatter is
the opposite version of matter as we know. It comprises particles with an opposite charge to
those that make up ordinary matter and is the most challenging material for humanity to obtain today.
The most important thing about antimatter is that when it comes into contact with ordinary matter,
are self-destructing and, in the process, release a lot of energy.
If we find a way to control large amounts of antimatter in the future,
they could be an essential source of energy. There are two ways to get antimatter;
on the one hand, we have particle accelerators, and on the other hand, there are van Allen belts.
In Geneva, Switzerland, there is the Large Hadron Collider, better known as LHC;
this is the more big machine built by humanity to date; the LHC is formed by a series of
equipment and laboratories connected to a circular tunnel, with a circumference of 26.7 kilometers.
In this tunnel, the scientists are responsible for injecting r subatomic particles at speeds
close to the light. They are made to collide so that they release, among other things, antimatter
particles which we can only see but not collect. To collect antimatter, we would have to have
a chamber with magnetic walls that retain the particles in a confined space without touching
the walls; remember that it explodes if the antimatter comes into contact with matter.
But even if we manage to retain antimatter in a confined space,
there is a problem; this problem is that although the LHC has been in operation since 2009,
it has not been possible to produce a single gram of antimatter.
This is because nanograms count the amounts of antimatter produced in each collision;
at that rate, it would take us several million years to make one gram.
We do not have that much time, so if the human race wants to harness the energy of antimatter
in the future, we will have to build more giant particle accelerators or opt for option 2.
Van Allen belts are doughnut-shaped regions around the earth where there
are high rates of ionizing radiation caused by the earth's magnetic fields.
Ionizing radiation is highly energetic radiation capable of ionizing matter,
that is, of breaking molecular bonds and, in some cases, breaking atomic bonds.
In the Van Allen belts, there is a special zone called "South Atlantic Anomaly,"
in this section of the Van Allen belts, the radiation is substantially higher
than in the rest of the rings, so astronauts are prohibited from passing through those areas
when they perform space flights since doing so would put their lives at risk.
In 2011 the satellite for antimatter exploration and light core astrophysics studies,
better known as "Pamela," showed that this region can trap antiprotons, a type
of antimatter particle produced by the shock of shock highly energetic particles from the sun.
Scientists believe that the amount of antimatter in the South Atlantic Anomaly
could be enough to implement a project that allows the antiparticle
to be used as fuel to propel spacecraft on future trips to other planets.
The humanity already possesses this knowledge even without being an advanced civilization.
In that case, it means that a Type 1 civilization on the Kardashev scale should be able to harness
antimatter at will, produce it in large quantities, and use it for the purposes that
suit it best, from supplying energy for cities to fuel for spacecraft or even for land vehicles.
As we mentioned in a previous video, (place the video here), antimatter is the best fuel when
you want to make trips in space, as it is super light, efficient, and provides truly incredible
amounts of energy. RENEWABLE ENERGIES
One of the most remarkable aspects of the modern era is the goal of getting closer and closer to
renewable and environmentally friendly forms of energy generation and leaving behind the energies
from fossil fuels that pollute the world so much. This means that as it advances, an intelligent
civilization is increasingly distancing itself from fossil fuels
and opting for renewable energies. Currently, human civilization has
developed technologies that allow energy to be obtained from almost all natural phenomena.
To take advantage of the energy of water, we have developed hydroelectric,
tidal, wave, maremothermal, and osmotic energy. For the wind, we develop wind energy.
To take advantage of the energy coming from the earth's interior, we create the geothermal energy.
We create photovoltaic energy systems and solar thermal energy for energy from the sun.
And we even develop methods of power generation that do not exist on the planet,
such as fission and nuclear fusion. All of these methods are just beginning to
gain traction worldwide, but methods of generating power from fossil fuels such as coal and oil
still far outweigh all renewable energy methods.
A type 1 civilization on the Kardashev scale would not depend on fossil fuels;
on the contrary, all its energy production would be 100% based on renewable energies.
They would take advantage of absolutely all the natural phenomena of the earth; they would even
be able to take advantage of the energy of meteorological phenomena that for now are
unimaginable for us, such as taking advantage of the energy of lightning,
the energy of hurricanes and even the energy of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
CLIMATE CONTROL A type 1 civilization could do things that,
for now for the human race, are a mere dream; one of them is to control the climate completely.
There are already some attempts to control the weather, such as the artificial rains
created by the United Arab Emirates using drones that stimulate the water droplets
suspended in the atmosphere to gather and fall by their weight in the form of rain.
While this technology can create rain, this only changes the weather for a very short period of
time, but the weather in general remains the same. A Type 1 civilization could do just that,
change the climate anywhere in the world at will; it could cause rain in deserts,
snow to fall in tropical cities, or heat at the poles of the planet.
This is not to say that they would put their very existence at risk,
only that they would have complete control of their planet's climate for their benefit,
such as making it rain so that crops grow, making it hot so that people do not die of cold or
make it colder to freeze and preserve food. Having complete control over the climate would
also entail a great responsibility on their planet that they will surely know how to cope with so
as not to self-destruct. SHAPING THE WORLD AS YOU PLEASE
A Type 1 civilization would not only be able to control the climate of their planet,
but they would also be able to control the entire planet at will.
They would have the technology to trigger rain, hurricanes,
tornadoes, tropical storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, and even volcanic eruptions.
They would go from being just another species on the planet to being the absolute masters
and rulers of the world; they would assume total control of what can happen, move cities,
mountains and even entire continents giving the world the shape they want.
They could place cities in the areas with the best climate or make the whole
planet have the same environment everywhere. If we compare them to our current civilization,
they would be like gods who could do anything they wanted with the planet.
PERMANENT STAY IN SPACE Of course, a civilization with
these characteristics would have the possibility to leave its planet when and however it wanted to,
although currently, the human race already has a home where there are humans constantly in space
(The International Space Station), a type 1 civilization would not have
only a few astronauts in space around its planet. It would have entire cities orbiting close
to its planet, possibly in artificial ring-like structures around the planet
where humans were living permanently in space. As you can see, a Type 1 civilization on
the Kardashev scale is not just about how much energy is produced
but what can be done with all that energy. At present, the human race is only on 0.76% of
the Kardasehv scale. When do you think we could get to do everything a type 1 civilization can?
According to scientist Michio Kaku at the rate at which humanity is progressing,
humanity could become a type 1 civilization in about 100 or 200 years.
That is clear if we do not kill ourselves in a senseless war or a deadly virus exterminates us.
If we survive let's hope that one day, with the effort of all the members that make up
this society, we will be able to move forward and together build the civilization of the future.