Kardashev
The Kardashev scale is a method of classifying civilizational technology level. It is entirely based on the amount of energy consumed from different sources. If a species can use 100% of their planetary energy, then they are a level 1 civilization. Once they can use 100% of a star, they are level 2. Level three is reached by using 100% of a galaxy.
Mankind currently sits around a 0.7 on the scale, which means we can harness and use 70% of the earths energy. I feel that's a little high since we are so geothermally untapped, but much smarter people than me came to that number.
I do wonder if we will ever hit level one or if we could just skip to level two. The depths of the oceans and the interior of the planet are so difficult to get to that space travel becomes easier. We technically have all the technology we need to be able to create robots that min mercury and create solar panels and other robots. It would be a lot of money, but the tech is there. Mining to through the Earth's crust isn't within our realm of tech tough. It's just too hot down there. Catching the sun rays that come out of the sun is way easier.
The scale is a little weird to me anyway. It gives a good approximation of a civilizations level but when you only have three level why not just say "they use all their stars energy" or something like that. I know we can go into decimal points but the major difference between the decimals is the ability to travel. Can we travel to the sun? Can we travel to other suns?
No to mention that. unless we can find a faster than light form of transportation, there will never be a galaxy spanning civilization. Sure, humans could be all across the Galaxy, but the humans at one star will be a different civilization than the ones at a different star. And each star will have civilizations of vastly different ages.
I honestly think we'd be better off with a giant orbit sized ship that has a massive fusion core in the middle it carries from star to star for refueling. Spin of the ship could keep gravity and the star in the middle could be held in place by the ships containment. And we have all the technology for that right here in the imagitorium!
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And the way the scale jumps between levels is pretty wild. Like Level 1-Planet to Level 2-Star system makes some sense to me but what about if we tapped Jupiter - lots of energy there. But it's not tapping the sun so... Or are we considering the whole solar system in there?
Then the massive jump from star to galaxy. Or even solar system to galaxy? Like wow. That's millions of orders of magnitude difference. And if the limits of physics are to be believed and impossibility so a measurement not really worth having. It all postiviely REEKS of science fiction.
And don't get me started on how energy use is not the only way to measure a civilization, society or progress. Perhaps the most advanced of all of us are ants. Who are we to say?