Matrioshka Brains

What Are Matrioshka Brains? A Matrioshka Brain is a hypothetical megastructure, based on the Dyson sphere, of immense computational capacity. It is an example of a Class B stellar engine, employing the entire energy output of a star to drive computer systems. Such a structure would be composed of a collection of one or more […]

Starlifting

What is Starlifting? Removing material from a star for industrial use or for stellar husbandry. The energy required for this process comes from the star itself, either directly from its luminosity or from fusion or matter conversion of the lifted material. Starlifting is the process of removing matter from stars, and in this episode Isaac […]

The Kardashev Scale

What is the Kardashev scale? The scale was originally designed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev. He was looking for signs of extraterrestrial life within cosmic signals. The Kardashev scale has 3 base classes, each with an energy disposal level: Type I (10¹⁶W), Type II (10²⁶W), and Type III (10³⁶W). Other astronomers have […]