![]() ![]() Feasibility and science-based speculation Īlthough Dyson sphere systems are theoretically possible, building a stable megastructure around the sun is currently far beyond humanity's engineering capacity. However, subsequent analysis showed that the results were consistent with the presence of dust. On 14 October 2015, Planet Hunters' citizen scientists discovered unusual light fluctuations of the star KIC 8462852 raising press speculation that a Dyson sphere may have been discovered. Later searches also resulted in several candidates, all of which remain unconfirmed. Fermilab discovered 17 potential "ambiguous" candidates, of which four were in 2006 called "amusing but still questionable". SETI has looked for such infrared-heavy spectra from solar analogs, as has Fermilab. This could indicated the presence of what has been called a Type II Kardashev civilization. If the percentage of such atypical wavelengths were to be significant, an alien megastructure could be detected at interstellar distances. The wavelengths of such re-radiated energy may be atypical for the star's spectral type, due to the presence of heavy elements not naturally occurring within the star. Search for megastructures ĭyson-style energy collectors around a distant star would absorb and re-radiate energy from the star. In 2013 Dyson said that he had come to regret that the concept had been named after him. The form of 'biosphere' which I envisaged consists of a loose collection or swarm of objects traveling on independent orbits around the star". He later clarified that he did not have in mind a solid structure, saying "A solid shell or ring surrounding a star is mechanically impossible. ĭyson did not detail how such a system could be constructed, simply referring to it in the paper as a 'shell' or 'biosphere'. ![]() He argued that as the structure would result in the large-scale conversion of starlight into far-infrared radiation, an earth-based search for sources of infrared radiation could identify stars supporting intelligent life. He speculated that this could be done via a system of structures orbiting the star, designed to intercept and collect its energy. Dyson theorized that as the energy requirements of an advanced technological civilization increased, there would come a time when it would need to systematically harvest the energy from its local star on a large scale. Inspired by the 1937 science fiction novel Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, the physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson was the first to formalize the concept of what became known as the "Dyson sphere" in his 1960 Science paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation". Fictional depictions often describe a solid shell of matter enclosing a star – an arrangement considered by Dyson himself to be impossible. Since Dyson's paper, many variant designs involving building an artificial structure or series of structures to encompass a star have been proposed in exploratory engineering or described in science fiction, often under the name "Dyson sphere". Spheres detected in astronomical searches could be an indicator of extraterrestrial life. Dyson speculated that such structures would be the logical consequence of the escalating energy needs of a technological civilization and would be a necessity for its long-term survival. The concept was later explored by the physicist Freeman Dyson in his 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation". The first modern imagining of such a structure was by Olaf Stapledon in his science fiction novel Star Maker (1937). Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Freeman Dyson, the first scientist to explore the conceptĪ Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its solar power output. ![]()
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