Types of Civilisations - Kardashev Scale

Types Of Civilisations - Kardashev Scale 

Types of Civilisations
Kardashev Scale

Life on Earth is so weak and fragile, in comparison to activities happening in Space. We have our own troubles in the form of Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tsunamis and the list just goes on and on. An asteroid attack from Space can wipe out the whole of Humanity, like the one which wiped out the Dinosaurs, 66 million years ago. So looking at the scenarios Earth maybe looking for ways to kill us ! 

Maybe we as a civilisation are not yet strong enough to save ourselves from planetary as well as cosmic disturbances. How could we move to a better civilisation ?

In 1964, A Russain Astrophysicst Nikolai Kardashev proposed the system for all possible civilisations on the cosmic scale. The scale was named as the Kardashev Scale after his name. The kardashev scale distinguished Civilisations into three types Type - I, Type - II, and Type - III based upon the energy each can produce. 

Type - I, Type - II, Type - III
Civilisations

Type - I Civilisation

A Type - I civilisation is also termed as a planetary civilisation and can utilise all the energy it receives from its nearby star. A Type - I civilisation would be able to control all the planetary activities and cautions like weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes etc. Basically a Civilisation like this would have full access of its planet and would be less dependent upon its fossil resources to fulfill its energy demands.

Type - II Civilisation

After a Civilisation completely harnesses the power reaching to it from the star, the civilisation starts to use the star itself for its energy expenditure. Yes ! A Type - II civilisation can harness the full energy of its mother star. Such a civilisation would have full access to interplanetary travel and transportation. But how is it possible to use energy of an entire star ? 

This problem was solved by a Scientist named Freeman Dyson in 1960, when he proposed the concept of Dyson Sphere. The Dyson Sphere is a shell like structure which would be built around the star, and the sphere would extract all the energy from the source and store it, only to be sent back to the planet. Such a civilisation would be literally immortal because nothing known to science can destroy a Type - II Civilisation.

ALSO READ - Where are all the Aliens ? Fermi Paradox

A Type -III Civilisation
Can harness the energy of an
Entire Galaxy

Type - III Civilisation

A Type - III Civilisation would be what we call " A Gallactic Civilisation ". This stage of civilisation would be able to harness all the stars of its galaxy, having an galactic control over its home galaxy. The Energy availaible to such a civilisation would be atleast 10 billion times to that of The Type - II Civilisation. This civilisation would be run over by robotic structures, who would build dyson shells across all the stars in the galaxy, intergallactic transportation would mostly be carried upon by Warp Drives or Worm Holes ( gadgets which can warp time and space ) where light speed ain't gonna be a barrier for transportation. Humans if had been to this level of civilisation, would now look like cybotic structures, with still enough human features. A.I would be the front runner in this civilisation but still under the control of the civilisation. 

Kardashev scale was confined to three scales of Civilisations, because it was regarded as maybe the last frontier of a civilisational progress. But with time, further types of civilisations were also put forward -

During our brief stay on planet Earth, we owe ourselves and our descendants the opportunity to explore — in part because it's fun to do. But there's a far nobler reason. The day our knowledge of the cosmos ceases to expand, we risk regressing to the childish view that the universe figuratively and literally revolves around us. Neil De Grasse Tyson

Type - IV Civilisation

A Civilisation this type would have control over its own Universe. It would have the liberty to control the expansion of the Universe, to change space according to its will. Such an Civilisation would also be able to harness powers of supermassive Black Holes and even live inside it. The technology of such an civilisation is unimaginable and difficult to comprehend.

Type - V Civilisation

If Type - IV Civilisation was not enough, we have concepts for a Type - V Civilisation ! A Type - V Civilisation would be able to control all the Multiverses, that is parallel Universes (If there are any). This civilisation would enjoy no barrier of dimensions and time travel. The concept of this type of Civilisation is completely sci-fi and no evidence or theoretical proof is availaible.

A Type VI Civilisation has also made its way in the recent years, A civilisation of Type - VI would be a Godly civilisation, able to create Universes at will and programme and function them upon their requirement.

ALSO READ - The ultimate experience ! Travelling inside a black hole

Where are Humans on the scale of Civilisation ?

Humans are on the Type 0 Civilisation. Yes ! We haven't yet made the list. Our civilisation is still dependent upon fossil fuels for its energy requirements. The energy we use as solar energy from our Sun would atleast have to increase by 10,000 times to run the planet entirely on what it receives from its star. According to Theoretical Physicst Michio Kaku, it would take another 100 - 200 years to reach the Type - I civilisation, an 100,000 years to a million years to reach the Type - II civilisation. Our current technology is pretty slow and energy consuming. But one bright spot we have is that in the stage of civilisation we are in, the way is only up.

The Great Filter ;
Barrier for Civilisations

Where are all the Civilisations ? 

According to speculations, there must be thousands of Type - I civilisations in our and neighbouring galaxies, but the truth is that we have found none. Now what may be the reason that we have no Type - I civilisation around ?

The most accepted answer to this query is that there may be a barrier which isn't allowing a Type 0 civilisation like ours to transform into the Type - I civilisation. According to Michio Kaku, the most difficult transition is from a Type 0 to Type - I civilisation. He also says the most important generation is our siblings and our grand children, if they can survive well on Earth,  then no one can stop us from reaching Type - I civilisation. We are the generation which would determine the fate of the Earth. The barrier which stops civilisation from entering next level is known as the Great Filter. 

Life on Earth is in jeopardy, and who can stop it other than humans themselves ! With weapons of mass destruction, atomic bombs, nuclear bombs, and international terrorism, we have more problems than solutions at the moment. Moreover atmospheric catastrophe is always round the corner in the form of global warming, tsunamis, floods etc. If humans reach the Type - I civilisation, they would probably be the first life form to do so in the entire Universe. Hence, it is our duty to protect and conserve our planet for atleast the next century or two and the start must be from every single individual reading this post as well.
And as we say

If you change nothing
Nothing will change.

Where do you think Humanity can reach on the kardashev scale ? Let me know in the comments section !