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The Kardashev scale (Russian: Шкала́ Кардашёва, romanized: Shkalá Kardashova) is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing and using. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev (1932–2019)[1] in 1964[2] and was named after him.
Kardashev first outlined his scale in a paper presented at the 1964 conference that communicated findings on BS-29-76, Byurakan Conference in the Armenian SSR (which he initiated), a scientific meeting that reviewed the Soviet radio astronomy space listening program. The paper was titled "Передача информации внеземными цивилизациями" ("Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations").[2] Starting from a functional definition of civilization, based on the immutability of physical laws and using human civilization as a model of extrapolation, Kardashev's initial model was developed. He proposed a classification of civilizations into three types, based on the axiom of exponential growth:
Under this scale, the sum of human civilization does not reach Type I status (though it continues to approach it). Various extensions of the scale have since been proposed, including a wider range of power levels (Types 0, IV, and V) and the use of metrics other than pure power (e.g., computational growth or food consumption).[3][4]
In a second article, entitled "Strategies of Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence", published in 1980, Kardashev wonders about the ability of a civilization, which he defines by its ability to access energy, to sustain itself, and to integrate information from its environment.[5] Two more articles followed: "On the Inevitability and the Possible Structure of Super Civilizations" and "Cosmology and Civilizations", published in 1985 and 1997, respectively;[6][7] the Soviet astronomer proposed ways to detect super civilizations and to direct the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) programs.
A number of scientists have conducted searches for possible civilizations, but with no conclusive results.[8] However, in part thanks to such searches, unusual objects, now known to be either pulsars or quasars, were identified.[9]
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