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Some Thoughts on Dyson Spheres

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

K. G. Suffern
K. G. Suffern*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Sydney
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Extract

According to Dyson (1960), Malthusian pressures may have led extra-terrestrial civilizations to utilize significant fractions of the energy output from their stars or the total amount of matter in their planetary systems in their search for living space. This would have been achieved by constructing from a large number of independently orbiting colonies, an artificial biosphere surrounding their star. Biospheres of this nature are known as Dyson spheres. If enough matter is available to construct an optically thick Dyson sphere the result of such astroengineering activity, as far as observations from the earth are concerned, would be a point source of infra-red radiation which peaks in the 10 micron range. If not enough matter is available to completely block the stars’ light the result would be anomalous infra-red emission accompanying the visible radiation (Dyson 1960).

Type
Contributions
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , September 1977 , pp. 177 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1977

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References

Bracewell, R. N., Galactic Club: Intelligent Life in Outer Space, Freeman, San Francisco (1975).Google Scholar
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