The energy ladder of civilizations. From mastering a planet, to harnessing a star, to wielding the output of a galaxy — a thought experiment for measuring technological reach across the cosmos.
Harnesses the full energy that reaches its home planet — every photon, every gust of wind, every joule of geothermal heat.
We currently harvest roughly 18 TW of power — about 0.7% of the energy that reaches Earth from the Sun every second. We are not yet even a Type I civilization.
Energy of all the stars in the observable universe — a civilization across galaxy clusters.
Manipulates energy across multiple universes. Pure thought experiment — well beyond our current models of physics.
