Dyson sphere

I wrote about what a civilisation would be able to do if it could use the whole energy of its solar system, but the question is how? This article will show you one way.

A Dyson sphere is a construction around a star which was developed by the physicist Freeman Dyson. It has the goal to capture the whole energy of a star
but there are many ways to solve this problem.

Types

Dyson swarm

The idea is to build a construction out of independent solar collectors they fly around the star. There is a real array of suggestions how they could be ordered of which easiest way is to order them as a disc. This has the advantage that it uses the kinetic energy of its raw material best because the sun collectors are mainly placed on asteroids.
Another idea is to format them as a big ring around the star which is the most original idea and probably also the most realistic one. But the problem of this idea is that it's also not that effective like the other ones.

Dyson shell

This concept describes a solid shell around the star. It's not only needed for producing energy but it can be used to create a biological atmosphere. The first idea was to create one on the inner shell but the problem is that the gravity of the sun is so strong that everything would be pulled inside the star. But one could create an atmosphere on the outer shell. This would open new environments and incredible energy sources but the material requisitions are unbelievable.
The material that is needed has to have a compressibility of 10MN/mm² it's not sure that a material like this could ever be created.

Dyson bubble

The third concept is the Dyson bubble which is similar to the Dyson shell with the difference that it has no stabilizing shell. It doesn't need a real shell because of very low mass can be stabilized of the solar winds and the radiation pressure of the sun.
In this case the radiation pressure is the pressure that arises when the suns energy gets absorbed by the surface.

Prospects

The Dyson sphere has the potential to carry a civilisation from level one to level two on the Kardashev scale. And in addition to that the solid constructions, the whole shell or a only a solid ring, can create great biological environments for us.