astronomy

Planetary civilization

Planetary civilization is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Planetary civilization rather than just read about it. In short: A planetary civilization or global civilization is a civilization of Type I on the Kardashev scale. This type of civilization is likely to be reliant on renewable energy sources such as stellar power, as well as powerful non-renewable sources such as nuclear fusion.

Key takeaways

Planetary civilization belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Planetary civilization to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Planetary civilization from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A planetary civilization or global civilization is a civilization of Type I on the Kardashev scale. This type of civilization is likely to be reliant on renewable energy sources such as stellar power, as well as powerful non-renewable sources such as nuclear fusion. A Type I civilization's energy consumption level is roughly equivalent to the solar insolation on Earth (between 1016 and 1017 watts) – around 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of contemporary humanity (around 2×1013 as of 2020).

Planetary civilization – Type I civilization on Kardashev scale

Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev, in his 1964 paper titled "Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations", proposed a scale intended to measure the level of technological development of civilizations based on the amount of energy that they are able to utilize, eponymously named the Kardashev scale. A Type I civilization is planetary, consuming all energy that reaches its home planet from its parent star, equivalent to about 1017 watts in the case of Earth. Carl Sagan suggested defining intermediate values (not considered in Kardashev's original scale) by interpolating and extrapolating the commonly used values for the energy consumption levels of types I (1016 W), II (1026 W) and III (1036 W). According to Sagan's extended model, modern-day humanity is describable as a Type 0.73 civilization as of 2020.

Transition to a planetary civilization Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, in his book Physics of the Future, published in 2011, stated that, assuming sustained economic growth, humanity may attain planetary civilization status in 100 years.

But where is all this technological change leading? Where is the final destination in this long voyage into science and technology? The culmination of all these upheavals is the formation of planetary civilization, what physicists call a Type I civilization. This transition is perhaps the greatest transition in history, marking a sharp departure from all civilizations of the past. Every headline that dominates the news reflects, in some way, the birth pangs of the planetary civilization. Commerce, trade, culture, language, entertainment, leisure activities, and even war are all being revolutionized by the emergence of this planetary civilization.

Danger Michio Kaku, in his interview "Will Mankind Destroy Itself?" for "Big Think", discussed one possible danger of the transition to a planetary civilization:

So whenever I open the newspaper every headline I see in the newspaper points to the birth pangs of a type one civilization information. However, every time I open the newspaper I also see the opposite trend as well. What is terrorism? Terrorism in some sense is a reaction against the creation of a type one civilization. Now most terrorists cannot articulate this. They don’t even know what the hell I’m talking about, but what they’re reacting to is not modernism. What they’re reacting to is the fact that we’re headed toward a multicultural tolerant scientific society and that is what they don’t want. They don’t want science. They want a theocracy. They don’t want multiculturalism. They want monoculturalism. So instinctively they don’t like the march toward a type one civilization. Now which tendency will win? I don’t know, but I hope that we emerge as a type one civilization.

In science fiction Many futuristic civilizations seen in science fiction are planetary civilizations. According to Michio Kaku, a typical Type I civilization would be that of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon, where an entire planet's energy resources have been developed. They can control all the planetary sources of energy, so they might be able to control or modify weather at will, harness the power of a hurricane, and build cities on oceans. Nonetheless, their energy output is still largely confined to their home planet.

Next status – stellar civilization On the Kardashev scale, the next status (Type II) is a stellar civilization, a civilization that consumes all the energy that its parent star emits, or about 1027 watts. Michio Kaku suggests in the book "Physics of the Future" that humanity may attain stellar civilization status in a few thousand years.

References

Further reading Kaku, Michio (2011). Physics of the Future: How Science will Shape Human Destiny and our Daily Lives by the Year 2100. New York: Doubleday. LCCN 2010026569.

External links

bigthink.com; description of civilization types from Dr. Michio Kaku

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Planetary civilization

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Planetary civilization claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Planetary civilization before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Planetary civilization ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Planetary civilization

In research: Planetary civilization appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Planetary civilization in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Planetary civilization is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Energy development, Global citizenship, Global civilization, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Planetary civilization outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Planetary civilization in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Planetary civilization means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Planetary civilization out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Planetary civilization in simple terms?

Why does Planetary civilization matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Planetary civilization?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Planetary civilization.