Dyson Spheres Around Black Holes: the Ultimate Energy Source?
New research suggests that building energy-capturing superstructures around black holes could provide massive amounts of energy
Dyson spheres and swarms
In 1937, the philosopher and science fiction writer Olaf Stapledon speculated about “a gauze of light traps” around stars to capture their energy in his (highly recommended!) book ‘Star Maker’.
In 1960, the polymath physicist Freeman Dyson popularized the idea of building energy-capturing structures around stars. We now call them Dyson spheres.
The name stuck.
Although it’s probably best not to imagine a solid sphere. Dyson himself was quick to point out that a fully closed star shell is mechanically impossible — or at least really, really challenging. Instead, we should envision a swarm of smaller energy-sucking objects orbiting the star. The sphere is a swarm.
Since its inception, the idea has seen many iterations in science fiction and several scientists are considering it in the search for extraterrestrial technological civilizations. After all, a Dyson sphere would alter the light emitted from the star it encloses. Not only would the light appear dim, but it…
