An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A way of measuring a civilization’s technological advancement based upon how much usable energy it has at its disposal.

The scale was originally designed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev (who was looking for signs of extraterrestrial life within cosmic signals). It has three base classes, each with an energy disposal level: Type I, Type II, and Type III.

Type I designates a civilization that is capable of controlling the total energy of its home planet (10¹⁶ watts).

Type II is an interstellar civilization, capable of harnessing the total energy output of a star (10²⁶ W).

And Type III represents a galactic civilization, capable of inhabiting and harnessing the energy of an entire galaxy (10³⁶ W).

The scale has since been expanded by another four.
Type 0 is civilization that harnesses the energy of its home planet, but not to its full potential. The Earth civilization is currently at about 0.73 on the Kardashev scale.

See also: The scale was originally designed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev (1932-); → scale.