The Kardashev scale is relatively famous and is named after the Russian astronomer Nikolai Kardashev. It measures a civilization’s level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing. As a civilization harnesses more energy, it climbs up the Kardashev ladder.
The ways to harness energy in the universe are limited. For any meaningful results, you can harness the energy of your planet, of your star system, or of the galaxy in which we live. Beyond that, the discussion becomes purely academic, since a civilization capable of harnessing the energy of an entire galaxy would eventually become capable of harnessing the energy of multiple galaxies, and eventually the entire universe.
Zoom In
When one starts thinking about the Kardashev scale, things just keep zooming out, from a planet to a star to a galaxy and then to the entire universe. But have you ever thought about zooming in instead of zooming out? What happens if we keep zooming in? We go from a planet to objects of our own size, to living systems inside us, to molecules, to atoms, and then to the sub-atomic world.
It is not only the mastery of the big that is required to understand the universe, but also the mastery of the small things. To harness the energy of a star, we need to understand what it is made of, and then figure out ways to harness the energy of its components. The first-principles approach is also about that only: keep breaking things into their most basic components and start your understanding from there.
Barrow Scale
To do that, we have another type of scale, the Barrow Scale. It is a classification system for civilizations based on their technological capabilities, proposed by the cosmologist John D. Barrow. This is nothing like the Kardashev scale and works in exactly the opposite way. Rather than climbing up the ladder, the purpose of this scale is to get into the rabbit hole of the universe. Type I− on the Barrow Scale is a civilization that can manipulate and control matter or objects of its own size. Similarly, Type II− is one that can control living systems. There are seven types of civilizations on the Barrow Scale:
| Level | Type |
| I | Objects their own size |
| II | Living systems |
| III | Molecules |
| IV | Individual atoms |
| V | Atomic nuclei |
| VI | Elementary particles |
| Ω | The structure of spacetime itself |
Humanity currently sits around Type III− to early IV−. We manipulate atoms and molecules every day. All our electronic devices and the internet are based on that. We can even look inside the atom and, to a limited extent, control the flow of electrons. However, we do not have mastery over the stuff that makes up atomic nuclei, or elementary particles, or the structure of spacetime. Those are the steps we are yet to climb down on the Barrow Scale.
It may seem that Type V−, VI− and Ω− might be easier to achieve for humans than Type II or Type III on the Kardashev scale, but that may not be true. We may have particle colliders that can smash sub-atomic particles, but mastery over them would mean the inverse. We should be able to specify a nucleus and assemble it, or hold a chosen quark configuration stable.
Barrow v. Kardashev
We also hear that the Kardashev scale is inherently an engineering problem, especially the Type II climb, and not a physics one. The same is not true for the Barrow Scale. Climbing down on the Barrow Scale is actually a physics problem. Our understanding of physics is incomplete, and though we are expanding it at an impressive pace, it is far from complete.
Further, the Kardashev scale does not care about energy density and is content with a large energy budget. The Barrow Scale does not care about that energy budget, because going deeper down requires making devices that actually work at the Planck energy.
In a way, a civilization’s progress would depend both on the Kardashev ladder and the Barrow Scale; they would go hand in hand. If a civilization becomes better at the Kardashev scale, it will have more energy at its disposal, which it can in turn use to explore more sub-atomic, quantum and elementary stuff. The converse is also true. A better understanding of the quantum and sub-atomic world enables us to craft better materials that can harness energy better.
Since the space economy is taking shape, all of us keep talking about the Kardashev scale, but the Barrow Scale is equally interesting and relevant today. We need to climb both scales together if we are to become a multiplanetary civilization and expand the horizons of consciousness.