Since the day human beings were born, they have had infinite reveries about the vast starry sky. Human ancestors imagined that there were many humans in the starry sky above their heads. They imagined that there was a moon palace and Chang’e on the moon, a sun palace on the sun, a sun man, etc. Wait.
With the development of human beings, these fantasies have gradually become sober, especially after entering the age of science and technology, we have initially realized the dream of flying to the sky, walking out of the earth and seeing the vast universe. At that time we understood that many of the illusions of people in ancient times did not become reality after all.
With the help of science and technology, the distance of the starry sky that was once like a moat has become within reach. Human beings finally walked out of the earth, saw the true appearance of the earth up close, and saw the mysterious universe beyond the earth. When we see the universe, a question that has been in the dust for countless years comes to mind again: Are there other intelligent civilizations in the vast universe?
In order to find the answer to this question, scientists have launched a search program for extraterrestrial civilization for more than half a century. Unfortunately, until now, we have not found any. The imaginary lively universe has not been realized, but the entire universe is lonely, as if only human beings are “screaming” in loneliness.
Even so, scientists believe that alien civilization exists. The reason why we can’t find it may be mainly because the universe is too big and human civilization is still very young and does not have the ability to go out of the solar system to explore. It is impossible to truly discover an alien civilization.
Although we have not yet found an alien civilization, people’s imagination of alien civilization has never stopped. If alien civilizations exist, their existence and development time will inevitably be different. Some civilizations may be very old, born hundreds of millions of years, billions of years, and some civilizations may be very young. It has just entered the age of civilization.
So a friend asked a question: How powerful is an advanced civilization that has been developed for 100 million years? In this regard, some scientists believe that if a civilization develops for 100 million years, then three skills may be necessary, that is, only those three skills can be considered a powerful advanced civilization.
1. The ability to mine planetary metal resources in the universe
If someone asks you: What is the most lacking thing in the universe? Maybe everyone will have a different answer. But in fact, with the continuous improvement of human cognition of the universe, we already know what is the most lacking thing in the universe? That is rare metals.
We all know that human development is inseparable from resources. Perhaps many people think that oil and natural gas are the resources that humans need. But in fact, with the continuous development of human civilization, when we master controllable nuclear fusion technology, these fossil energy sources will withdraw from the stage of history. They are not so important to mankind.
And with the continuous development of human technology, when we step out of the starry sky, there will be more and more demand for one type of thing, that is, metal. Metal is an extremely important means of production, and the construction of various technological products requires the participation of a large amount of metal. If humans want to go to the stars, they need to build a lot of spaceships, and building them all requires a lot of metal.
However, metal is a very rare substance in the universe. We all know that hydrogen in the universe accounts for more than 70%, and all other elements are transformed on the basis of hydrogen. A star is a hydrogen conversion factory, but the nuclear fusion inside the star can only convert hydrogen to iron. Heavier metal elements require supernova explosions or other extreme collision events to be transformed.
These extreme cosmic phenomena themselves are relatively rare, so the content of metal elements in the universe is not much. Regardless of the earth or the solar system, metals are scarce resources. With the continuous improvement of the level of science and technology, mankind’s demand for metals that rank lower in the element is increasing. Once these metals on the earth are exhausted, the only solution is to get out of the earth and find and mine on other celestial bodies in the universe.
2. The technology of using stellar energy
Energy is an important driving force for the development of a civilization, and the level of energy also determines the technological level of a civilization. According to the “Kardashov Index”, the overall civilization in the universe can be divided into three levels, and humans are now almost only level 0.7.
When civilization develops to an advanced stage, the demand for energy will also increase. Perhaps many friends will say that if we master controllable nuclear fusion, will there be a lot of energy for development? In fact, the energy produced by controllable nuclear fusion is not on the same level as the energy of stars.
Moreover, the energy produced by artificial nuclear fusion is also limited, far from being able to meet the development needs of an advanced civilization. So advanced civilizations need to find a more powerful source of energy, and stars are undoubtedly a very good choice.
Regarding the use of stellar energy, the famous physicist Freeman Dyson proposed the idea of a “Dyson sphere” in the 1960s. The so-called “Dyson Sphere” is an artificial structure that encloses all stars. This structure can absorb all the energy released by the star.
3. The ability to spread the genes of your own race to the universe
As we deepen our understanding of the universe, we increasingly discover that the universe is not at all peaceful at all, and there are various possible disasters everywhere. A star is not immortal, it also has its own life span. The death of a star also means the end of a star system, and if the living creatures of this star system cannot leave, the only waiting fate is extinction.
Moreover, the universe is also perilous. I don’t know when a cosmic catastrophe will destroy a star system. Therefore, when a civilization becomes an advanced civilization and possesses the ability of interstellar navigation, it will inevitably spread the excellent genes of its own race to other galaxies in the universe. Only in this way will the destruction of one star system lead to the destruction of the entire civilization race. destruction.
The above three are the three skills that scientists think are necessary for advanced civilization, but these are only our conjectures so far. As for what is the situation of cosmic civilization? No one knows at present. Only in the future, when human beings really come into contact with alien civilizations, may they be able to truly understand some of the cosmic civilization.