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A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output.

The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy. The earliest modern imagining of such a structure was by Olaf Stapledon in his science fiction novel Star Maker (1937). The same concept was later used by physicist Freeman Dyson in his 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation". Dyson speculated that such structures would be the logical consequence of the escalating energy needs of a technological civilization and would be a necessity for its long-term survival. Since Dyson's paper, many variant designs involving an artificial structure or series of structures to encompass a star have been proposed in exploratory engineering or described in science fiction, often under the name "Dyson sphere". Fictional depictions often describe a solid shell of matter enclosing a star – an arrangement Dyson himself considered impossible. The sphere he imagined consisted of a loose collection or swarm of objects traveling on independent orbits around the star, an arrangement that has become known as a Dyson swarm.

Inspired by the 1937 science fiction novel Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, the physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson was the first to formalize the concept of what became known as the "Dyson sphere" in his 1960 Science paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation". Dyson theorized that as the energy requirements of an advanced technological civilization increased, there would come a time when it would need to systematically harvest the energy from its local star on a large scale. The form of 'biosphere' which I envisaged consists of a loose collection or swarm of objects traveling on independent orbits around the star." Such a concept has often been referred to as a "Dyson swarm"; however, in 2013, Dyson said he had come to regret that the concept had been named after him. However, in a later interview with students from The University of Edinburgh in 2018, he referred to the premise of the Dyson sphere as being "correct and uncontroversial".

On October 14, 2015, Planet Hunters' citizen scientists discovered unusual light fluctuations of the star KIC 8462852 raising press speculation that a Dyson sphere may have been discovered.

Some proposed stellar engine designs are based on the Dyson sphere.

A precursor to the concept of Dyson spheres was featured in the 1937 novel Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, in which he described "every solar system... surrounded by a gauze of light-traps, which focused the escaping solar energy for intelligent use"; Dyson got his inspiration from this book and suggested that "Stapledon sphere" would be a more apt name for the concept. Fictional Dyson spheres are typically solid structures forming a continuous shell around the star in question, although Dyson himself considered that prospect to be mechanically impossible. In the 1992 episode "Relics" of the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation, the USS Enterprise finds itself trapped in an abandoned Dyson sphere; in a 2011 interview, Dyson said that he enjoyed the episode, although he considered the sphere depicted to be "nonsense". Variations on the Dyson sphere concept include a single circular band in Larry Niven's 1970 novel Ringworld, a half sphere in the 2012 novel Bowl of Heaven by Gregory Benford and Niven, and nested spheres – also known as a Matrioshka brain – in Colin Kapp's 1980s Cageworld series and Brian Stableford's 1979–1990 Asgard trilogy.

FermiLab: IRAS-based whole sky upper limit on Dyson spheres with an appendix on Dyson sphere engineering

Quick Facts

• The same concept was later used by physicist Freeman Dyson in his 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation".
• Since Dyson's paper, many variant designs involving an artificial structure or series of structures to encompass a star have been proposed in exploratory engineering or described in science fiction, often under the name "Dyson sphere".
• The sphere he imagined consisted of a loose collection or swarm of objects traveling on independent orbits around the star, an arrangement that has become known as a Dyson swarm.
• FermiLab: IRAS-based whole sky upper limit on Dyson spheres with an appendix on Dyson sphere engineering
• Dyson speculated that such structures would be the logical consequence of the escalating energy needs of a technological civilization and would be a necessity for its long-term survival.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Dyson sphere". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.