Dyson sphere
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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 spacefari
A depiction of a hypothetical Dyson swarm surrounding a star
Freeman Dyson, who explored the concept from a scientific perspective
Stellar engine
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Stellar engines are a class of hypothetical megastructures which use the resources of a star to generate available work. For instance, they can use the energy of the star to produce mechanical, electr
Diagram of a class-C stellar engine (to scale) built around a Sun-like star. It consists of a partial Dyson swarm composed of 5 Dyson rings of solar collectors (the class-B component), and a large statite Shkadov thruster (the class-A component). Perspective is from below the system's ecliptic at a distance of ~2.8 AU. The system's direction of acceleration is on a vector from the center of the star through the center of the Shkadov thruster, which is hovering over the star's north pole (with regards to the ecliptic), at a distance of 1