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Dyson Swarm Study Sounds Alarm: Earth's Extinction Risk Revealed

Unknown earth, energy sustainability, solar energy, sustainability, world

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 Often imagined as the crown jewel of future megastructures, a Dyson swarm—an orbiting fleet of solar collectors around the Sun—has long been considered a potential key to unlocking interstellar-scale energy. But a new scientific study suggests that building such a structure could come at a devastating cost: making Earth uninhabitable.


 While Dyson swarms are typically relegated to science fiction and theoretical engineering, researchers are now turning the idea into a subject of real planetary climate modeling. A recent paper
 published in
 Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
 explores just how a solar-saturating megastructure could affect Earth’s climate. The answer is sobering: a full Dyson swarm could raise the planet’s temperature by 140 degrees Kelvin, enough to boil oceans and erase all known life.

<h2>
 A grand design for civilization-level energy
</h2>

 Originally proposed by physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960, the concept of enclosing a star with energy-collecting satellites has captivated imaginations for decades. In theory, such a structure would allow a Type II civilization on the Kardashev scale to capture most or all of its star’s energy output—an estimated 386 yottawatts in the case of our Sun.


 Instead of building an impossibly rigid shell—a classic “
 Dyson sphere
 ”—the more plausible version is a
 
 Dyson swarm
 
 : countless solar collectors orbiting at various distances, built gradually from materials mined in the solar system.


 But until now, few studies have asked a critical question:
 What happens to the planets left inside that swarm?

<h2>
 Trapping the Sun: a thermal nightmare for Earth
</h2>

 Physicist
 
 Ian Marius Peters
 
 of the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg set out to model the environmental consequences of such a megastructure. His results, presented in the new study, reveal that trapping and redirecting solar energy at this scale doesn’t come without consequences.


 A complete
 
 Dyson swarm
 
 placed just beyond Earth’s orbit would dramatically alter the balance of
 solar radiation
 , pushing Earth’s global average temperature up by 140 K. That level of warming would vaporize oceans, collapse atmospheric dynamics, and render the planet completely uninhabitable.


 The conclusion is stark: even with perfect energy-harvesting efficiency, Earth cannot coexist with a fully operational Dyson swarm unless it’s very carefully engineered—and very far away.

<h2>
 Is there a compromise?
</h2>

 Peters explores alternative scenarios, including a partial swarm placed at about 2.13 AU from the Sun—just past Mars. This configuration would allow the structure to harvest 15.6 yottawatts, or roughly 4% of the Sun’s total output, while raising Earth’s temperature by less than 3 K—comparable to the impact of modern-day global warming.


 But even this compromise would require
 
 1.3 × 10²³ kilograms of silicon
 
 —a quantity that surpasses the total crustal silicon available on Earth. Harvesting it would likely mean mining Mercury or asteroids at an industrial scale that dwarfs any current human endeavor.

<h2>
 The Tradeoff between Energy and Habitability
</h2>

 The study underscores a crucial and often overlooked truth: technological scale has ecological consequences. The dream of
 
 Dyson swarms
 
 hinges not just on engineering capability but on understanding planetary systems. When you enclose a star, you don’t just capture its energy—you change how that energy flows through space.


 Peters’ modeling reveals a fundamental dilemma: more power means more heat, and unless that heat is meticulously managed, life-sustaining worlds like Earth pay the price.


 
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Dyson Swarm Study Sounds Alarm: Earth's Extinction Risk Revealed

Unknown earth, energy sustainability, solar energy, sustainability, world

Often imagined as the crown jewel of future megastructures, a Dyson swarm—an orbiting fleet of solar collectors around the Sun—has long been considered a potential key to unlocking interstellar-sc…

Drake Passage: The 'most dreaded bit of ocean on the globe' — where waves reach up to 80 feet

Unknown atlantic ocean, climate, earth

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 The Drake Passage is an ocean channel between the southern tip of South America and the West Antarctic Peninsula. Named after the 16th-century explorer Sir Francis Drake, it is notorious for whipping up wild storms and monster waves
 up to 80 feet
 (25 meters) tall.


 The passage is "the most dreaded bit of ocean on the globe,"
 Alfred Lansing wrote
 in his 1959 book "
 Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic
 ." At around 600 miles (965 kilometers) wide, the channel is
 relatively narrow
 compared with the ocean around it, meaning currents speed up as they are forced through the passage. The same goes for southern winds, which blow unimpeded from west to east around Antarctica before they reach the Drake Passage.


 As winds funnel through the passage, they whisk up huge waves, some of which can be dangerous —
 and even deadly
 — for passengers on boats making the 48-hour-long crossing. In the best case, the waves make for a bumpy ride, known as the "Drake shake."

<img data-document-id="cms/api/amp/video/BB1oC047" data-reference="video"/>

 "It's always interesting when you go to dinner and they put sticky mats on all the tables to make sure your plates and things don't slide around,"
 Karen Heywood
 , a professor of physical oceanography at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. who sailed through the Drake Passage in 2024,
 told National Geographic
 .


 
 Related:
 
 
 Mount Washington: Home to 'the world's worst weather' with record wind speeds of 231 mph
 


 The Drake Passage is a "melting pot" of currents from the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans, Heywood said. The waters are so turbulent that the layers which normally make up the seas mix together, meaning the passage draws a lot more carbon down into its depths than other parts of the ocean do.


 The world's oceans lock away
 more than 30%
 of the carbon humans emit into the atmosphere every year, and the Drake Passage could be one of a handful of places where this activity is particularly pronounced, National Geographic reported.

<div>
 
 
</div>

 The passage also keeps Antarctica cold, because it cuts off warm air that would otherwise blow south from South America.
 Research
 suggests that when the Drake Passage opened between 49 million and 17 million years ago, it triggered significant cooling in Antarctica and contributed to the growth of giant ice sheets on the continent.


 The temperature drop as you traverse the passage is noticeable even for people on ships,
 Alberto Naveira Garabato
 , a professor of physical oceanography at the University of Southampton in the U.K., told National Geographic. "Suddenly you are in this icy world," Naveira Garabato said.


 So, while extreme winds and currents inside the passage create terrifying conditions for passengers, they also help to maintain Antarctica's frigid climate — although
 climate change is slowing the system
 .


 Were it not for the Drake Passage and its wild weather, the frozen continent would likely hold much less ice than it currently does.


 
 Discover more
 
 
 incredible places
 
 
 , where we highlight the fantastic history and science behind some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.

Drake Passage: The 'most dreaded bit of ocean on the globe' — where waves reach up to 80 feet

Unknown atlantic ocean, climate, earth

The Drake Passage is an ocean channel between the southern tip of South America and the West Antarctic Peninsula. Named after the 16th-century explorer Sir Francis Drake, it is notorious for whippin…

Mystery Solved: Hidden 'Donut' Structure Revealed Within Earth's Core

Unknown earth, earth science, engineering, geology, science

<ul class="mol-bullets-with-font">
 <li class="">
 
 Scientists found a doughnut-like area at the upper boundary of the outer core.
 
 </li>
 <li class="">
 
 This less dense area aids in mixing the molten metal, thereby producing the magnetic field.
 
 </li>
</ul>

 Researchers have discovered an enormous doughnut-like formation hidden deep within Earth’s interior.


 Scientists from the Australian National University utilized seismic waves created by
 <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/earthquakes/index.html">
 earthquakes
 </a>
 to gaze into the Earth's enigmatic liquid center.


 By following the trajectory of these waves across the Earth, scientists discovered a layer approximately hundreds of kilometers deep where their speed decreased by two percent compared to usual.


 This doughnut-shaped formation circles the Earth’s liquid outer core along an equatorial path, potentially playing a key role in generating our planet's shielding magnetic field.


 Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić, who led the research, states: "The magnetic field is an essential component required to maintain life on Earth's surface."

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 <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9325169/Scientists-detect-signs-hidden-innermost-core-inside-planet.html">
 Our planet consists of four primary layers.
 </a>
 the exterior crust, the partially molten mantle, a fluid metallic outer core, and a solid metallic inner core.

<img data-document-id="cms/api/amp/slideshow/AA1pR7WL" data-reference="slideshow"/>

 When the movement of tectonic plates in the crust creates earthquakes, these produce vibrations that spread out through all the other layers of the Earth.


 Leveraging the global network of seismic monitoring stations,
 <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13525175/Earth-days-increasing-inner-core-study.html">
 Researchers can observe how the waves propagate and use this information to forecast the circumstances beneath the water's surface.
 </a>


 Researchers typically focus on the large, strong wavefronts that circulate globally within the initial hour following an earthquake.


 Nevertheless, Professor Tkalčić and his co-author Dr Xiaolong Ma managed to identify this pattern by examining the subtle remnants of waves that persisted for several hours following the original shock.


 The technique demonstrated that seismic waves propagating close to the poles moved at a quicker pace compared to those nearer to the equator.

<img data-document-id="cms/api/amp/image/AA1pQTWA" data-reference="image" src="https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1pQTWA.jpg"/>

 When they compared their findings with various models of the Earth’s interior, Professor Tkalčić and Dr. Ma discovered that these observations were most accurately described by the existence of an extensive subterranean ‘ring’ structure, akin to a doughnut shape.


 They forecast that this area is located solely at low latitudes and aligns with the equator close to the upper boundary of the outer core, where the liquid portion interfaces with the mantle.


 "We aren't sure about the precise thickness of the doughnut, but we deduced that it extends several hundred kilometers below the core-mantle boundary," states Professor Tkalčić.


 Due to the area's significant importance, finding these could greatly impact our understanding of life both on Earth and elsewhere in the universe.


 The Earth's outer core extends about 2,160 miles (3,480 km), which is somewhat bigger than the size of Mars.

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 Primarily composed of molten nickel and iron, convection currents combined with the planet’s spin cause the metallic fluid within this stratum to form elongated vertical whirls stretching from north to south, similar to immense water tornadoes.


 The rotating flows within these molten metals function akin to a dynamo, generating the Earth's magnetic field.


 As this donut-shaped area has risen to the upper part of the liquid outer core, it implies that it might contain an abundance of lighter elements such as silicon, sulfur, oxygen, hydrogen, or carbon.


 Professor Tkalčić states: "Our discoveries are intriguing as this reduced speed within the liquid core suggests a significant presence of lightweight chemical elements in those areas, which would consequently decelerate the seismic waves."

<img data-document-id="cms/api/amp/image/AA1pR1eN" data-reference="image" src="https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1pR1eN.jpg"/>
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 These lightweight components, along with variations in temperature, aid in mixing the liquids within the outer core.


 Without that vigorous movement to power the planet's inner dynamo, the Earth's magnetic field may not have developed.


 <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3496688/Earth-s-magnetic-field-crucial-helping-life-started-Scientists-say-shielded-planet-harsh-weather-early-solar-system.html">
 In the absence of the magnetic field, the planet's surface would face an unrelenting assault from charged particles.
 </a>
 From the sun, which has the power to damage the DNA of living organisms.


 Hence, this toroidal area could be an essential component of the mystery explaining how life evolved on Earth and what signs we should search for when looking at potentially habitable exoplanets.


 Dr. Tkalčić concludes: "Our findings might encourage further investigation into the magnetic fields of both our planet and others."

<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13804285/donut-structure-discovered-inside-Earth.html">
 Read more
</a>

Mystery Solved: Hidden 'Donut' Structure Revealed Within Earth's Core

Unknown earth, earth science, engineering, geology, science

Scientists found a doughnut-like area at the upper boundary of the outer core. This less dense area aids in mixing the molten metal, thereby producing the magnetic field. R…