The power of the human imagination is limitless. Every day, it is difficult to find free time to use your imagination. Remember your childhood, it was so easy to dream up paradises with cotton candy clouds and bouncy houses. But as you age, the real world starts to set in. Few have theories and imaginations so great that if what they were talking of came to be, it would change the entire human race and universe forever. We will explore three ideas and understand how they can change humanity. The main goal of civilizations is to become as efficient as possible while progressing from a technological standpoint. It is thought that if a civilization can harness the complete energy of the universe, it will obtain mastery. 

The Dyson Sphere 

The Dyson Sphere is a popular idea providing an infinite energy source. It is so beyond our current technology that the creator Freeman Dyson didn’t see the sphere’s possibility of being constructed. The idea's basis is to harness the power of a star. It would give an entire planet the power to have an unfathomable amount of energy. With this energy being controlled and used, humans could have the capability to control the energy of the universe to lift worlds to unimaginable heights.

The Dyson Sphere was first theorized around an object such as the sun, at a scale 330,000 times greater than Earth's. In theory, the spheres would form multiple rings around the goal star. All of the combined rings would create a structure responsible for harnessing the entirety of the energy of the stars. On these rings would be advanced solar panels, encompassing an entire star (such as the sun) and absorbing its energy. With a project so grand, an immense number of problems would arise. One of the common ones is the amount of materials needed for a project like this. It would take roughly all the resources from the planets in our solar system to make it feasible. Another issue that arises is the gravitational pull of the sun. With a mass that great one small change in the ring's formation and the entire mega-structure could collapse. Even without a mishap, the structure would be gravitationally unstable. This concept of a Dyson Sphere is second to none and would be extremely powerful. Unfortunately, the idea is impossible to create with today's technology and knowledge of the universe. 

The Stellar Engine 

Stellar engines are yet another theoretical mega-structure capable of generating immense light power. The premise of such an engine is to move stars across the universe to alter where sources of energy are. Originally thought about in 2,000,  it is an idea of immense strength that would change our conception of power forever. With no comprehension of how the star would move with today's technology, there are three theoretical types of engines. As we know, stars are considered immovable masses of light and power. 

Class A: Is the first idea of a mechanism to transport stars to other places across space and time. The engine would propel an object, (such as a star) with a light sail or a giant mirror. The basis of the engine is to reflect a certain amount of the photons produced by the sun ever so slightly to move the sun's trajectory. This movement would be immensely slight, and after a billion years of initial movement, our sun would move at 20 km/s, with a displacement of 34,000 light years. Radiation pressure would be present to ensure that the “mirror” wouldn’t get pulled in by the sun's gravity. Radiation pressure describes an exertion of energy on a certain surface due to the momentum of an object clashing with another object's electromagnetic field, effectively canceling out the energy transfer. 

Class B: The Class B engine vastly differs from a direct propulsion mechanism over time. Two concentric spheres would be used to move a star. These spheres have the same length center, but different length radii. One of these spheres would be inside the other, harnessing the star's energy. The inner sphere would heat up much more than the outer sphere. Once this occurs, there would be intense thermal power in between both spheres, theoretically enough to provide chemical work to move a star. The intricate mechanisms of moving the star once the thermal energy is present haven’t been developed yet due to the amount of energy and process never being fully thought out and explained mathematically. 

The Alderson Disk 

The Alderson Disk is one of the most ambitious mega-structures known to date. Rather than trying to harness the sun’s energy from Earth like the sphere or move the sun like the engine, civilizations would move to live around the sun. The structure would be a gigantic disk some distance away from a star (like the sun) that would be habitable for life. With any common sense, this feat would be impossible in so many ways. Many problems arise such as the means of transportation, the heat, the materials, the gravitational force, and many more. But let’s say all of this is figured out and is possible in the future. What would this society look like? Firstly, the theoretical dimensions of the disk would be a flat space, thousands of miles wide. The sun would be at the center of the flat area, being the main source of energy. Even if the disk was feasible, what would be the purpose? The disk would provide an immense amount of energy to a civilization. 

These ideas can shift our ideas of energy forever. While all these energy sources are just mere thoughts, they are powerful. Innovation has been humankind's way of moving forward to the limits of our species. In many millions of years, things like the Dyson Sphere and Stellar Engines can be our way to expand civilization and move throughout the galaxy and beyond. As the world's energy consumption continues to increase rapidly, humans will eventually need to look outwards for new ways of obtaining energy. The power of humanity is in the hands of the people, and with power comes the great responsibility of knowing what to do with it.