Ask HN: Dyson Sphere

People have proposed the idea of building a Dyson Sphere around a star. What's the proposal to transmit the energy to somewhere we can use it? How would we do this?

5 points | by bhag2066 30 days ago

3 comments

  • thedevindevops 30 days ago
    The most modern idea seems to be a Dyson swarm, which is not solid and consists of solar panels and habitats orbiting at a comfortable distance. Power is relayed using microwave transmitters and receivers and conceptually a large portion would be fed into particle accelerators for the manufacture of Anti-Matter on industrial scale.
  • bediger4000 30 days ago
    I thought you'd build a sphere or swarm at a radius from the sun that got enough solar radiation to be at a comfortable temperature. Then you'd live on the inside surface.
    • p1esk 30 days ago
      What about gravity? Rotate the sphere?
      • solardev 29 days ago
        If you make each sail in the swarm light enough and self-adjusting, radiation from the star could keep them in place... here's a detailed writeup (not mine): https://canmom.art/physics/dyson-spheres
        • p1esk 28 days ago
          I see, thanks! But they didn’t explore the idea of orbiting sails. The rotational momentum would counteract gravity, and allow for heavier objects.
          • solardev 27 days ago
            I don't know enough astrophysics to say anything insightful, but... makes sense to me!
  • solardev 30 days ago
    Pewpew it as lasers?

    That YouTube K-animation channel I can't spell (Kurdurkistan?) has an episode on it: https://youtu.be/pP44EPBMb8A?si=b8qssNFtMDAqUyE_

    There's also the great engineering/factory game Dyson Sphere Program: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366540/Dyson_Sphere_Prog...