Creating a New Solar System

Today on Far Future Horizons we join Dr. Michio Kaku as he embarks on his most ambitious plan to date – the creation of a new solar system tailored made for humanity’s long term survival.

Dyson sphere

In this installment of Sci Fi Science, Dr. Michio Kaku meets extra solar planet hunter Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution who identifies 47 Ursae Majoris as our nearest suitable star as the site for this massive astro-engineering enterprise.

Interior View of a Dyson-sphere 

But with no Earth like planets in orbit around 47 Ursae Majoris, it surely does not feel anything close to home. Gravity could be used to manipulate a moon into an Earth like position. But Dr. Kaku's thinking bigger than that. If he's building a whole new solar system for humanity, surely he should be able to harness the entire power output of our new sun. So he comes up with an incredible plan to completely encircle the sun with his own version of a Dyson sphere, which will act as a huge energy collector. What's more, once it starts spinning we'll be able to settle on the inside and become a truly stellar civilization.

The first and second seasons of Sci Fi Science, hosted by Dr. Michio Kaku is a available on DVD from the Discovery Channel’s online store. 



 

Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible - A New Solar System

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