This orb of solar panels is a theoretical hypothetical mega engineering effort called the Dyson Sphere. The concept of the Dyson Sphere first emerged in 1937 by the science fiction writer Olaf Stapledon in his novel called Star Maker. The concept was formulized by Freeman Dyson, the British physicist and mathematician, into the concept called the "Dyson Sphere" in his 1960 science paper titled "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation".
A Dyson Sphere will use its vast arrays of solar panels to collect solar energy. These solar panels will then divert the energy collected to a terminus or terminuses at a certain point in the structure and through a transmission system transmit the energy to a collection point or points on a recipient planet. The collected solar energy is delivered to its consumer in the form of infra-red energy. It must release the collected energy which could overheat the structure and cause damage to its framework and the solar panels and the systems it uses to do its work. Otherwise the overheating will lead to the inevitable destruction of the sphere.
Why build a Dyson Sphere? The principal and logical reason will be the unimaginably vast volumes of pure non-polluting solar energy that can be benefited from it. The Earth's own star releases around 4 million tonnes of energy per second. This will be beneficial for a civilization that can obviate the need to depend on non-renewable sources of energy let alone ones that can pollute its atmosphere like coal, oil and gas or create toxic waste such as uranium.
At this point in time it will be impossible for humanity to construct such a mega structure. The technological and engineering ability required for such an effort far surpasses what we know today. Besides that the materials and logistics for such a Dyson Sphere is unavailable today. Only a society with the technological capacity far surpassing what we have today can conceivably construct such a mega-structure. Perhaps if we follow the Kardashev Scale a type four or five civilization can come up with such a machine.
We must bear in mind that the Dyson Sphere is only a theoretical concept originally borne out from a science fiction novel and formulated by a scientist and mathematician. Interestingly, the concept came pregnant with a variety of ideas about this machine. There is the idea of a Dyson Swarm, a Dyson Sphere so large that people can live inside it and how the arrays of solar panels cover it, one idea is that there are gaps between them and the other a fully enclosed star. There is the idea that an extraterrestrial civilization can exist that has constructed such a sphere and the sphere could be discovered by astronomers. Please see the relevant blog posts about them.
Is it possible to build a Dyson Sphere? How is constructed? It is a very exotic and wild idea if viewed from the lens of engineering. A Dyson Sphere is really an immense hollow ball supporting advanced solar panels. According to Stuart Armstrong at Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute, a Dyson Sphere as a hollow sphere around a sun is impractical. Stuart Armstrong said after studying various megastructure concepts. He believes that the tensile strength required to prevent the sphere from being torn apart from holding massive solar panels and other machinery for its operation. He adds that the sphere would not bind itself gravitationally to the star it encloses with stability. Although we might think that a perfect sphere surrounding a star would be stable, but if a meteor strike occurs on any part of the sphere, then that part would be preferentially pulled towards the star thus creating instability. However, an advanced civilization can find ways to construct such a mega-machine that is stable and reliable. Such a civilization would be a class four or five type of civilization if we follow the Kardashev Scale. But that is a matter of speculation. We do not know if such civilizations exist in the vastness of the universe cluttered with countless galaxies. But who knows? In the uncountable spread of the universe, a civilization could have the technological prowess to construct such a machine, and that is if they needed such a thing.
In conclusion, a Dyson Sphere is a gargantuan array of solar panels arrayed around a star for the singular purpose of harnessing solar energy. For mankind with its contemporary technology it is an impossible project. But an advanced civilization could possibly be able to construct such a machine. However seemingly impossible, it is, currently, we never know if such a sphere has been constructed or even if many of them are currently being operated by advanced species on other worlds. Human beings are still searching the universe with our space and land based telescopes and we have yet to build space craft that can transport us safely through interstellar space. But it will be an exciting project to accomplish the construction of such ab object and it will be the pride and joy of engineers, logisticians, scientists and management experts who are to construct such a tremendous machine as a Dyson Sphere.
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