A future civilization could use space elevators and solar energy to disassemble the Earth and convert it into space colonies. The estimated energy cost is 6×10^31 J, but feasible with advanced technology. Solar energy could be harvested using astronomical-sized solar arrays orbiting Mercury. Assuming 50% efficient solar panels absorb 1% of the solar flux, enough energy to take the Earth apart could be provided in six days. However, practical issues such as building robots, space elevators, and miners are formidable.
Imagine that one day humanity decides to take the planet apart and convert it into space colonies with a combined internal surface area much larger than the previous Earth’s surface area. One possible way to do this would be to build numerous space elevators: nanotube fiber strings that stretch from the equator to a counterweight in geosynchronous orbit. An advanced network of space elevators could carry almost arbitrarily large payloads upward using armies of robotic climbers. However, disassembling the entire planet may take some time.
The gravitational potential energy of anything in geosynchronous orbit, relative to the Earth’s surface, is about 50 MJ (15 kWh) of energy per kilogram. The Earth contains about 6×1024 kg of mass, which would require 1.2×1032 J of energy to send in GEO from the surface if gravity were constant. However, gravity would not be constant: after a significant amount of material was removed from the planet, its gravity would decrease significantly. As a very rough estimate, let’s assume that this effect lowers the energy requirement to about half of what it would be if gravity remained constant at 1 g. We also ignore the complex effects of gravitational interactions between massive orbiting colonies and the energy costs of further dispersal within the Earth-Moon system.
The final estimated energy cost, 6×1031 J, is very large, but not necessary out of the reach of an advanced solar civilization. As Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This value is “only” about a hundred billion times greater than humanity’s global energy consumption in 2004. Humanity’s energy production and consumption have increased exponentially since the Industrial Revolution. It seems likely that at some point in the distant future we will reach populations and power generation capacities (solar and nuclear) so large that taking Earth apart might become feasible, if desired.
Consider using solar energy as an energy source to take the Earth apart. The energy could be harvested using a network of astronomical-sized solar arrays orbiting within Mercury’s orbit, transmitting power to Earth using a network of 50% efficient transmitting stations. The total solar flux is about 4×1026 watts. Imagine a giant network of solar panels so large that they absorb a full 1% of the solar flux. Being very thin, they wouldn’t absorb as much matter and could be built using materials from the asteroid belt.
Assuming 50% efficient solar panels absorb 1% of the solar flux and return energy to the Earth with 50% efficiency, enough energy to take the Earth apart could be provided in just six days.
Of course, the practical issues of building the robots, space elevators, and miners to mine all of Earth’s material and send it into orbit are formidable. However, if humanity continues to exist for many millions of years, we will have plenty of time to try. Calculations show that enough energy is available from the Sun to prove this, given sufficiently advanced robotics. Whether or not taking Earth apart is really possible, we’ll just have to wait and see. Less than a hundred years ago, many prominent rocket scientists and experts believed that travel to the Moon would be physically impossible.
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