The ability to harness energy from the world around us, has literally fueled the technological development of the human race. And every time we got our hands on a stronger way of utilizing energy, it was major step forward for our species.

Our ancient ancestors began it all with the harnessing of fire to power their energy needs. We progressed to extracting our energy from animals, water, wind,  steam power and fossil fuels. These energies are so diverse, it’s easy to forget they emanate from the sun. Problem is, as our civilization becomes more advanced, our energy needs will increase, mostly because there will be more of us and the things we do will require more zip.

Because stars are spherical, they radiate energy in all directions, that’s why only a tiny fraction of our sun’s energy comes our way. So the possible solution to the problem could come in the way of a Dyson Sphere, a mega-structure that would completely encircle the sun and capture all of its energy. Unfortunately, because of technological limitations, building such a structure is many years away. Get more details on this phenomenal project in the following clip with Thought2.