A Class B stellar engine is a Dyson sphere—of whichever variant—built around the star, which uses the difference in temperature between the star and the interstellar medium to extract usable energy from the system, possibly using the phenomenon of thermoelectricity (heat engines, or thermal diodes). Unlike the Shkadov thruster, such a system is not propulsive. The Matrioshka brain concept is based on this stellar engine concept, extracting energy for a specific purpose: data processing.
Read more about this topic: Stellar Engine
Famous quotes containing the word class:
“Sometimes I think that idlers seem to be a special class for whom nothing can be planned, plead as one will with them—their only contribution to the human family is to warm a seat at the common table.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“psychologist
Ultimately it’s all a matter of style. What it comes down to is this: Do you spell Jennifer with a J or G? That’s a class division. As a populist, I’m all for G.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)