DYSON, Freeman J(ohn)

(1923-)

   UK-born theoretical physicist and FRS; professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, since 1953, and now a US citizen. FJD's main work has been in quantum field theory, but he is well known in sf for the concept of the DYSON SPHERE, which he introduced in a short paper for Science in 1960 (vol 131 p1667). In this paper, which was concerned with locating and communicating with extraterrestrial civilizations, Dyson argued that any such civilization would probably be millions of years old and that Malthusian pressure would have led to its energy requirements being equal to the total output of radiation from its star. It would therefore reconstruct its solar system so as to form an artificial biosphere completely enclosing its sun. This and related schemes, like the basic notion behind his RINGWORLD (1970), are discussed by Larry NIVEN in his article "Bigger than Worlds" (1974; reprinted in A Hole in Space coll 1974). An sf novel which makes use of an actual Dyson Sphere is Bob SHAW's Orbitsville (1975). The "Cuckoo "inFarthest Star (1975) by Frederik POHL and Jack WILLIAMSON is revealed in the sequel, Wall Around a Star (1983), to be a Dyson Sphere.FJD's theorizing has many times gone beyond his own speciality to cover topics as diverse as the Greenhouse Effect, galactic COLONIZATION, GENETIC ENGINEERING and the use of the SOLAR WIND for space-sailing. His many essays are a treasure trove for sf writers, some being collected in Infinite in All Directions (coll 1988 US). His set of autobiographical sketches, Disturbing the Universe (1979 US), tells entertaining tales of intellectual adventure. It was a student of Dyson's who made headlines in 1976 by designing a workable nuclear weapon using only published sources.

   TSu/PN

   See also: ENTROPY; XENOBIOLOGY.