Artificial world
Encyclopedia
Writers in the fields of science speculation and fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 have created in their works several varieties of artificial worlds.

Such megastructure
Megastructure
A megastructure is a very large manmade object, though the limits of precisely how large this is vary considerably. Some apply the term to any especially large or tall building....

s could have a variety of advantages over natural planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

s, such as efficient use of solar energy and immense living space, but their construction and/or maintenance would require technologies much in advance of that of 21st-century Earth.

It was often stated, that it is more possible to build a 2-gigaton Dyson sphere than a laser rifle, but still ringworlds etc. are treated in sci-fi as symbol of immense power, often relic of Precursor civilization or symbol of all-powerful future empire.

Examples of artificial worlds include:
  • Culture Orbitals
  • Dyson sphere
    Dyson sphere
    A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...

    s
  • Globus Cassus
    Globus Cassus
    Globus Cassus is an art project and book by Swiss architect and artist Christian Waldvogel presenting a conceptual transformation of Planet Earth into a much bigger, hollow, artificial world with an ecosphere on its inner surface...

  • Planetoids
  • Ringworld
    Ringworld
    Ringworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...


In Douglas Adams' HitchHiker's Guide To The Galaxy, an advanced race referred to as the Magratheans designed and built planets for the wealthy inhabitants of the galaxy, and the book went on to theorize that the Magratheans also designed and built Earth.
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