Dark matter caused by Matrioshka Systems

It seems like Dyson Spheres are always brought up in the context of harvesting power. However, another use for a Dyson Sphere may be to cloak your solar system/inner planets. If the star's output doesn't escape from the sphere then it can't be observed except through gravitational effects which dramatically reduces the information you can get about the cloaked system. It seems like this would be useful for peaceful purposes like making it hard for aggressors to find you. It would also be useful for aggressive races to obscure their war production and/or mask initial acceleration so an object appears as a benign asteroid flying through space instead of an approaching warship.

I'd like to tie the concept of Dyson Spheres, or more correctly Matrioshka systems based on the linked answer, as cloaking mechanisms with the concept of dark matter too. I just don't know how plausible the idea of using Dyson Spheres are for hiding stars/inner planets, and if this would plausibly be interpreted as dark matter given our current to near future tech? The answer given by Serban Tanasa that I linked above to appears to support this as a possibility but it was given based on a question asking to alter the apparent size/class of a star, not cloak it out completely (baring gravitational affects).

Assuming this is possible, is there a scenario that would justify such an outrageously large engineering feat beyond "because we can." It seems to me that if you have the dedication and ability to pull this off then there is bound to be a cheaper solution to your problems...

posted about 8 years ago

Erik‭

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