# Dyson Swarm

> Mid-ramp. ~0.2–0.4% solar interception. Mass-limited, not energy-limited.

## Build state

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Solar interception | 0.2–0.4% |
| Total absorbed power | ~10²³–10²⁴ W |
| Annual coverage growth | 0.03–0.05% of solar disk |
| Time to ~10% saturation | 200–300 yr |
| Total swarm mass | ~10²¹ kg |

Construction is mass-limited. Mercury teardown rate sets swarm ramp rate.

## Architecture — three tiers

**Mirror field (outer).** Lightweight reflective film, ~mg/m² areal mass. Passive, radiation-pressure attitude-stabilized. Replaceable cheap. ~70% of total swarm mass.

**Spectral sorting tier (middle, emerging).** Cascaded dichroic mirrors, Bragg gratings, prismatic dispersers fractionate broadband flux into separately-saleable bands. Coverage ~40–60% of delivered flux now; growing.
→ `beam-fractionation.md`

**Conversion nodes (inner).** Receive concentrated flux at 40–60% thermophotovoltaic/thermionic efficiency. Each node thermally stressed, expensive, heavily maintained. Orders of magnitude fewer than mirrors.

## Mass budget

| Component | % of swarm mass | Polymer matrix % of component |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror film | ~70% | 60–80% |
| Conversion nodes | ~12% | 8–15% |
| Radiator arrays | ~8% | 25–35% |
| Beaming infrastructure | ~5% | 15–25% |
| Station-keeping + tenders | ~3% | 20–30% |
| Comms + control | ~2% | 10–20% |

**~22% net polymer matrix across the integrated swarm.** This is the demand profile that anchors the Venusian slime industry.
→ `polymer-matrix-demand.md`

## Mercury–Venus coupling

```
Mercury  ──silicate+metal aggregate──► Swarm fabrication
   ▲                                          │
   │                                          ▼
   └──beam──── Conversion nodes ◄── Venus polymer matrix
```

Each leg depends on the other two. Breaking any one stops the system within months. This loop is the central economic fact of the era.

## Beam allocation (sector share)

```
Mercury extraction              ~30–35%
Swarm self-construction         ~20–25%
Venusian hyperscale slime       ~10–15%
Cylinder habitat fab            ~8–12%
Yatraem corridor maintenance    ~5–8%
Compute + authentication        ~3–6%
Other                           ~5–10%
```

→ `solar-monetary-authority.md`, `beam-fractionation.md`

## Waste heat

Conversion nodes dissipate ~50% of intercepted flux as near-IR (5–8 μm). Radiator arrays sized to this load are the most visually prominent feature of any node installation. Inner-system IR background measurably grows with swarm coverage.

Secondary collection at the waste-heat tier is technically viable, not yet deployed at scale. Trade-off inverts when primary collection approaches saturation.

## Orbital distribution

| Band | Range | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Inner | 0.2–0.5 AU | High-flux conversion nodes concentrated here |
| Middle | 0.5–1.5 AU | Bulk of mirror field deployment |
| Outer | 1.5–3.0 AU | Sparse; corridor-feedstock-limited |

Distribution is non-uniform. Inhabited orbital shells (Earth, Mars, Venus cloud band) get mirror geometry built **around** rather than across them — preserving insolation budgets established before the swarm existed.

## Plateau

Construction not planned to full enclosure. Marginal return diminishes well before. Eventual operational plateau projected at 8–15% interception, centuries away. Current era's job is the build itself.

→ `mercury-extraction-pathway.md`, `polymer-matrix-demand.md`, `solar-monetary-authority.md`, `timeline-and-eras.md`