Bill Gates is investing in research to build sun-dimming technologies which could reverse global warming.

The Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) will spray a special calcium dust into the sky in order to reflect sunlight back into space.

This 'solar geoengineering' project has been called 'dangerous' and even 'horribly stupid', but could be a last resort to save the world if humanity doesn't successfully stop climate change.

Gates, who recently argued that everyone should eat lab-grown beef and stop using Bitcoin, is reportedly very interested in dimming the Sun to reduce or delay the impact of global warming around the world.

The SCoPEx project will kick off in June by launching a weather balloon 12 miles into the sky to test whether the sun-blocking dust will be feasible.

However, this 'geoengineering' test could be very risky and nobody knows what will happen until after the dust is released. Some scientists have suggested that the dust could help replenish the ozone layer.

Critically, the Sun wouldn't actually be fully blocked out. Instead, the dust would 'scatter' or reflect sunlight. This has happened in the past when volcanoes have erupted.

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Blocking out the Sun has been an inspiration of some rather terrifying sci-fi dystopias. In The Matrix, Morpheus talks about how humanity 'scorched the sky' to try and stop the killer robots but destroying the planet in the process.

In the Netflix series Snowpiercer, the entire world lives on a gigantic train because humanity accidentally froze the entire planet by blocking the Sun.

One famous fictional billionaire also successfully blocked out the Sun in Season 6 of The Simpsons. Mr. Burns created a 'sun blocker' device to force Springfield to live in perpetual twilight and use his nuclear energy.

It did not end well for Mr Burns. He got shot by a baby and was found passed out on a (broken) sundial.

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