  We study the buckling of pressurized spherical shells by Monte Carlo
simulations in which the detailed balance is explicitly broken -- thereby
driving the shell active, out of thermal equilibrium. Such a shell typically
has either higher (active) or lower (quiescent) fluctuations compared to one in
thermal equilibrium depending on how the detailed balance is broken. We show
that for the same set of elastic parameters, a shell that is not buckled in
thermal equilibrium can be buckled if turned active. Similarly, a shell that is
buckled in thermal equilibrium can unbuckle if turned quiescent. Based on this
result, we suggest that it is possible to experimentally design microscopic
elastic shells whose buckling can be optically controlled.
