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Q&A

General Q&A about worldbuilding and other speculative developments that can be extrapolated from science.

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Are large meteor craters possible with the survival of most human society?

In my world, I am looking for a crater formed by a meteor impact that deposited a large number of resources there. The final crater should be 200 miles in diameter. I would like to do this with min...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Cascader‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Cascader‭

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How CAN a Wyvern be a Scansoriopterygid Dinosaur?

It's become a popular speculative evolution trope for the likeliest candidate of the mythological "wyvern" to be a Cenozoic family--if not superfamily--of scansoriopterygid dinosaur. Now the first...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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Aftermath of the "Were plague": Dealing with "Strays"

One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into Legosi from Beastars. He felt a dull pain a bit above his behind, as he li...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭

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Feasibility of making a clone with the same identity

So you decide to clone yourself, obviously the clone is a infant, but other wise looks perfectly identical. However, you start to think of how your new clone could be perfectly like you, in body st...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

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How would multiple minds control a single body?

One trope seen in movies is mind control. This trope involves a person or thing taking over another person's body, whilst visual or auditory cues and friends try to help the original person regain ...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

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Feasibility of a species based on Nyarlethotep (of HP Lovecraft lore)

Nyarlethotep (the crawling chaos, the evil with a thousand forms, the messenger of the outer gods) originates from the literature of HP Lovecraft and is by far one of the most evil, sadistic, and i...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

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Where do producers get nutrients in an airborne ecology?

So I'm designing a world where the air has its own ecosystem, separate from the one on the land, because sky whales are cool. However, I'm having trouble figuring out what the plants and other prod...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Jetscooters‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jetscooters‭

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How can I have an Earth-like moon?

My story takes place on the moon of a large gas giant planet. I have been trying to decide on a way for the moon to be as Earth-like as possible, but I have now decided to ask the community for hel...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by overlord - Reinstate Monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by overlord - Reinstate Monica‭

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Mirror to the past

Are there any holes in the following reasoning? Black holes form gravitational lenses. So they bend light. Is it possible for an observer to see his own past image as a result of light bending aro...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Banish‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Banish‭

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Through Uterus/Reproductive System

Early life, and many modern organisms have what we call 'blind guts'. Food enters and exits via the same opening. However, that is inefficient and has been widely replaced with 'through guts'. Fo...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Aezyc‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Aezyc‭

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Walking Moisture Farms

JordanTheCynic here again with another question relating to my Eosi Humans. Most of my questions are NSFW by the way so just a fair warning. I made a post in the past which discussed how Eosi h...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by JordanTheCynic‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by JordanTheCynic‭

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If mammals with paws were to evolve to have human hands or fingers what would their paws/pads look like if they still retain it?

Inspired by One Piece by Eichiro Oda. from https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Nikyu_Nikyu_no_Mi Fiction has many examples of humanoid animals - things like lycans or werewolves, cat/dog/rabbit fo...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Li Jun‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Li Jun‭

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How to get a habitable moon without too long day-night cycle?

It appears that there are gas giants in habitable zones of stars, and likely some of them should have moons that are big enough to have an Earth-like world, so that part should be plausible enough....

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Joku_242‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Joku_242‭

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Science of Green Lantern and solid light constructs

Many know that the Lantern Corps of DC Comics are capable of constructing objects of any shape or size out of hard light using their power ring fueled by their emotions. However, I'm wondering what...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Strivs‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Strivs‭

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How fast would a gas giant, or very close moon, need to orbit to maintain distance?

I have noticed that there is a common theme in science fiction art to depict one or more very large planetary bodies in very close proximity to the surface of the other world being depicted. (you ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Michael Hall‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Michael Hall‭

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What's the energy required to traverse through dimensions

Say in the future, humanity has developed technology to the point that it allows them to traverse through other universe, each universe having something either drastically different or not so diffe...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

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Could this uniquely shaped planet exist?

Now, I know that planets can't be disc-shaped. However, if a relatively small planet had a very strong magnetical pull, could it have a ring system that could make the planet from afar seem disc-sh...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Anonymous‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Anonymous‭

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What Technology is Needed to Virtually Simulate...Everything?

This is not my question. In my story, I have a machine that you can connect to using electrodes. It allows one to enter a small virtual reality room where everything from gravity and electromagnet...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by overlord - Reinstate Monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by overlord - Reinstate Monica‭

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An Earth with a permanent winter state with drastically reduced temperature, dark skies and mass extinctions

I had posted a question a couple of days ago asking if it would be possible for an artificial satellite/cosmic body at the L1 orbit to block out the Sun, but the logistics of that is a little too e...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Space_Cadet‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Space_Cadet‭

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Could a dichromatic animal see red?

So I'm not really sure whether I get it right or not, but apparently most mammals are dichromatic. Humans have three cones that detect light wavelengths, small for blue, medium for green, and large...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Tanya‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Tanya‭

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How can human evolution adopt to the changes of multiple births being commonplace?

Mariam Nabatanzi Babirye is a woman in Uganda who has had 44 children in her life due to her bearing many children at one time. This unusual situation is because of a rare genetic abnormality that ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Incognito‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Incognito‭

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Avoiding Incidental Ion Drive damage to Following Vehicles?

Is it possible for a large enough Ion Drive with enough power to be dangerous to other objects "down wind" of the vehicle, even at long distances (100+km)? As I understand it, ion drives accelerat...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Cazadorro‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by dmckee‭

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How to form a huge natural plateau with a slope?

I need a huge natural plateau to form but with a slope. There can be some variation, a few hills or even mountains here and there, but the ground needs to be mostly gently sloping north to south. ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Slarty‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Slarty‭

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Is an Earth-to-Moon missile technologically possible?

Given current capabilities, is it possible for a missile launched from the surface of the Earth to impact the surface of the Moon? I would imagine the same "rocket" used send stuff to the ISS coul...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by luchonacho‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by luchonacho‭

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Can a Robotic Eyeball Be Created that Perfectly Replicates Human Vision?

In my world, a "perfect" robotic eyeball has been created. This eyeball is electronic, but it emulates a human eye perfectly. This does not necessarily mean that it has millions of synthetic cones...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by overlord - Reinstate Monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by overlord - Reinstate Monica‭

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What would be the effect(s) of this asteroid?

"At this very moment we face a threat insurmountable to Man. We are faced with two options. Stay on Earth and die, or leave Earth to space." - UN Preservation Council, CE 2047 Earth, year CE 2047 ...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Hunt Castle‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Hunt Castle‭

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Is it possible for an impact event to render the Earth's surface unrecognizable while still forming a large complex crater?

Is it physically possible for a complex crater to form and remain stable after an impact event large enough to deform the Earth's crust globally, insofar that the surface of the planet becomes unre...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Wax‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Wax‭

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My characters have been killing the same demons over and over again. How come the demons never adapt to them?

There are three "worlds" in this setting: Heaven, Hell and Midgard, Midgard being Earth and the entire Milkyway galaxy. When a demon or an angel enters Midgard, they can't just walk there, as they...

16 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭

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what kind of natural disaster can affect earth on a planetary scale?

Our world is surrounded by a metaphysical barrier that separates us from other dimensions and the things which inhabit them. This barrier is made up of 7 layers, with the last one being the closest...

7 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Incognito‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Incognito‭

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Can a moon orbit a planet's southern pole?

I am interested in the idea of a moon orbiting only the southern pole of a planet. Could it theoretically be possible (though unlikely) that a moon would, for instance, orbit a planet parallel to t...

10 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by mrkv12‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by mrkv12‭

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How to protect oneself against strong magnetic fields?

Spacecraft in my Scifi setting use strong magnetic fields for many purposes. Fusion containment, magnetic nozzles, gauss guns, magnetic fields as pusher-plates for nuclear pulsed propulsion and def...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by TheDyingOfLight‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by TheDyingOfLight‭

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Risk of over toxicity or system mutation in species with very long life spans

I fear this question may be somewhat premature as I'm suddenly skipping forward to a period in the species' history that is comparable to our own, a far cry from my last question about the building...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Darius Arcturus‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Darius Arcturus‭

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How severe can an Iron Aversion be?

I like the idea of elves having a distinct weakness against iron, to the point where they're intensely scared of it and can't stand the touch of it. My question is: Assuming the Elves are mostly...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Maddock Emerson‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Maddock Emerson‭

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How big and numerous do ticks needs to be to threaten human life?

A world has grassy plains infested with larger-than-normal (perhaps even giant) blood-sucking ticks. Ignoring their main diet for the time being: They should be dangerous enough to threaten humans ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by David Hambling‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by David Hambling‭

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Would cold-blooded dragon be suitable for flying?

I am designing a cold-blooded dragon about the size of a house cat with a wingspan of 3 metres from tip to tip. It will climb on top of rocks at noon when there is ample sunlight overhead. I need i...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by user6760‭

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A creature with a built in flashlight

I know things like flashlight fish exist; things with luminescence and all that. But how strong could the light be? I have this cave dwelling species with three eyes except the middle one isn't ex...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Chickenpeep Chickenpeep‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Chickenpeep Chickenpeep‭

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What conditions would cause an extremely dense (dark) coniferous forest to grow?

It is said that in dense rainforests, only 1% of sunlight (sometimes less) reaches the forest floor, which greatly restricts the types of plant and animal life that can survive there. My (limited) ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by xtal‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

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To carry a person in its palm (like King Kong) how much pressure and at what speed would a kaiju need to apply?

Assume my kaiju is around 200 feet tall, weighs around 4,000 US tonnes and resembles a large lobster with two giant claws for its front legs and long spindly limbs with tiny pincers on the ends for...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Luke Duffy‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Luke Duffy‭

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Generation ship "stealing" resources without acceleration or deceleration

How could a generation ship "steal" energy or resources from star systems which it passed without changing velocity?

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by TheSpidermonkey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by TheSpidermonkey‭

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Feasibility of space faring centipedes

In the distant future, humanity has encountered, made peace and wars with countless advanced civilizations, but one civilization that still baffles them, is the race of intelligent centipedes. The...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

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Geckos walking on two legs

I was thinking of a situation, in which there is a mass extinction that wipes out all large land animals, and after this mass extinction some of the descendants of modern geckos evolve to fill the ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Anders Gustafson‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Anders Gustafson‭

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Where would a technologically advanced group of people forced into space by a calamity obtain water from?

The fleet in my setting are forced to leave the planet due to a volatile virus, and leave in pre-prepared spacefaring vessels capable of transporting ten million people per ship. The ships have alg...

7 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Niobium_Sage‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Niobium_Sage‭

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What would encourage multiple animal species to evolve human features simultaneously?

The setting is fifty-five million years in the future on Earth, with multiple humanoid species that have different ancestors, but share similar characteristics. Their ancestors would be animals tha...

8 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Lizardsaurus‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Lizardsaurus‭

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How would a Dyson Swarm transmit energy to the Earth?

The Dyson Swarm is common in sci fi as an energy source, and sometimes also as a powerful weapon. As it is commonly understood, it harnesses the energy of the sun, which stores a vast amount of ene...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by CYCLOPSCORE‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by CYCLOPSCORE‭

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Communicating the idea of danger to an unknown alien civilization

An alien automatic "beacon" tries to warn us about some imminent danger. It does so with launching a succession of large "veils" in front of their star so we can detect them via the transit method....

13 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Keelhaul‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Keelhaul‭

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Sniper team from different G-Worlds

The metric system (SI units) is a base-10 measurement system based on the meter, kilogram and second. But it is tied to earth. A second, which historically was defined as 1/86,400 of a day, now d...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by StainlessSteelRat‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by StainlessSteelRat‭

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Life-supporting climate for an organolithium planetary environment?

I'm looking to design one of my warring planets around organolithium chemistry with seas and precipitate primarily composed of a clear organolithium solvent liquid - possibly ammonia. I've searched...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Vogon Poet‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Vogon Poet‭

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Can I make my drone swarm quieter or Silent?

I have a character that achieves an ability similar to scattering and reforming or elemental swarming by controlling millimetre sized surveillance drones to morph into different shapes or disperse ...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by RandySavage‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RandySavage‭

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How do I calculate the total time dilation experienced by an accelerating ship?

My advanced human civilisation often has high-acceleration ships travelling at near lightspeed. I know that time dilation would have a significant effect on the time experienced by the crews, but I...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Starsong67‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Starsong67‭

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Arachnid fingers

Is there a way arachnids legs could have finger like appendages at their ends in a way that makes sense for their structure and wouldn't look like a cheesy design? This creature wouldn't be insect...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by RandySavage‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RandySavage‭