General Q&A about worldbuilding and other speculative developments that can be extrapolated from science.
Filters (None)
[This is an extension of this Worldbuilding.SE question.] So, general relativity states that: For example, objects in a gravity-less environment, but in a container accelerating at 9.8m/s^2 (such ...
Not sure if my intuition here is right. All else being equal, would a massive ocean yield larger and more severe storms? If, say, we removed the Americas, would the new Atlantic-Pacific Ocean be m...
What would be the geographical and ecological implications for an Earth-like planet that experienced intense volcanic and supervolcanic activity on a scale that, while decreasing over time, was far...
I'm imagining an intelligent race of beings with only one major difference from humanity: that they share one mind. Biologically speaking, they're identical to humanity, and their world is, by all...
I want to build a world populated by humans descended from colonists from Earth who have traveled a long distance and time to arrive (say, 80 years.) They come to this new Earth-like planet in doz...
Considering that much of the surface of the Earth is covered by water, what events have to happen to turn the Earth into a desert? What would happen to water that disappears from rivers and oceans?...
I've discovered some ways of coloring the atmosphere through personal research: The atmosphere could be colored by particles or colored gases (as on Mars, unless I'm wrong) The atmosphere could b...
Premise; A magma/lava planet tidally locked around its sun. The side facing the sun is always erupting lava, the dark side is a cooled shell, which sinks into the magma beneath in a global whirlpo...
For starters, allow me to define more carefully what I am asking. For now I am not worried about any of the following, as if this question is answered they will be covered in later questions: The...
I have a planet approximately 3.5 times the mass of the Earth. I have a moon orbiting that planet that has to be habitable as well, because my story will take place on the first expedition to this ...
I was wondering about a setting where a moon orbiting a gas giant can sustain human life on its surface, i.e. with nearly identical conditions compared to Earth (e.g. size, gravity, mean temperatur...
As the title suggests, I'm trying to make the bunker viable in the arms race again. Note that does not mean it has to be indestructible. While some may contend that the bunker will lose the arms r...
The Snakebot of Doom - now dubbed Jormungandr by the first humans to encounter it and survive - is busy steamrolling New York into rubble, having first nuked the capitols of every member of the Nuc...
I want to create a character with the ability to simulate an increase or decrease of gravities effect on an object or area. Is this possible? Restrictions: Gravity will still work (I want to work a...
I have a bomberplane capable of carying a nuke. A large nuke. Let us say that I don't like the idea of wiping a city from the face of the earth. Instead, I decide to mass-produce solid CO2, and dro...
I could have sworn that there was a question that covered this, but I suppose I'm misremembering. If anyone finds one, let me know. Back in the early days of the Solar System, things were pretty b...
I have to feed my dinosaurs, the plants in the land are mostly destroyed, but the ocean is almost "untouched", so of course, I'm gonna feed my feathery friends with a lot of algae, specially made b...
In a world where three or four, at least, other sentient, intelligent civilisations (of non-human species) with a few planets each exist, earthly humans are getting more advanced. We've finally got...
So, as I've mentioned in previous questions, I am writing a series in which the four young main characters encounter natural, traversable wormholes that connect the present time to another one. I'v...
In his answer to a question on our Science Fiction and Fantasy SE about how Westeros in Game of Thrones produces food during the winters, Superbest says: "Martin's conception of a multi-annual win...
I have dinosaurs, I have an asteroid I want to save the dinosaurs from the asteroid, but I'm not allowed to use the giant laser again, after that incident in Alderaan. So I have only one chance lef...
I know in fiction Sonic The Hedgehog is able to run faster than the speed of sound but could an organism actually evolve to move faster than the speed of sound? What type of fuel would such an org...
Let's assume that humanity in near future develops an AI capable of solving problems. The AI hardware/ software was placed in an underground bunker (solid walls, Faraday cage, no tools to manipulat...
Some Details Suppose an Earth-like world with the following changes: Atmosphere: 67% nitrogen, 31% oxygen, 2% other Average surface temperature: 16.7° C (62° F) Day/night cycle: 20 hours Gravi...
A parasite starts its first life cycle of youth with the reproductive phase by cloning itself to infect as many people as possible without leaving any signs of its presence. After two days the par...
If a rocket ship with limited fuel has fallen into a decades-long elliptical orbit around the Sun, where in the orbit should it fire its engines in order to achieve escape velocity with a minimum o...
From this chart it appears that the star types closest to our own are K-type (oranger, a little cooler, and less than half as bright) and F-type (bluer, a little warmer, and much brighter). If I w...
The Black Death, which claimed an estimated 75-100 million lives, was one of the most devastating events that is still well known today. What conditions would allow the plague to spread and kill ...
I am writing a science fiction movie script and a planet idea came to me a few weeks ago: A planet with equatorial icecaps and polar jungles. As interesting and intriguing as this is to think about...
It seems like nothing can move faster than light and this is quite bothersome for interstellar travel. It takes decades in the best case to get anywhere interesting in our little Milkyway (Many tho...
In many sci-fi settings magnetic boots are used to help astronauts walk in microgravity. However, not all materials are ferromagnetic. Titanium, aluminum, the most form of carbon and silica can not...
I imagine a planet similar to ours, except for two details: The presence of everlasting clouds No yearly seasons Explanation: In this world clouds are very high and thick, so that sunlight (or...
Scenario for a novel: Earth mass planet (say between 0.8 and 1.4 Earth masses) captured as moon by migrating gas-giant (say 5 Jupiter masses) (not wedded to this setting, moon can be bigger or s...
In science fiction a common plot device is for a planet to be surrounded by electromagnetic interference that prevents an orbiting ship from scanning it with sensors or communicating with people on...
In the movie Oblivion, the Moon has been destroyed by invading aliens. Several shots of the moon show what is left: If the moon was somehow shattered like this, what would the effect be on Earth?
We are the only sentient civilization currently known to man, and sight is an integral part of both our everyday lives as well as most major technological advances throughout human history. Withou...
And could it look anything like the universe we know? Don't get hung up on the terminology. In general, you seem to see through it easily, so I don't want any more answers mentioning that. I'll sa...
Alright, this is an edit of my previous question, in response to a number of urges to clarify it. I'll do my best to be clear and concise. How long would it take a spaceship, locked in geostationa...
What's the longest plausible orbital period for a habitable planet with a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance? I want a planet with a 3:2 spin orbit resonance (which would experience 1/3 of a year of nightti...
I read somewhere that the size of a planet can influence the number of pressure belts (the areas of high and low pressure that cycle wind, heat and moisture about the globe) How would you go about...
It's 2020, carbon emissions are in decline but not fast enough. Oceans continue to rise at an increasing rate, so a plan is proposed to cut ALL carbon emissions: Cover the moon in solar panels (ta...
Thanks to enhanced space telescopy Earth has found some great candidate star systems for colonisation. But they are not yet ready to try sending people. There's no new physics. However, the cost...
Assume that we have a earth like planet,orbiting a sun like star. On which have all the right ingredient:atmosphere,liquid water,molten metal core.....etc for the existence of the life as we known ...
I am looking for a (at least somewhat) plausible organic matter, which is able to store massive amounts of energy. After reading up on biobatteries and so on, I am aware that I would need something...
I need an semi-organic structure large enough to fit a dense kasbah village on top, that protrudes from a shallow sea. additional info, maybe unimportant: planet orbits a red dwarf star tidally lo...
Alright, so I've been doing some research on hypercanes, which are, in short, theoretical hurricanes that may have ravaged Earth in its ancient past, when ocean temperatures were much higher (at le...
Another question for my comic: my friend has made a demand that I give one of her characters a flying mount, preferably griffin-like. I have some designs but I want them to be plausible: How bulk...
I was wondering: what if a planet (such as earth) suddenly had all surface tension removed (mainly in water, because all carbon based life forms need it.). What would happen?
There are a wide range of environmental temperatures located all around the world, from the low -90° C to high 60° C at the extremes. When looking at the core body temperature however the range i...
I am designing a world where humans have achieved FTL by means of the Alcubierre warp drive and are colonizing the stars. Originally I had communication pegged as being done with quantum entanglem...
