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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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How would our society react to a major time-jump?

Our omniscient God has decided to intervene for (arguably, if you ask some religious people) the first time at least in a very long time. For matters unknown to us, He has frozen all time on Earth...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Mikey‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Mikey‭

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Would we ever find an alien space probe?

Several light-years away, an alien species has just discovered Mars. They deem it a candidate for colonization, so they launch a Voyager-like probe to get a closer look. They have no idea that ther...

6 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by ItsTimmy‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by ItsTimmy‭

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How would a modern stealth suit be designed using the technologies available to mid XXI century civilization?

EDIT: Question timeframe changed from early XXI to mid-XXI century. Lets say 2040 decade-ish. You are the engineer in charge for the construction of the latest 's stealth suit. It should be the...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Mindwin‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Mindwin‭

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Can a spaceship traveling close to light speed be knocked off course by a gamma ray burst?

This was spawned from this question about Blueshifting (BS) when traveling near the speed of light. I had found this while learning about the other question. @99.99995 percent c And interes...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by bowlturner‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by bowlturner‭

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How would Death Star move between systems?

Similar to the Death Star(s) depicted in Star Wars universe, my question is how do such a massive body move from its orbit around its parent planet across the stellar system or galaxy into the enem...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by user6760‭

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Hammerhead dragon craving for seafood

How can I explain a female adult dragon standing at 30 to 32 meters living on the peaks of a snowy mountain, will dive and swim hundreds of miles into the ocean to hunt for sperm whales and colossa...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by user6760‭

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I would like to know if "imaginary velocity" has serious problem

I am writing a SF story, in this story, a life-form(You can just call them alien) from another universe comes to earth. They used "imaginary velocity" to make their time elapse faster than all bein...

6 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by fairytale‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by fairytale‭

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Is there an energy resource with such attributes?

Is there an energy substance, element, material, natural or artificial resource with attributes such that: When its moved it loses energy. When its intact, untouched and unmoved it contains energy.

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by undulationer‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by undulationer‭

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Can jellyfish migrate out of water?

Jellyfish is consists mostly water and they live in the ocean, I like to create a world of airborne jellyfish how can I explain the levitating mechanism and evolutionary advantage scientifically?

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by user6760‭

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Could humans survive if they always had the psychological effects of alcohol and if so, how different would they be?

By psychological effects of alcohol, I mean the effects from 0.060"“0.099 Blood Alcohol Content % by volume (according to this Wikipedia article), but not the physical effects, like alcohol poisoni...

6 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Orfby‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Orfby‭

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The Fate of the Gobi

The Gobi Desert is what ecologists call an "interior desert" because it's too far away for water to reach. Now imagine that the Caspian Drainage Basin to the west has experienced a 75-meter rise i...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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Death from old age stopped, with expansion to new worlds to handle population growth

One of the biggest 'immortality sucks' issues has always been the question of what to do with the new people being born. Without death, a world's limited resources can't keep up with a never endin...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by dsollen‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by dsollen‭

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Scale down the Solar system according to Earth

Let's say I have an OCD and I want everything to be perfect. I want all the planets and The sun of our solar system to be equal in size. Apart from that, I want the distance between the orbits to b...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Name changed to mask identity‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Name changed to mask identity‭

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How would artificial gravity be achieved in space?

I am wondering, what mechanism would be needed to generate gravity on a space ship in interstellar space, like we see it on Star Trek or Star Wars? What is the most realistic hypothetical way what ...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by IvayloV‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by IvayloV‭

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Could a computer take over an entire planet?

The inspiration for my question comes from The Great C by Philip K Dick. To summarize, the Great C is a computer that has taken over a large portion of the planet. It uses proxy agents to keep co...

6 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by bazola‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by bazola‭

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How can I get a very large air bubble floating under Europa's ice?

I hope this isn't a stupid question ("just add air"). I would like my intrepid explorers to have drilled through the ice of Europa and into the water without creating a geyser (they plugged the ho...

5 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Mikey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Mikey‭

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Alien exploration : drone digging earth crust

I was thinking of potential planet explorations, by extremely advanced alien species, through automated drones (or "flying laboratories") scanning and analyzing the planets. (By "extremely advanced...

5 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Strannch‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Strannch‭

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Dissipate blizzard?

Is it possible to dissipate a blizzard with a chemical component? Or maybe with a special machine? There are no limits here except that the technology is gunpowder-renaissance-Napoleonic technolog...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Joze‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Joze‭

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Type 2 civilization orbiting twin yellow hypergiants system possible?

Imagine a world so brilliant and yet unthinkable - a habitable Earth-like planet infested with intelligent life attempting to erect a flexible Dyson sphere enveloping two yellow hypergiants. I know...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by user6760‭

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How to increase air density on a planet?

The question is about what changes would have to be made to an Earth-like planet, in order to increase the density of air and hence make lifting gases more effective. If that is scientifically poss...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by dot_Sp0T‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by dot_Sp0T‭

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Permanent local climate changes as a result of a catastrophe

I am currently trying to create a very low fantasy setting, with the most scientific plausibility I can, in which, with technology and "human" development being akin to those of Earth's medieval pe...

6 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Nemo ex Nihilo‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Nemo ex Nihilo‭

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The Mystery of the Missing Ginkgoes

In my alternate Earths, the plant class Ginkgoopsida has retained its prehistoric diversity, unlike back home, in which only Ginkgo biloba remains. In order for that diversity to be possible in th...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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How long until a small black hole makes the sun fail?

Imagine aliens dropped a small black hole (say, 1% of the moon's mass, so you wouldn't notice the difference in gravitation) into the sun (from the far side of the sun, so nobody on earth can see i...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by celtschk‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by celtschk‭

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What are some technologies that could minimize the space it takes to support a space crew?

I'm designing a video game in which players command a small crew of aliens (10-20 of them) who are building an outpost on a planet. They are a bit larger than humans (around 2 meters tall) with abo...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by FlyingPiMonster‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by FlyingPiMonster‭

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How could a simple submarine be built using 100 BC technology?

I have some ideas, but I'd like my fictional Roman (100BC) General Mikey (ha) to build a submarine(s). This should be able to navigate in lakes and calm shores of the Mediterranean, succeed in bri...

7 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Mikey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Mikey‭

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The Ethiopian Plateau

The highest point in the Ethiopian Highlands is 14,928 feet above sea level. It is here that the Nile River begins its journey to the Mediterranean. If the highlands were instead 21,737 feet abov...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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What phenomenon/situation would thwart the development of electronics by a society?

I'm interested in exploring an advanced society where electronic technology and infrastructure were not developed. What plausible natural phenomenon or context would prevent, or at least strongly d...

5 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by ZeroFlux‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by ZeroFlux‭

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How to navigate without magnetism?

Suppose a team of explorers touched down on an Earth-like planet which do not generate its own magnetic field and there are always a thick layer of cloud covering the sky at all time. My question i...

7 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by user6760‭

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Cordoning Corrosive Ocean

Imagine the entire ocean becomes extremely corrosive due to ocean acidification over a couple of decades, all nations have agreed to erect a permanent barrier along all shorelines to seperate land ...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by user6760‭

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A world with far more mobile continents?

On earth our continents move...real...real slow. This is of course a good thing for sentient life. I am trying to imagine/develop a world where...things move a bit faster...ok a lot faster, but i...

7 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by James‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by James‭

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May an AI civilization grow peacfully with organic civilizations?

Imagine a sci-fi world where many organic civilizations would have raised and have an empire between many planets and systems. Even if there is some political tensions, they all live in peace toget...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Aracthor‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Aracthor‭

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Would oxygen pool in sink holes if the upper atmosphere was helium, hydrogen and methane?

Imagine a big planet, gravity quite strong, 1.5 times earth. Irregular surface, rocky etc... (though flora and fauna will come into it later). It has a very thick atmosphere, drained off by a twin ...

7 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by JimDiGriz‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JimDiGriz‭

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What would happen to the ocean when lowering atmospheric density?

Suppose one fine day a mischievous god decided to eradicate all air molecules on Earth in an instant, my question is what will hapen to the ocean? Please kindly disregard (omit) your concern for li...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by user6760‭

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Destructibility of robots made from the strongest materials on the planet

Looking at all the movies that involve robots made from materials available from planet earth (think Pacific Rim, Iron Man etc. but not Transformers), what is the theoretical limit of the capabilit...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Michael Lai‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Michael Lai‭

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Resources For an AI-Controlled Base In Ethiopia

In a story I mentioned that an AI overlord in 2036 has one of "her" bases in Ethiopia, and now I want to develop that offhand idea into its own story. My AI is equivalent to a very smart human with...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Snow‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Snow‭

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The Glory of Lake Eyre

Lake Eyre in Australia has an area of roughly 4,000 square miles, but the basin itself is over 450,000 square miles. If the entire basin were freshwater, how would that affect the Outback's climate?

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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The REAL Tallest Peak on Earth

At 29,029 feet above sea level, Mount Everest has been credited as the tallest mountain on Earth. The only problem is that Mauna Kea, Hawaii's highest point, is 33,500 feet tall from its peak at 4...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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Physics issues for a city where time flows in two directions

For the purposes of this question, lets assume that we are in Edwin Abbott Abbott's Flatland, but the world is a disk, with living shapes Above, and 'dead' shapes Below (the underside of the disk)...

5 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Mobeus‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Mobeus‭

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What are the dangers of using fusion rocket engines in atmosphere?

As far as I understand, when you fuse deuterium (H-2) and tritium (h-3), you get a helium atom and a spare neutron. Basically alpha-rays? Now alpha rays are easily blocked by matter. You can block ...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Avanak‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Avanak‭

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A Completely Different Africa

In one of my Alternate Earths, I have made the following changes to Africa: 1) Re-angle the mainland (meaning Madagascar stays right where it is) to the point that the Mediterranean is connected ...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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The Fullest Potential of The Human Race

70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens sapiens suffered a genetic bottleneck that reduced the population of likely 100,000 to 3,000. Over seven billion people of several distinctive races are descended fr...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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A More Temperate Australia

Currently, the distance between Australia and Antarctica is a rough estimate of 4500 miles. But if that number were cut by half, what would Australia's climate and ecology be?

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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Stabilizing the obliquity of a planet

It is said that the Moon plays a significant role on stabilizing the obliquity of Earth (or call it the axial tilt). Without it, the tilt of the planet is subject to great variations causing unpred...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Vincent‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Vincent‭

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Mechanisms behind different metabolisms for regular and synthetic food

In this world I'm building, a bunch of previously inactive genes in humans have started expressing, and changed newborns' metabolic system dramatically. As a result, a portion of population cannot...

6 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by wellagain‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by wellagain‭

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Turning the Mediterranean into a sort of NeoTethys

Today's Mediterranean Sea is just a shadow of its former self, the Tethys. In an alternate scenario, I have rearranged the African mainland to an angle that turns Gibraltar from a strait into an i...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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Can planets die of old age

I was wondering if planets die after a certain amount of time, perhaps because of decay? If this is the case, how do they die and how long does it take? Do they implode? Explode or perhaps just f...

12 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Stefan‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Stefan‭

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May a very short-lived species raise as a stable civilization?

Consider a planet similar from Earth: very suitable for life, with vegetal and animal life forms thriving onside. I wonder if one of these life forms could raise as a civilization as humans did, i...

5 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Aracthor‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Aracthor‭

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Making the Marauder's Map: Can I make a map that changes?

Those familiar with the Harry Potter series may be familiar with the Marauder's Map, a map that allows the holder to see where people are at any given time. It displays a person as a set of footpri...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by HDE 226868‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by HDE 226868‭

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Rounding Up Our Balance (North America)

I've been told that if I raise the axial tilt from 23.5 degrees to 25, I'd end up getting hotter summers and colder winters. That's great, except that Earth's diverse climate makes that statement ...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by JohnWDailey‭

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Discrimination in a world physically influenced by what their inhabitants believe

Let's take an imaginary world where, without its inhabitants realizing it, everything is physically influenced by what people thinks, by what they believe, by how they see the world. Of course the ...

6 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Soel‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Soel‭