General Q&A about worldbuilding and other speculative developments that can be extrapolated from science.
Filters (None)
Is there any conceivable way that a planet with two moons--one being visibly red to the naked eye due to its mineral composition--could align in an eclipse in such a way so that the whole effect lo...
Could a Manned Maneuvering Unit-type device provide a few hours of light artificial gravity* for a small person on an object with minimal gravity of its own? What sort of fuel would it need? * Com...
When traveling at fast speeds through the galaxy, would it be possible to identify where all the black holes were on your path? I know most black holes are identified by their affect on other nearb...
I know it's been proven false in our world, but what is the most plausible mechanism by which an Open Polar Sea could form and persist? I don't mean all the ice melting, but an open sea as it was ...
By extremely high gravity, I specifically mean around 28 Gs. I recently asked this question with regards to inhabiting the sun, and surviving in the sun's gravity seems like one of the major challe...
Picture the future, where man kind has spread out across the galaxy. What would be the most precious and sought after materials? Today it is metals like gold and platinum that are most sought aft...
Recently, a robot called Philae soft-landed quite safely onto the comet 67P/Churyumov"“Gerasimenko, then shot some photos and got some other interesting information that was sent back to Earth. Thi...
One way, I think, is if the gravity is exactly correct. However, while I think the water might be in a unstable equilibrium, I have been unable to work out the mathematics. Let's assume that such a...
Starting with about 500 humans and allowing for 900 years to pass, about how many people would there be at the end? (Just asking for a rough estimate, maybe a range.) Assuming: People are general...
Would it be possible for a planet-wide climate be set so that the temperature even at the poles would continually stay within a narrow range between 17 and 21 degrees Celsius? (This is approximate...
Given the approximate technology level of us Humans today. Is there enough of each material needed by our modern civilization in Asteroids to make this economic? And would the materials be used fo...
Is there any feasible way to create a long-term sustainable habitat on the sun? My target region for habitation is the temperature minimum at the bottom of the solar atmosphere. Metals would have ...
Inspired by comment under this question "Darling, does this dress make me look fat? QUICKSAVE "Uhm ... no?" WRONG ANSWER, WANNA TRY AGAIN? We all dreamed about having possibili...
Defining what is a super intelligent civilization: An industrial civilization that invest on scientific progress and that builds and manipulates computers, robots and nano-machines, has effi...
Suppose the Earth entered a period of intense global warming, say by 50° Fahrenheit (28° Celsius), and then levelled off at the new, higher, temperature. Obviously, anywhere near the equator would ...
I want to build a planet (or satellite) that: is smaller than Earth, has a thicker atmosphere than Earth but breathable, has neither intense volcanism, nor any extreme condition of that sort that...
I know the idea seems a bit far fetched but it's something I believe is common is science fiction and fantasy stories. I remember the talking trees of Zelda: Ocarina of time and of course, Tolkien'...
In a few science-fiction books I've read, the world that the story takes place on doesn't have a sun, but does have a "sun belt," where (instead of a regular sun) the world is lit by a stretch of s...
A long time ago I heard about a Medieval Irish pirate that used a Trebuchet mounted on his ship (no I am not sure what he was or where I heard it). The idea of a ship acting like a double pendulum...
Given ideal circumstances and a type 4 or 5 Kardashev scale level of technology to set the system in motion (but not to maintain the motion over time): How many planets 1/4 of the Earth's mass co...
Picture a planet identical to Earth, but with rings. It has a satellite similar to the moon, except smaller; I'm not sure how big it needs to be but distance from the planet is more important so ...
I would like to have a planet in which somehow it becomes necessary to harvest aurora for energy (and maybe matter if that's feasible). The civilization of this planet is moderately advanced -- e...
While we develop space travel technologies, the Moon will always be the first destination. By its proximity to Earth is the obvious target to test our technology. Before we can establish some kind...
If the North and South Poles' ice melted instantly, what would be the effect on humans and other animals? Would the sea creatures thrive? Would a lot of land get covered by water?
In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Thirty Days", there was a planet made completely out of water, which is the inspiration for this question. However, that planet was held together by an artificia...
Concerning long term effects of zero gravity on humans living in space compared with those living on super earths with 1.5x to 2x G, how could the gravity differences cause reproductive failure amo...
Somewhat in relation to this question - What could restrain post-singularity societies from spreading across the Galaxy? I'm assuming not all star systems move at the same velocity in relation to ...
Accept that we had a reason to go to Mars, managed to build a colony there, and what we found on Mars is valuable enough to ship back to Earth. There is now a self sustainable colony living under t...
What would happen to a human settlement on Earth, on some deserted island, that had no contact with the outside world for a thousand years? Something like a human version of the Galapagos islands, ...
Imagine a world in which technology we would probably call "technological singularity" is possible and already happened on few places of the galaxy. By the singularity I do not mean that anything i...
That is to say, could a planet be big enough to have other planets orbiting around, while not orbiting around any star? Cha 110913 seems to be close to what I'm looking for, but its classification ...
1350 AD. A secret society is recruiting adepts in Rome, Florence, Paris, Wien, Prague and London; well-educated people in high ranks of nobility, catholic church, engineers, professors and knights....
I'm aware that deep sea fish don't actually "explode" when brought to the surface but any air sacs in their bodies would expand and cause them possibly fatal damage. However, what other physiologi...
I am building a habitable, Earth like planet, but instead of it being in a solar system, it is inside a Nebula. The actual composition of the Nebula is uncertain at this point, but I am considerin...
I am building a habitable Earth like planet, but instead of it being in a solar system it is inside a Nebula. The actual composition of the Nebula is uncertain at this point. I am thinking the pl...
I was reading up a little while ago about Janus and Epimetheus and how every few years they trade orbits. The mechanics is interesting but I'm not going into them here. What I was wondering is ...
Somewhat inspired by this question : Could a civilization as advanced as humans exist on a planet/dwarf planet like Pluto? Assume two dwarf planets in tide lock orbit around one-another. Assume ...
If an earth-sized planet were tidally locked to a star, and was in the life zone of its star with an earth-like atmosphere, what would its wind patterns be like? The planet would have one hot hemi...
One possible approach how to estimate extend of space colonization is to define costs of it and then estimate the investments the governments and organizations would be willing to pay. In an excell...
Is a scifi setting of constant artificial light everywhere plausible? I'm thinking to the point that the average adult person has not gone out of a city and has no experience of general darkness (o...
Is it possible that any life on earth could evolve to live off a liquid which is not water? Something like oil or some other natural liquid?
Is it possible for humans to evolve to eat something like wood or stone or something similar? Any hard material you would find or any abundant resource. So is it possible that humans in the past ha...
Most interested in effects during the first <75 years. Things to consider: What type of organization is building the space elevator? How is the service sold/rented? What is its maintenance/s...
In a world with humanized (or at least tool using) reptiles, how long would a tattoo be able to last on the scales? Would the tools need to be much different than what we use today? Would it be p...
In this hypothetical solar system the one habitable planet in question would be at center of two sun stars, one similar to our sun and the other a red dwarf. What kind of effect would this have on ...
Could a civilization exist on a planet/dwarf planet like Pluto? It is so cold and barren. Is it possible? What would they live off? They don't have to be humanoid.
With the increase in living standards, the number of children by women is decreasing in highly developed countries. Question: Is it conceivable (with the aggravating factors proposed below) to s...
As you see my other question What would be the major changes to our body if we were herbivores?. Instead of being herbivores, what would happen if we were obligate carnivores?
What would be the major changes to our bodies if we were herbivores? Would our bodies be weaker because they were not getting any protein from meat? Would we be completely different? (Probably, I s...
Say we had a planet which was a gas giant. Is it possible that at the core of the planet where meteors, asteroids, and comet debris had collected that there could be a layer of atmosphere similar t...
