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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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What would be the short-term and long-term effects of an increase in the strength of gravity on humans?

I heard that some scientists placed chickens under 2.5g for 6 months, and they survived. A normal human would black out at 5g. A trained astronaut could take up to 8g before blacking out. 20g woul...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by BuildingBetterWorlds‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by BuildingBetterWorlds‭

biology physics humans gravity
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Polarity of a planet's lightning strikes reversed?

On Earth, the planet itself is negatively charged and the clouds are positively charged, causing lightning to travel from the clouds to the surface. While there are significantly smaller wisps of l...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by The Glis Jackel‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by The Glis Jackel‭

reality-check planets electricity lightning light city
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How would an aquatic civilisation forge tools?

One of the first steps in technological is the ability of a civilisation to forge tools* humans achieved this by using fire and creating forges. There are obviously underwater heat sources but I d...

8 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Liath‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Liath‭

water technology underwater technological-development
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What would happen in North America if California became drier?

My question is mainly related to the impact on food production if the climate changes made agriculture more difficult in the state of California but also in the other American and Mexican states fr...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Vincent‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Vincent‭

climate culture futurology earth agriculture
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Could higher land-based life exist on a planet with a pressure of about 1 MPa?

This is somewhat of a follow-up question to my ammonia-based world question. I've found out that the melting point of ammonia is at 25°C at a pressure of about 1 MPa (about 10 times the atmospheri...

5 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by celtschk‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by celtschk‭

biology reality-check
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How would life be different on a planet where intelligent life saw heat instead of colour?

Suppose there is a planet where intelligent life (with intelligence approximately same as that of a being of the human species, say) exists. However, due to certain conditions (such as, for example...

7 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by aspiring_sarge‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by aspiring_sarge‭

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What would be the effects of the common house cat rapidly acquiring flight ability?

Assuming planet Earth, with considerable amounts of pets per household (96 million cats in the US alone), what would be the social and ecological consequences of all domestic cats acquiring flight ...

5 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Dan Dascalescu‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Dan Dascalescu‭

biology society domestication earth
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What social structure would be developed by an intelligent species with distinct functional physical differences?

Racism has been a defining trait in how human civilizations have interacted and developed in regard to each other. It, however, is founded on differences which separate us visibly but not function...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by neph‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by neph‭

biology civilization ethics
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What would be required for a completely self sufficient 1 man habitat?

For the sake of this question, let's say that there would be a space mission that would send one man on a 40 year journey that will require him to be in a completely self sufficient habitat for the...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by System‭

environment space spaceships isolation ships
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What do we get if we eat the moon?

Imagine we have a machine that can consume celestial bodies, breaking them down into component elements and storing them in big bins somewhere. If we fed that machine a moon, what would wind up in ...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Danny Reagan‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Danny Reagan‭

geology
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What would be the effect of a powerful explosive going off in the core of a planet?

What would happen if a powerful explosive went off in the core of a planet? On Earth, you have several layers of the planet, the crust, the magma, the outer core, and the inner core. Right now, hu...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by DonyorM‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by DonyorM‭

planets
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What would furniture be like in a zero-G home?

Almost all of our terrestrial furniture is designed and depends on gravity. Beds to lie down in, chairs to sit down on, tables to place things on top. None of these would work in a zero-G environme...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by congusbongus‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by congusbongus‭

space gravity zero-gravity
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What would change in a dominant/predatory animal given two heads?

Take any well-known aggressive/dominant/predatory animal - wolves, big cats, bears, dragons, etc. Now say this animal were to have two heads, each equal in all capacities. What would realistically ...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by CodeMoose‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by CodeMoose‭

biology fauna
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Varying Gravity

Suppose a very large planet orbited a star or other spacial body in an oval shaped path, similar to Earth's but closer to induce a varying gravity during orbit. The planet has a large gravity wel...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by The Glis Jackel‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by The Glis Jackel‭

biology planets stars gravity orbital-mechanics
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Life on an Earth-like planet with solid core?

How big a difference does the Earth's liquid outer core and mantle make for the evolution of complex life? If all of Earth's parameters would be the same, but it had a solid interior just like Ma...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Florian Hollandt‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Florian Hollandt‭

biology planets
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What would have to happen in order to force us to live in the ocean?

What kind of a scenario would have to occur in order for human beings to seek survival on the sea floor? It could be man made or natural, ice age or heat apocalypse, sudden disaster or gradual coll...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Clean Ogre‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Clean Ogre‭

environment underwater apocalypse isolation earth
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How would a completely urbanized city-planet support its population?

Related: How would a completely urbanized city-planet be maintained? How would the global environment of a completely urbanized city-planet be affected? Why would a completely urbanized city-plan...

5 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by neph‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by neph‭

urban logistics
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How realistic are four legged aquatic animals?

On earth most of our sealife is fishlike (excluding a few other species such as squid/octopus). As far as I'm aware there are no legged creatures which live solely in the sea. In my world I'd like...

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

evolution water creature-design underwater
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Is it possible to terraform a hot planet?

I want to make a hot planet habitable for mankind. It could be a planet in the habitable zone like Venus or outside of the zone like Mercury. These are just examples. Someone said here: Terrafor...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Vincent‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Vincent‭

climate planets terraforming
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What is the maximum size of a flying creature?

Giant winged beasts such as the Roc and the western dragon feature strongly in mythology. Is there a maximum size on a biological winged flying creature? How would an atmosphere different from Ea...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by neph‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by neph‭

biology mythical-creatures
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What factors go into whether a moon or planet is tidally locked?

I was thinking about a different possibilities for habitable planets. And I was wondering what actually causes a planet to be tidally locked? I am assuming it more than chance that the bodies rot...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by bowlturner‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by bowlturner‭

physics
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Would gravity be constant inside a Bernal sphere?

Suppose one constructed a Bernal sphere, similar in design to that described in this article and this article at the National Space Society. If the sphere was simply rotated on a single axis, wou...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Village‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Village‭

space spaceships gravity space-constructs ships
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Social implications of intelligent species that practices external fertilization

Some species that reproduce sexually, don't actually have sex as such. Instead the female might lay soft scaled eggs, which the male then fertilizes extrenally. I want to know what a society of an...

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

society psychology reproduction
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Maximum Earth population by wiping out biological life

I want to create a world set on our Earth but with humans converted entirely to machines, so the population can be larger than would be possible with biological humans. In contrast to biologically...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by trichoplax‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by trichoplax‭

physics population
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What would be the effect on life/civilisations if the length of a year was longer or shorter?

If you want to have a smaller star but you also want to keep your planet in the habitable zone, you need to put the planet closer to the star. This means shorter years. It is also possible to have ...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Vincent‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Vincent‭

environment climate biology
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What are the factors influencing the temperature of my world?

The question is rather simple, the answer is more complex. It is to answer why some places are colder than others. Example: North America is colder than Europe at the same latitude.

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Vincent‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Vincent‭

climate planets
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What light gas can I have in the upper atmosphere?

I want to have an upper atmosphere composed of a gas which is lighter than "air" so that my human occupants of a planet can harvest it and use it to fill blimps and hot air balloons. I'm planning ...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Liath‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Liath‭

atmosphere reality-check
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What efficiencies make a realistic food chain?

I'm trying to design a food chain. For the sake of argument lets say it's based on flying creatures over a particular mountain range. Sun Plants/Fungus etc Tiny Insects Small Birds Hawks Large Ape...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Liath‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Liath‭

food
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How does the age of a planet impact terrain?

As the title suggests, what happens to a planet geologically and geographically over time? This question came to mind from the many sessions of Civilization I have played where when you set up a c...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by James‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by James‭

earth-like geography earth
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Why would a complete urbanized city-planet exist?

Related: How would a completely urbanized city-planet support its population? How a completely urbanized city-planet be maintained? How would the global environment of a completely urbanized city...

5 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by neph‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by neph‭

reality-check cities urban
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How realistic is it that cultures on different planets influenced each other?

If two (or more) planets are within travel distance from each other and they often trade with each other, how likely is it that these planets cultures influence(d) each other? For example: On plan...

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

planets culture
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Primary environmental concerns of a new coastal settlement

A group of settlers from a mid-renaissance era have setup an initial settlement along a coastline. Materials for shelter exist and fishing serves as the initial food source. What are the primary ...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Maximillian‭  ·  last activity 10y ago by Maximillian‭

environment weather colonies