Posts tagged physics
I've been using this helpful diagram a lot for worldbuilding. Now I came to think about the fact that helium is more massive than hydrogen, thus a scenario where hydrogen escapes, but helium is ...
For the sake of fixing some image in your mind, imagine you want to practice some sport in a rotating cylinder world: whether it be launching a javelin, strike a tee at the golf club or scoring a 3...
Introduction In our universe, the cosmic microwave background was formed approximately 400,000 years after the Big Bang. It was hot, but within a few million years after the Big Bang, it would no ...
I found one question that deals with how to make lightning from clouds strike a target person, Can we make lightning strike a certain person? but I am looking for something that doesn't involve tec...
Working on a D&D campaign. As a physics nerd, I'd like the orbital mechanics of the planet, its sun, and its moons, to follow standard Newtonian/Keplerian mechanics. I'm trying to come up wit...
The exoplanet in question is Proxima Centauri b. How might the mid-to-upper-level atmosphere of that planet be dangerously radioactive and full of airborne nuclear reagents, without it being the do...
A habitat/space harbor ring encircles an ice giant crossing both poles (polar orbit) and rotating to create artificial gravity. Can the ring also precess in synchronization with the planet's year,...
I'm getting into mapmaking, which I enjoy, but some of the specifics of realism still elude me. I know generally how plate tectonics work, but I was hoping to get some help on a specific example. I...
What is the cheapest material per ton that one could purchase on our Earth in the 21st century? This could also include the cheapest material per ton to harvest so dirt may seem like the obvious an...
Is it possible in 21st century Earth for someone to create a small super insulated box to store heat like an "anti-freezer" such as putting lava inside the box and the box not being hot to the touc...
I've been wondering about this for a while. Here is the research I've done so far that lead me to ask this question: A planetary ring system is most often formed by the breakup of objects within ...
I wish to create a world such that it can support the following plot point: the world experiences gravitational waves that are directly noticeable to the human population (i.e. they can feel or see...
Thermal energy is everywhere on earth. If it could be transferred into electrical energy it could serve as a great energy source. This idea is violating the laws of thermodynamics. But it's not ...
as the title, is there a way to levitate entire body of water in earth and make it stay in the sky (not cloud and still in liquid form) ? either natural or man made. the water either flowing or c...
Dear top secret science network, Humanity was visited by visitors from another universe altogether (one which doesn't obey our laws of physics) - the D'jini. A diplomatic convoy of them apperead o...
Assume that space warfare is dominated by gamma and x-ray lasers (Wakefield-Plasma and Free Electron Lasers) capable of killing targets several light-seconds away. Stealth in space is possible due ...
Not exactly indestructible, at least after flying to certain height it may pop out. I mean something like the bubble is as hard as stone or steel but still elastic and light to float like bubble, ...
Amide bonds are extremely stable and their half-life for hydrolysis in neutral aqueous solution is estimated to be seven years. Amides bind to metal ions through the carbonyl oxygen. Neodymium Mag...
as the title say my question is: What planet composition is need to have giant human that make earth human similar in comparison to ant size to them? i know realistically and probably its imposibl...
There are exactly 2 force laws that can produce stable closed orbits: proportional (spring force) and inverse-square. The inverse square law occurs naturally for monopole central forces in 3 dimens...
I wish to build a sort of Dyson swarm around the sun. Not to transmit energy, but to put supercomputers in each satellite so they can calculate spatial trajectories. The main idea of the project i...
I've been recently looking into alternative biochemistries for life and the environments were these could be found. I already asked a question about how ammonia oceans might form a while back. Toda...
What would be an efficient method of global travel that can take you from, let's say, London to Hong Kong in about an hour? It would preferably be made quickly, but money is no object. I don't want...
The pillars are spread out about a mile apart each, and they all come straight from the ground, slowly gets just a smidge smaller in the middle, and then get bigger near the top, reaching a height ...
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...
If this hypothetical moon were to come to exist between the Earth and Moon, how long would it survive? And could it transition to the moon's orbit, as a subsatellite? To clairify, this scenario is...
Like on a scale of one to ten, how plausible are Alcubierre drives in terms of our current understanding of physics? Plausible enough to be considered "hard sci-fi", or are they just another form o...
I'm working on a completely flat, underground world, where "world" means "universe" rather than the equivalent of "planet". Here's what I have so far: The world is a flat, apparently infinite (in...
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...
In FTL-free universes, interstellar travel is often done by vessels capable of continuous acceleration (the drives themselves are often magitech), which can use the effects of relativistic time dil...
Advance our technology 200 years, develop very precise celestial navigation controls and very efficient nuclear reactors. Distill to ensure only the most stable elements are used in production, cos...
I've had a fairly complex world built up in my head for several years and finally writing a story in it. One thing I'm struggling with is explaining the galaxy's faster-than-light traveling. It's n...
In Larry Niven's Ringworld, the Outsiders lie with one half of their body in the shade and one half of their body in direct sunlight and use the temperature difference to generate energy. Would thi...
I want to make a superhero that can control all forms of energy. From what I've heard you can do a lot like, manipulate time and space, open blackholes, teleport, shape shift, and manipulate matter...
I've recently read Alastair Reynolds' sci-fi best seller, Redemption Ark, where he explored the concept of manipulating an inertial frame overlaid on the quantum vacuum like many of the other funda...
I recently came into possession of a rather large mass of molasses due to a misunderstood Alexa inquiry and since the restocking fee is outrageous, I plan on using it to answer a nagging question I...
I wanted to have characters that can control energy and matter, so Dr Manhattan came to mind as a great example of a character that does that. Information on him says that he has complete awarenes...
I'd encourage you to take about 4 min to read the whole post. Multiple masses of parabanic acid appear at random around the world (but see Context and constraints), displacing any matter in their ...
To Whom It May Concern; I'm going to be blunt: I'm terrible at formal letters. I've just recently arrived at our new home. I find it amazing! The city design leaves something to be desired, but I ...
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...
This is based on: Black Hole as a Storage Device What goes into a black hole doesn't come out (except as random electrons or positrons). However, is it possible to store something within the eve...
I was wondering if there is a way to have a person with added organs and systems to be able to shoot jets of compressed air out of their body without them needing a giant gas bag or massive lungs? ...
I recently heard that before anyone had begun to build practical aircraft of any kind, it was thought by some that once flight was achieved you would be able to simply fly to another planet. The d...
I'm interested that some ULF (ultra-low frequencies, especially the 17 HZ zone) can cause humans to experience sensations of fear, trembling, or even claims of seeing ghostly apparitions. What an i...
Using the modern technology, is it possible to have a suit which will allow to run at Mach 12 (~4km / s)? For simplicity let's ignore the landscape issues (i.e. "what happens if I run into a buildi...
Let's assume some things: The ground under the object is flat land. The object always remains in the same position. The object is clearly visible from the ground. It is a high priority for the pe...
"The planet moves." Inspired by this link in a comment from Gryphon here, I also see the concept in this question. We've colonized the moons of Jupiter adjusted their orbits to our satisfaction (...
Water, as is, with its physical and chemical properties, is the base of any living being on Earth. Water has a rather high specific heat capacity of 4.184 J/gC, which in itself has a great effect ...
How much force/energy is required to punch someone so hard that the person is sent flying at the speed of sound? Also, what can you compare the force/energy to? For example, is it comparable to a ...
A part of the story I am writing involves two continents that centuries before the story takes place sunk into the sea. I want to have a way to explain this that does not come down to just the sea...