Posts tagged physics
Assuming that there is an Earth-like planet that has 8 times the volume, 2.83 times the radius, and has the same surface gravity as Earth, and has oceans; what are potential problems concerning the...
I'm writing a science fiction story set on a moon orbiting a gas giant. I want to understand how the world's day night cycle would appear from its surface and how the world might be affected by thi...
My human civilization is facing (much like us) the threat of anthropogenic climate change. For whatever reasons, they are unwilling to take action by reducing the use of fossil fuels and refuse to ...
The Karman Line is one of the most commonly-used definitions of the "edge of space". As an airplane flies higher in the atmosphere, the air gets thinner and thus the lift decreases. This can be c...
The orbit of mercury is different than rest of the planets. The reason for this seemed unaccounted for in Newtonian physics, and was later explained by Einstein's theory of relativity. Here is a ...
I'm writing a graphic novel on the premise of a world that has a liquid or semi-liquid atmosphere, separate from a true liquid sea. But since I don't want 'Magical Underwater Adventure!' I've decid...
So I'm making this game where the player has to launch probes into interstellar space within a 100 * 100 light years map to detect threats that could wipe out humanity in a few decades. Everything ...
Let's say that a character moves much faster (>100 x) than a bullet. If he is shot at, could he theoretically catch the bullet (and put it in his pocket) ? What happens when he touches the bu...
In my world, I have three dimensions, each of which have their own special properties. From each of these three dimensions come a master race of said dimension: From the first, the master race is...
While I am aware that there have been a lot of posts about how shape-shifting could be possible, but I am asking if this type shape-shifting would work. Okay so fair warning, physics isn't my stro...
Suppose a person, standing at sea level, could use telekinesis to exert a force around a sphere with a 10 cm diameter so that it becomes one-way permeable to air. As time goes on, the sphere become...
Idea prompted by Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe: String theory postulates microscopic dimensions in space. Could you conceal an object by rotating it into one of the microscopic dimensions a...
Consider a universe in which leptons & quarks (every fundamental particle that possesses electric charge) all have twins with magnetic monopole charge instead, resulting in two parallel kinds o...
I'm working on a concept of universe creation. The best way to describe it in a sentence is the Judeo-Christian Creation Story but from God's point of view. My question is, staying as close to har...
My planet is tidally locked to its sun. It has a slightly thicker atmosphere than Earth. Over the planet's sun-side surface, there would be no wind because that area is in the middle of a big cyclo...
What examples are there in science fiction of molecular shields that can cancel out or "eat" certain molecules--and are they plausible? Is it hypothetically possible to create a giant levee that is...
Imagine a planet, 3/4 water and 1/4 landmass. No axis tilt so the climate is moderate throughout the year. IE peak temperatures at 100°F at equator. It orbits a sun about the size of ours and h...
I am a scriptwriter working on a science fiction story. As best as I can I like to reconcile my imaginary places to within the constraints of reality. Here is my problem: Kettrah Kettrah is by m...
Let's assume there are more than 3 spatial dimension, for example 4 (the 4th not beeing time, but spatial) Would a common energy discharge, explosion etc. affect the 4th dimension? I am not sure...
I've been playing with different conceptualizations and types of armor for historical settings, especially armor with magic enchantments or made from weird materials. I was stuck thinking about lig...
For characters with Superman-style "super breath", the amount of air being forcefully exhaled is often vastly greater than is possible to hold in human-sized lungs. However, this poses two major pr...
Assuming a world where there were no steam engines available, would it be possible for large passenger or cargo trains to exist? Would it be possible to use horse-engines to power a locomotive? I...
I would like a earth-moon system like Pluto-Charon (but with earth instead of Pluto) where both will be tidally locked to each other within something like 3 billion years (before complex life appea...
A Type II civilization on the Kardashev scale has decided to build a telescope. This civilization spans its home galaxy and wields vast energies capable of moving and shaping matter on the scale of...
For example, a street this wide to have enough blood run down the length shown in this photo? Assume that the blood isn't going down storm-drains for whatever reason and assume the stretch of road ...
Lengthy Explanation of Why I'm Here: TLDR; "force field" made of electromagnetic radiation. Recently, I've decided to compile a list of possible technologies available in the 22nd and 23rd centur...
For a book under construction, I need a starship to make a 180 degree turn rather quickly. Give him sub-light speed in a star system (no relativistic effects) and on a path to the system primary. ...
Here's the problem I'm having. I need a solution for the following situation. I have a sci-fi starship drive that needs 140TJ of energy every 6 hours. I have a Fusion Reactor that can produce 200T...
I've prefigured a specific setting as being middling in technological progress when compared with its neighbors. This setting does not have access to hydrocarbons, has severe cultural and politica...
I'm developing a world where certain people have affinity to modify/control certain aspects of the material plane. In the early stages I'd included the good old "element control" premise, but as I ...
I'm working on a earth-like planet with a much lower sea level (like 3000m so the mid-ocean ridge would form many islands) but is that even possible? Will the emerged ridge make some weird stuff an...
The talaria is the name of the winged sandals or shoes famously worn by Hermes in Greek Mythology. If someone were to make a high tech gadget which the attached beating wings to a pair of boots, ho...
Hi everyone I would like to ask if this material is suitable to be used as body armor like kevlar, as I am planning to use them as armor for my novel. What are the drawbacks to this? Could the arm...
This question was originally posted in the Sandbox. It's set in the same world as this question, but is not related to it. I have a speedster character whose top speed is Mach 2. She holds back ...
What would the effect on Earth be if Mars, in the space of one second, disappeared from the Solar System? Just simply was gone, leaving no residue, and leaving the space where it had been like it h...
In my fantasy universe, there is a disc-shaped world that has a flat surface that has roughly the same atmosphere as Earth (see this); the atmosphere moves along with the world. There is no gravity...
The "people" wearing this are 10 times stronger than humans and have near unlimited muscular endurance so weight is of little (but not no) concern. Their ballistic and gun technology is as advance...
A common, matter-efficient science-fiction habitat is a hollow cylinder or ring in space that is spun to simulate the pull of gravity on its interior surface. These habitats have been imagined as s...
I'm currently writing about an Earth sized planet that is 33% water and has 4 moons all the same size as our moon. All moons are 243,000 miles from the planet's surface and the planet takes 392 day...
Within the Star Wars Extended Universe, there is a science base on a small object within a near impenetrable sphere of Black Holes. Is this possible? The place referenced is called the Maw Install...
Let me clarify on the title, because this is important. In recent years, people have been feeling less comfortable calling the only natural satellite orbiting Earth a moon. It may not be the larg...
Other posts from this thread will be posted here: How to make an Earth with 27 suns work (Closed as a duplicate of the follow up, Attempt Two) How To Make an Earth with 27 Suns Work, Attempt Two...
First post, if it isn't completely obvious. I've discovered this site by trying to "google" that question. Here's what I'm investigating: Long ago, pre-deluvian civilizations built ancient megalit...
The question: What realistic environmental signs would telegraph to the occupants of a floating landmass that their home was slowly losing altitude? The planet: I'm working on a story that takes p...
The Scenario: A group of scientists on a research space station are conducting tests on a Bose-Einstein condensate. They can't figure out why it is that every time they get their condensate to for...
Scenario: An exact copy of our world is sliced in half by a particle beam. The beam has a diameter of 40 meters and moves at a speed of 0.999c. The beam slices the earth from top to bottom in 600...
What amount of energy would you need to expend to create an arm out of nothing but energy? Of course we have $E = m c^2$ telling us the energy any amount of mass represents. Given the average of a...
Suppose you were puttering around the solar system and came across the remains of a luxury passenger vessel, the intergalactic equivalent of the Titanic, adrift about one AU from the sun. The hull ...
While it does not occur in nature, I have wondered if a sufficient amount of energy deposited in a sufficiently small space in a sufficiently small amount of time could ignite a thermonuclear deton...
I'm making a game which takes place in an asteroid field that is very dense - I'm talking close enough that one is able to jump between asteroids (provided you have some sort of additional thrust b...
