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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 can space cop arrest the suspicious spacecraft moving at sub-luminal velocity?

Set in a distant future, reports of alien and drug traffickings have been on the rise and there was mounting pressure for Mr User6760, president of intergalactic interpol to resign. The traffickers...

6 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by user6760‭

space travel spaceships technology space-travel ships ice police
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Epidemic friendly time traveller

My time traveller from the distant future is about to get stranded back in time, but realises that by travelling back a short time, maybe 100000 years, he is going to leave a trail of destruction b...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by pjp‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by pjp‭

travel biology evolution time-travel time viruses
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Can You Evolve a Second Pair of Pectoral Muscles Without The Need for Flight?

Somewhere on DeviantArt, there is an insightful tutorial by someone named "Uzlo" on how to create anatomically believable angels. Among the instructed details is the possibility of developing a se...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by JohnWDailey‭

evolution humans earth anatomy alternate-earth
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The curious case of tengu, the "geometric anomaly" of their human disguises and how they can overcome it

Tengu are humanoid creatures with many avian features, including wings and beaks. Now, this is a problem when it comes to disguises. Disguises in this setting work by covering one's body in utilit...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Mephistopheles‭

robots strategy
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Can a "boneless" flying creature exist?

The creature was originally a human, altered by an external agent that basically remade its body (carbon based). The creature is roughly 2 meters and relatively light. It is humanoid and boneless, ...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by ProjectApex‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by ProjectApex‭

biology creature-design flight light
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What are the possible ways of explaining the limits in cognitive abilities of evolution driven species?

For a story, I need to find a way to justify the limited cognitive capacities of an entire race that thrives on biomass, capable of eating anything that is inherently biological. This race is dri...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Fireww‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Fireww‭

biology evolution races
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Would making a last ditch effort to skip save the spaceship?

Imagine a spaceship entering Earth's atmosphere, it has lost control of its engines and is relying on its reverse thrusters to decelerate before crashing into the Pacific ocean. So in an attempt ...

8 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by user6760‭

space spaceships survival ships safety
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What modifications are needed to have tree that can create hurricane/cyclone around it?

I don't know much about hurricane/cyclone and how to created it (nor know the difference much, so bear with me if i make mistake), so I want to know what kind of plant organs or ability need to ach...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Li Jun‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Li Jun‭

biology flora xenobiology plant-design
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How massive would a planet need to be to sustain negligible damage from impact with the Earth?

I'm curious what factors a terrestrial planet impacting the Earth would require for the impact to cause negligible damage to the larger planet, while destroying the Earth.

6 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Wax‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Wax‭

planets physics astrophysics
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Quick! How far away is that asteroid?

How might an enterprising spacer, mining the rings of Saturn, go about quickly measuring/estimating the velocity of and distance to a nearby moving object (asteroid, habitat, pirate, etc)? Bonus po...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by user73226‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by user73226‭

space navigation
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How CAN You Justify Melalo's Dorsal Casque?

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Melalo, described in the Book of Creatures website as "the oldest and most feared of Ana's children." His name literally means "filthy", "dirty" or even "obscene"....

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by JohnWDailey‭

earth avian behaviour alternate-earth
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What modifications are needed to have plants that can grow and survive in a world of sugar and sweetness?

What modification would a plant "” especially tree "” develop in a world where everything is made of sugar, caramel, cake, syrup, soda, etc.? Think of something like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factor...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Li Jun‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Li Jun‭

biology flora xenobiology plant-design
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Options for biological high-density energy storage within the human body

I've got my wizards, who operate by vanilla human biological laws and metabolism. They've got an organ in the pelvis which has its own mechanism - not breaking the laws of physics - which stores en...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by KeizerHarm‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by KeizerHarm‭

biology energy
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What would be the maximum distance from which a space ship could physically see a planet?

A plot point of my novel is that the pilot accidentally finds a planet that is being purposefully hidden (i.e. been deleted from all star maps). It starts with him arriving at a location that is j...

7 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Primordial‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Primordial‭

space travel spaceships space-travel ships science-fiction
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On our way to Mars: how do we do the laundry?

A human crew of 6 has been sent on mission to Mars The lowest energy transfer to Mars is a Hohmann transfer orbit, which would involve an approximately 9 month travel time from Earth to Mars, a...

13 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by L.Dutch - Reinstate Monica‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by L.Dutch - Reinstate Monica‭

travel technology space-travel
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Would a single solar system be able to come up with a main time system?

I have a solar system containing multiple planets, most having an intelligent species inhabiting it. To keep a common peace, they created a large government system to help stop territorial wars bet...

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

space time
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How can we make earth's temperature more uniform?

Scenario: Humans need to create a pull factor for people to move to and establish cities and economies in less comfortable and densely inhabited places, because they're a bit full already. The huma...

6 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Sheikchilli‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Sheikchilli‭

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How plausible is my creature?

My creature, called the Kurbish, inhabits a wasteland-world, in my universe. Recently, I have been wondering; "How plausible is this thing, really?" A description: Large, Elephant-like creatures ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Hunt Castle‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Hunt Castle‭

evolution creature-design
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What are planetary side effects of having a thicker atmosphere?

I've been told that having a thicker atmosphere would make it easier to fly, particularly of heavier-than-air designs, so I'm interested in giving my planet such conditions. I'm mainly interested t...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Vigilant‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Vigilant‭

climate atmosphere planets
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How long would it take for wildlife to colonize a newly exposed habitat?

A magical calamity has wiped out an area about twice as big as Germany. The calamity also altered the climate in the region from one supporting forests and grasslands to a desert similar to the Am...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Ryan_L‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Ryan_L‭

environment biology
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Scientific explanation for extreme fighting strength

I was wondering if there is a scientific way to explain how my characters are capable of extreme levels of strength when engaging in combat. My characters are biological but have implants that all...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by RandySavage‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by RandySavage‭

technology martial-arts
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What kind of climates and biomes would exist on the continents a tidally locked ocean world?

Please note: I am asking about planet orbiting a star, not a moon orbiting a planet. So I've been trying to get this planet down for a long while now but there are still so many pieces of the puzz...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by SentiCarter‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by SentiCarter‭

climate planets tidally-locked
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What organs or modifications are need for a biological creature to develop lethal force as a poop machine gun?

so i want to know What organs or modifications are need for a biological creature to develop lethal force as a pooping machine gun. something like how skunk spray their stinky odor as defense mec...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Li Jun‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Li Jun‭

biology creature-design xenobiology natural-defenses
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What chemicals or modifications are need for a biological creature to be able to develop as natural/organic suicide bomb?

So in my world there's a creature as big as a common rodent or as big as a rabbit in size. They live in packs, usually burrowed, but occasionally come to surface to get food. The alpha male is task...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Li Jun‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Li Jun‭

biology creature-design chemistry xenobiology biochemistry natural-defenses
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How to create fictional earth ecosystems with lots of megafauna which can plausibly coexist?

Ecosystems like the african savanna have lots of megafauna which to some extent compete with each other for the same prey/vegetation, but still coexist just fine. So how do I construct similarly d...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Vakus Drake‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Vakus Drake‭

biology fauna ecology
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Old brain inside young body

You are 70 years old but you look 50, this because you have always maintained good health, mentally and physically. After experimenting with various clones before, you decide it's time for you to ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Kay‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Kay‭

anatomy
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What problem in classical physics can a computer solve that a human doing calculus cannot?

So in my setting there is a small and exclusive group of people that have access to devices that work like computers (but which are not the same as computers. They do not use semiconductors and ele...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by urquiza‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by urquiza‭

scientific-development renaissance
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How can my Mage Light spell work?

While I'm working on the Magical Artillery, let's look at another common spell. Mage Light is a very handy invention. When cast, the spell creates an orb, 13 cm in diameter. The orb radiates whi...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Mephistopheles‭

light chemistry robots
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How do you send out SOS in space if there is no absolute coordinate?

Imagine your spaceship encountered a gravitational anomaly and discovered that you are lost in space, your computer tells you that you are still inside the Milky Way galaxy but it cannot find the S...

9 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by user6760‭

space travel spaceships technology communication space-travel ships
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Could a tetrapod Pegasus exist?

Pegasuses in most works of media are often depicted as hexapods with four legs and two wings: The only problem is (from what I understand) no vertebrates on earth are hexapods, so I've decided ...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by icewar1908‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by icewar1908‭

biology evolution creature-design mythical-creatures
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What problems would arise for the human species making itself into robots

In modern day society, few or many people have been fascinated with integrating robotic parts to their bodies. But sometimes that idea is taken to the next step, in which people want to have their ...

14 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by RotNDecay‭

reality-check society robots
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Interchangeable rooms

So, in the S.S Portland (The main setting of my story) there is a variety of rooms. A lounge, a lab, etc. so, i was thinking that at some point, the lounge would be changed out for a 0-g pool. A ba...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by CatSharkSnake‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by CatSharkSnake‭

space spaceships ships robots
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How does Wildfire work?

Don't you just hate when Euron injures your pet dragons and perforates your fleet with a ballista? Don't worry, all you need is a shipful of Wildfire and a very long fuse (or Mehdi Sadaghdar with ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Mephistopheles‭

weapon-mass-destruction chemistry
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How Would a Continental Landmass Sink?

Atlantis is real. It's just that there's more than one of them, and none of them are actually called "Atlantis". Instead, they consist from the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean to Zealandia,...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by JohnWDailey‭

geology time earth prehistoric-times alternate-earth
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What are some ways to hide a planet?

A major plot point for my story is the Protagonist stumbling upon a planet that was purposely hidden from the rest of the galaxy (at the edge of the galaxy) as it's being used by high level governm...

11 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Primordial‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Primordial‭

space travel planets technology space-travel
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Planet With Higher Atmospheric Pressure

Consider a planet with Earth like gravity but an atmosphere that is 10x what Earth has at sea level (atmospheric composition is equivalent to Earth). If the vegetation is similar to Earth's, would ...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user92101‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by user92101‭

atmosphere flora
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How would a Universal Coordinate system work?

We have a variety of ways of describing our location here on Earth. We can refer to a nearby landmark (eg "by the City Hall"), we can describe our location relative to an area (eg "in the South of...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Jimmery‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Jimmery‭

universe
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What Stops Dragons From Causing Ecological Collapse?

In my setting Dragons evolved on a n isolated continent far from where man evolved. But in the past thousand years dragons have been introduced to the human inhabited continent, which is filled wit...

7 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by NixonCranium‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by NixonCranium‭

biology dragons ecology low-fantasy
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How would you design Turn-Signals on a Flying Car?

When designing a flying car intended for congested city routes with slow traffic, should turn signals indicate all possible directions. In most sci-fi, I've seen designs that have no turn-signals o...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Woodlum Hoodlum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Woodlum Hoodlum‭

spaceships vehicles flying-machines city
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Intelligent life from trial by wildfires

In my question: Sustainability of Regular Global Wildfires Due to Oxygen Rich Atmosphere An answer was proposed for a kind of "Boom Bust Cycle". The atmosphere has little CO2 but a lot of O2. W...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Aezyc‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Aezyc‭

climate evolution civilization intelligence
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Colonies on Jupiter

I'm making a series where a multi-purpose frigate travels to Jupiter in order to help in the Mars versus Jupiter war. However, I don't know what the colonies would look like. Maybe floating wit...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by CatSharkSnake‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by CatSharkSnake‭

space planets colonies colonization space-colonization rogue-planets survival
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All planets and stars flat, how to bring day and night effect?

In a scenario in which all heavenly bodies are flat including earth. How to bring the effect of day and night effect like now i.e when day in japan and night in USA . Considering nobody can live b...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Amruth A‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Amruth A‭

astronomy
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Why would my species expose their brains through a glass dome?

The species I have created looks eerily humanlike, practically indistinguishable from human except for a reptile-like tail and an exposed brain. The top portion of the skull is replaced with a gla...

30 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by RotNDecay‭

reality-check brain
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How can early people prove that their planet is a cuboid?

Imagine a cuboid planet with a thick atmosphere orbiting a star similar to our Sun. The inhabitants are as intelligent as humans and recently discovered the universal laws of gravitation and motion...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user6760‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by user6760‭

planets mathematics scientific-development alien-geometry
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Could an Environment Sustain Large Eusocial Animals?

Eusociality, is the most sophisticated level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care, overlapping generations within a colony of adults, a...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by NixonCranium‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by NixonCranium‭

biology evolution fauna creature-design ecology
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In a world with time travel, would it be possible to be your own mother's mother?

Given that you can travel back in time and have a baby there, or alternatively, send your baby back in time, would it be possible that this baby one day becomes your own mother (gives birth to you)...

8 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by sebrockm‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by sebrockm‭

reality-check genetics time-travel paradox
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How would normal colors be affected if a planet's atmosphere was green?

Good day everyone. I've recently finally gotten around to writing a sci fi novel but need help on some of the science of a few concepts I would like to incorporate in the novel. I'll start with ...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Primordial‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Primordial‭

atmosphere planets science-fiction
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A "time capsule" that can last for trillions of years?

The universe is dying because it has exhausted nearly all of its resources. Humans became the last species in the universe because of their resilience and sheer willpower. And yet, humanity still...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by In the name of the story‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by In the name of the story‭

space spaceships universe ships science-fiction vehicles
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How can a race incapable of conceiving discrete quantities evolve?

Shamelessly inspired by this question, where a race was capable of counting only 0, 1 and "˜many', I have designed a yet more extreme race!! The Continuuoids are a pretty complex race. They can so...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Joe Bloggs‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Joe Bloggs‭

biology evolution mathematics xenobiology
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UHT Ceramic Geology

Earth rocks are largely silicates, combinations of silicon, oxygen, and various other trace elements. What would a planets geography look like if the crust was primarily composed of ceramics like...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Aezyc‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by Aezyc‭

geography geology tectonics