General Q&A about worldbuilding and other speculative developments that can be extrapolated from science.
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If we had to keep a channel for lunar communication with modern technology such that it was always open regardless of earth-moon positioning, how would we do it?
So one theory of the universe is that eventually the universe will collapse, "The Big Crunch". And the cycle between Big Bang and Big Crunch has cycled previously and will cycle over and over agai...
I'm amidst crafting a world but not sure how to fill in a few gaps. Your suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated! I've got a scenario where an extraterrestrial meteor hits planet earth...
In my world, an intelligent species has evolved to the point of space travelling. However, this species can eat only one single type of food (which is a product of another species on its planet). ...
It has become accepted knowledge that the planet Earth was birthed via a swirling cloud of dust and gravel clumping into larger and larger pieces of rock. It began 4.54 billion years ago, and 100 ...
Would it be possible for a civilization with absolutely minimal knowledge and use of electricity (Light-bulbs, basic electric motors, and archaic radios) to reach space? I was thinking that a soli...
In my other question "Is it possible to build a bridge between planets?" several concepts of interplanetary bridges were formed. What I would now like to know is, are any of the proposed bridges ab...
I'm trying to imagine mystery setting when amateur astronomer stumbles upon a torrent which contains a 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy. The map contains all large objects: star systems, planets, ne...
I wanted to make a setting that has a "space tower" of some kind, not necessarily a space elevator (it might be a fountain for example, or even just a gigantic upward pointing mass driver). It mak...
My team of researchers has created an AI to increase human suffering and the machine has started earning money on the market. The ministry of economics has sent a technician to review the machine a...
The Intergalactic Colonization Authority has a problem. They've recently discovered this awesome planet they want to colonize, but it's located in a part of the universe most of the rest of the civ...
Suppose that humanity has spread across the universe, colonizing various habitable worlds, until their empire spans the entire galaxy (or near enough) - but there is no sign of alien life. There ar...
What restrictions this planet must have to make it possible? Planet can have any size, be made of any material A human must be able to land in it and observe it, dust added to the planet from the...
So my planet is tidally locked, it constantly faces its star like the moon faces Earth. One side is completely frozen, the other is burning hot. There is an atmosphere that allows life, and people ...
A world I am working on has reached a sort of material production singularity. Recent innovations in space mining, artificial intelligence, teleportation, and 3D-printing have allowed for devices k...
Yes, I know that this is quite a BORING question (get it ;) ), but I really DIG this kinda stuff (no really). If you have watch an action children's show or a cartoon of some kind, we have all see...
In a world I am building, a race of humans exists on a tropical archipelago with a very hot climate. Their skin, naturally, is very dark, but I want to have their eyes [most, if not all of their e...
Imagine there is a space station shaped like a cylinder. The cylinder spins on its axis, in order to create artificial gravity through centripetal force. My question: How fast would the space sta...
In a comment to this question imallett brought up the idea of a gas giant spinning so fast that the air is moving at near orbital velocity. In Mission of Gravity Hal Clement has Mesklin spin so fa...
On my fictional planet humanoid aliens have evolved on one continent, and have since spread around the entire planet, just like humans did on Earth. On Earth humans have since developed slightly di...
First the reality-check: In a sci-fi world where humans have interstellar travel but "nice" Earth-like planets are rare, what reasons might an algae farm be "better" than a plant farm, especially ...
The tree small giant creatures resembling people usually with beards are present in many fantasy stories, but that's it... it is fantasy. From a scientific viewpoint how would such creature even ...
Let's say it's sometime in the future, and humanity has expanded outwards into the solar system, and we've genetically engineered some really big plants that can for some unimportant reason, surviv...
Given a planet without any relationship to Earth, what does it mean for the poles to be "north" or "south"? Is it something arbitrary that can be changed?
In the game "Stelaris" torpedoes and missiles are different categories of weapon. Presumably they wanted to include numerous kinds of weapons for the player to chose from. These weapons are all lau...
I have a scenario where a person has nanorobots unknowingly injected into his bloodstream. I'd like his doctor to discover them through some kind of medical test, preferably a blood test. Of cour...
As fas as I know, there isn't a single plant on Earth that (naturally) produces any sort of luminescence. But it is seen in science-fiction worlds, especially Avatar. From an evolutionary point of...
Psychometry (from Greek: ψυχή, psukhÄ“, "spirit, soul" and μÎÏ„Ïον, metron, "measure"), also known as token-object reading, or psychoscopy, is a form of extrasensory perception characteriz...
A simple question, could a moon exist and stay whole if it was inside the ring of asteroids orbiting a planet? And as a side note, would it create a kind of bulge in the ring where the asteroids su...
Ecologically, when you're within the latitudes of 23.5 degrees, you'd find yourself in rainforests rich in diversity but poor in nutrition. The forest floor is a barren mess simply because the can...
I am currently working with a landmass roughly 1,000 miles (1600 km) in length and width. Would insular dwarfism or gigantism occur in this landmass? If not what is the largest a landmass can be be...
Tech level - comparable to contemporary; no fossil fuels, all fuel has to be produced synthetically, as simplest to produce (and store!!!) was selected methanol. Theoretically quite good - superio...
This question's main focus is the building aspect of the nanites. Rulez: No pseudo-science. No handwavium. The backstory is not (that) important. Lame puns ahead, proceed with caution. P...
Cosmic rays are energetic particles coming from space that hit the Earth's atmosphere and produce a lot of secondary radiation (some of which we see in visible light as aurorae). Would it make sens...
A quote from Story of Your Life (the short novel that Arrival movie is based on) Colonel Weber frowned. "You seem to be implying that no alien could have learned human languages by monitoring o...
In the question; Hollow-boned Humanoids Nathaniels humanoids were a flying mammal species called soarfolk. But let's say that I want a sapient mammal to have hollow bones but not fly. These furred...
Here's the setup. You have a gigantic mildly futuristic city, where construction is vertical rather than horizontal. Need a new city block? Add another few floors. Disregard for the moment any phys...
Ever since grade school, we have been taught to visualize time in the form of a time-line. This model works particularly well considering the fact that, according to widely accepted scientific theo...
Lets say there is one being (it can as intelligent as a dog or an average human). But lets also give it/him a bit more unorthodox situations. He/it doesn't need to sleep and eat. Nor also his cel...
I am aware of the square-cube law, so what conditions do I need for this to work ? The tortoise will be a similar size to the isle of Wight and will walk around in shallow areas in the ocean. What ...
I am writing a story that is meant to take place after the death of the sun. However, 7.5 billion years might be a little long for most people to stomach. Is there anything that could cause the sun...
So I was deciding on ways to end my world in a futuristic scenario, and I had an idea. As we all know, Earth has two poles, and these poles are moving constantly (Magnetic Poles are different from ...
Word on the street is that carbon nanotubes may be the future of construction. Apparently, a skeleton of this material would be stronger yet lighter than a skeleton of steel, which could mean exte...
Without magic, is it possible for a plant to channel light (all colors) to/through its roots? What I'm thinking is having a giant cavern with a bunch of these plants above. The roots go down and ...
Can you have separate countries in a post-Earth world where humans are colonizing space? I am not talking about physical territory per se, but rather the different identities between separate state...
Let's say Earth's nations meet up and decide to start to colonize space in the next ~50 years. What would the first resources/materials be, that we gather in space/from other planets that we need t...
Far into the future, humanity is largely split into 2 groups. The first group consists of space-dwelling humans, who live in enormous space stations equipped to sustain human life indefinitely, ...
Suppose superintelligent AI is possible. Is there any reason its code couldn't be executed by stone-age people rather than a computer? E.g., imagine an order of monks reading and executing commands...
Constructing a network of luxury spacestations around Earth should be next 'space race' endorsed by every government as a gesture of good faith. Corporations such as Princess-Carnival and Walt Dis...
Year 2317 C.E. traffic report: heavy traffic expected along upper Curiosity sector H-311 going towards Juno boulevard, there is an accident at Exit C right lane, so vehicle leaving for Europa via t...
