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Rigorous Science

Q&A with a focus on more stringent analysis. Questions and answers should be well-researched, clearly explained, and supported with references, equations, or empirical evidence based on current, widely-accepted science. Please read the category guidelines.

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Shoot for the moon

You won't miss and definitely won't be among the stars. Set in late 22nd century A.D. we are constructing a space elevator that would physically connects Earth and the moon, the lift will be using ...

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

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Would it be possible to use the earth's rotation to launch spaceships to other planets?

A really simple question - if you built a space elevator then you continue building past the geostationary point to put tension onto the tether. Now if you keep building out further and further the...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Tim B‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Tim B‭

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Targeting cities with meteors (part 2)

This question asked about aliens launching meteors at major metropolitan areas on Earth, but explicitly excluded the accuracy of the meteors from the question. In this specific scenario aliens ...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Bobson‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Bobson‭

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Targeting cities with meteors

So this was done in Starship Troopers and I am curious if it is realistic for interplanetary warfare. The idea is that aliens launch meteors at major metropolitan areas...and it ends poorly for th...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by James‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by James‭

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Silent low altitude long range supersonic drone

In the near future, drones replace military fighter jets that require human pilots. These drones will be travelling at many times the speed of sound. Highly sophisticated drones will be able to eva...

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

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Large spider walking upside down

Many fantasy stories involve large spiders like in Harry Potter. These creatures behave almost exactly like normal spiders despite their size. My question is: can large spiders still walk upside d...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Vincent‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Vincent‭

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What is the best planetary orbit around a black hole in order to support life?

Note: I am aware of a previous question Physiological effects of living on a world close to a black hole As I understand it, that question refers specifically to a planet that is in a non-ideal ...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by chasly from UK‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by chasly from UK‭

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Cloth-eating creature wants to eat synthetic textiles. How?

Based on this question and answer about a human sized creature that lives completely on textiles, how feasible is it for a creature to consume nylon and polyester to derive fats/lipids useful for b...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Green‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Green‭

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Could a greek or roman boat be blown to the americas in a storm?

This question prompts me to evaluate the possibility that the romans or greeks could be blown in a storm to the Americas and survive if they had enough water provisions? Or maybe not provisions bu...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Joze‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Joze‭

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The limits of human biology: atmospheric tolerances (#1)

This is the first question in a series on the physical limits of the human body. The intent of this series is to, illustrate the upper and lower limits of human biology for the purpose of buil...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by James‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by James‭

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Water percentage

All the worlds I've seen built by me or others have surfaces that are mainly water. Is it possible for a habitable world to exist if the world is mainly land? I'm only talking about 55-65 percent l...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Uncle Tres‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Uncle Tres‭

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How to create a nuclear explosion localized to only a few square feet?

Is there a way to create a nuclear explosion that only destroys things within a few feet of the bomb? The point is to completely eradicate something relatively small, leaving no trace. Let's assum...

18 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Scimonster‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Scimonster‭

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What can be determined about an Earth-like planet, just by looking at a map?

I have a fictional map for an Earth-like planet, with Renaissance-era humanoid populations. Also, Luna, that is, the exact same moon that we had, pre-Space-Race, is orbiting the planet. My map jus...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Malady‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Malady‭

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Is non-manmade pandemic a realistic threat to modern first world?

Inspired by this question, and my own answer to it: Avoiding galactic pandemics. World ending pandemics are a common disaster/after-the-end story trope, I'm trying to determine if plausible, and h...

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

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Apparent magnitude of my moon as seen from the planet's surface

Setting: we have a fantasy world which is a planet with much of the same conditions that can be seen on Earth, but with the difference that it is orbited by a moon with a mean diameter of 3 500 km....

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by fantasia‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by fantasia‭

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Changing Earth's rotation rate

Variations of this question have been asked and answered previously but I am looking for something specific. Situation: Earth's body (mantel and crust) rotate at different rates than it's core (I ...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Jim2B‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Jim2B‭

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Can I trigger an "ancient device" to start the process of terraforming Mars?

Let's say that an advanced civilisation once existed on Mars millions of years ago at a time when water existed in liquid form and that life was abundant on the planet. (Say this civilisation is a ...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Notaras‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Notaras‭

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On feasibility of rotating space colonies

Would a spoked, rotating torus work as a method of colonizing space? If so, how feasible would it be? As in, what would be the cost, where would we get the materials for it, how fast does it have t...

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

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Shinespark-like effect with a jet engine

I am working on a 2D platformer game, and I'm trying to introduce a jetpack which would give a shinespark-like ability from Metroid series, i.e. it needs a run-up to a certain speed, at which the e...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Josh K.‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by Josh K.‭

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What power generation method is the best to sustain a hovering city?

The Technology We're in the year 2250 on an Earth-like planet. All the space on the earth's surface has been used up by the population of 15 billion, so we're moving into the air. Cities, along wi...

13 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by ArtOfCode‭  ·  last activity 9y ago by ArtOfCode‭