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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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At what distance from these planets should this moon be placed?

I have two earth clones, in essence, separated by 16550 miles (26350 kilometers). They are, of course, tidally locked, and orbit each other once every 24 hours. These planets orbit a sun identical ...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Xandar The Zenon‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Xandar The Zenon‭

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Can Cloud Nine be built?

Cloud Nine is the name given by Buckminster Fuller to his proposed tensegrity sphere airborne habitats. The principle is simple and the physics seem to be sound. For a sphere, as its radius is ...

10 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Samuel‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by Samuel‭

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Fusion candle - getting Earth to Jupiter

In A World Out of Time, per Schlock Mercenary, Earth is moved to a new home by lighting a fusion candle. The fusion candle idea is discussed in the Schlock quote: Building a gas-giant colony s...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Mark‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Mark‭

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Given a billion dollars, build the most visible orbiting satellite possible

As per the title, given A billion ($10^9$) dollars. Present day technology. A year of time (including making projects and testing), (preferred, not compulsory) No restriction about maximal nor mi...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Caridorc‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Caridorc‭

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Would a person with high voltage outfit (or skin) be able to fly?

Assume there's a human being who can keep a strong electric potential near to (or on) his skin. Is it possible to use the air-ionizing property, or similar ones solely or mostly solely based on thi...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Zoltán Schmidt‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Zoltán Schmidt‭

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Would it be possible to make an inescapable planet?

To start with, i know You measure the Kardashev scale from stellar success, but lets say we have a civilization that are vastly advanced compared to us, so they are equivalent to a type 2 civilizat...

6 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Magic-Mouse‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Magic-Mouse‭

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Could Jupiter moon Europa become habitable when the sun enters its red giant stage?

It is estimated that in about five billion years, our sun will enter its red giant stage. During that phase it will expand and completely engulf Mercury, Venus and possible Earth. Earth will either...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Philipp‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Philipp‭

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How many spaceships would it take to block the Sun from the daylight side of the Earth?

Think of a giant hemispherical shell, constructed of spaceships, sitting just far enough from Earth to be too far for Earth-based defences and close enough to effectively cast a shadow on the entir...

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

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Is this an appropriate manned interstellar mission profile?

My idea was to use 2 stages for an interstellar spacecraft (particularly the Orion Drive) and use it in a way similar to Project: Daedalus. Phase 1 would involve accelerating to cruising speed foll...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Future Historian‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Future Historian‭

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Can you just wait out the heat death of the universe?

Okay, so the heat death of the universe is approaching. You can't stop it. You can't dodge it. What do you do? You wait it out. According to wikipedia, about $10^{{10}^{56}}$ years after the heat ...

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

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How far could a planet be from its star and still be kept habitable by intense greenhouse gases?

Epimetheus is a planet with about three times the mass of Earth orbiting a sun-like star in the Andromeda galaxy. However, two major factors separate Epimetheus from Earth. First, it has a thick at...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by ckersch‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by ckersch‭

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Could a large bird be used as transportation?

Sometimes I reminisce about the giant eagles from The Lord of the Rings and two things come to mind: Boy, I wish I could have my own giant eagle! Could a bird even carry something that heavy on i...

7 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by jackwise‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by jackwise‭

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How big can the Parachute cities be?

Nobody knows where the big Blue is. Some people say it's a dream. Some people say it's the space between the worlds, where all the things that fall through the cracks end up. The occasional rains o...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Joe Bloggs‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by Joe Bloggs‭

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Could a human baby develop and grow into an adult under constant 3-4G?

Would that even be possible? Will the bones deform during early infancy? Will the cartilages between joints wear off faster? Will internal organs collapse under their own weight? I have no professi...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by hexpallett‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by hexpallett‭

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Can we use the Sun as an interstellar signal lamp?

Earth, present time or very near future. Astronomers have just announced that it is believed that almost 9 billion habitable Earth-like planets exist in the Milky Way alone (this is true, but there...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Ieuan Stanley‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Ieuan Stanley‭

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Could there be a type of mass that moves in a direction perpendicular to its momentum?

Positive mass moves in the same direction as its momentum and if negative energy exists then it would move in the opposite direction from its momentum. I was thinking of a type of mass, known as "...

8 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Anders Gustafson‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Anders Gustafson‭

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What sorts (if any) of edible fungi (or other species) can survive lowlight conditions?

Basically, in the event of a blotting out of the sun á la an impact winter, what sort of food source (if any) could be used to sustain humanity? In my universe, underground/makeshift greenhouses ...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by socrates‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by socrates‭

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How dark would an impact winter really be?

How dark would it be living in an impact winter? Where would an asteroid have to hit earth to cause an impact winter? gives a great breakdown of the effects of an impact winter, but I'd like to k...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by socrates‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by socrates‭

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Impact Winter: light as a commodity

For those unfamiliar, An impact winter is a hypothesized period of prolonged cold weather due to the impact of a large asteroid or comet on the Earth's surface. (Wikipedia) In my world I want...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by socrates‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by socrates‭

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Starbuilding: What is lacking in the logic behind Cosmos 2 star system generation algorithm?

Preamble The Alternity Cosmos II is a complement to a dice role-playing game that uses heuristics based on hard-science to 'build' plausible star systems for the Alternity game: http://www.altern...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Oxy‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by Oxy‭

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Can a Whipple Shield be a viable method of space combat protection?

Like it says on the tin. Problem? Basic configuration is not going to work. If I used several additional layers and all the Outer and Inner layers using carbon nanotubes, whereas the Middle Layer(s...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Future Historian‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Future Historian‭

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Can machines raise socially functioning people?

In this world a secret society "farms" people with desired features (personality appearances etc.). They have ectogenesis of course; but they can't afford personnel to take care of the "products" u...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by SilverCookies‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by SilverCookies‭

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Would post-traumatic stress disorder exist identically in a pre-industrial warfare setting?

I'm not into psychology, but I've heard a lot about veterans who have committed suicide, went crazy, became addicted or have their lives ruined in other ways because of the shock they lived through...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Zoltán Schmidt‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Zoltán Schmidt‭

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How does a spacecraft attempt an intercept course with a hostile one realistically (Part II)?

Well, gentlemen. Here is Part II. We know what to do about the manoeuvre, but we need to know possible tactical options the two Task Groups would use. Background Now, as previously specified, we...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Future Historian‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Future Historian‭

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What if the Moon gets a new big crater?

When I was observing the Moon yesterday, I asked myself: What would happen if a meteoroid impacted the Moon on the more clear part of the Moon which we can see, leaving a crater of the size like t...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Zaibis‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Zaibis‭

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Is a moon made entirely of water possible?

I have two earth clones, in essence, separated by *16550 miles (26350 kilometers). They are, of course, tidally locked, and orbit each other once every 24 hours. These planets orbit a sun identical...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Xandar The Zenon‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by Xandar The Zenon‭

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As we increase the size and mass of a world, at what point does it become impossible for a rocket to achieve an orbit or escape velocity?

Many authors describe worlds with higher gravity than our own, from whence super-muscular aliens originate. However, as we increased the size, mass and surface gravity of a world; there would be p...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Monty Wild‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by Monty Wild‭

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Solar powered plane without batteries

Could an unmanned solar plane go not only above the clouds, but also so fast that it always is in the day-side of the planet? A solar plane flying above the clouds receives sunlight $12$ hours per...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Caridorc‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Caridorc‭

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73 Gigatonnes of TNT upon collision could cause how many casualties?

So, after going through a some rough calculations, I figured my earlier question ran into a few problems regarding the final velocity of the asteroid. I pulled the mathematics a bit incorrect, so I...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Future Historian‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Future Historian‭

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If a colonial uprising occurred (and succeeded to some extent), what would the implications be on extraplanetary policy?

So, I ran into a problem regarding the aftermath of a colonial war for independence. What happens is the following: The scenario is this: late 24th Century, humans have colonised the Inner Solar Sy...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Future Historian‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Future Historian‭

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How would a population react to an AI made for the purpose of statewide surveillance using current tech?

Setting The US is waging a failing War on Drugs where cartels are quickly gaining power. Scenario In the near future, say 2030, with current technology, the Texas state government is implementin...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Carlos Danger‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Carlos Danger‭

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How to get rid of moon stations?

I have a story where a powerful outside force killed (next to) all humans on earth some decades ago. The way I want to build it is that it required that the human outposts on the moon to die as we...

5 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Angelo Fuchs‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Angelo Fuchs‭

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Is moonvertising feasible?

As the legend goes, Coca-Cola was planning on shooting lasers at the moon to project their logo. Unfortunately, the FFA said no (they didn't want planes to be blinded). I haven't been able to confi...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by PyRulez‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by PyRulez‭

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How much energy would it take to ignite a brown dwarf?

The Halo video game's extended universe book Halo: Evolutions describes the Battle of Psi Serpentis, in which a superjovian planet is converted into a brown dwarf via massive nuclear bombardment of...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by March Ho‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by March Ho‭

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Realism of Solid light?

In the game Portal, there are glowing light platforms. These platforms are (supposedly) made of solid, compressed light. How can these realistically be made?

5 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by dsfisher‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by dsfisher‭

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Why not build a space elevator starting from the moon?

Anchor one end of the cable to the side of the moon that faces the earth. Drop the other end of the cable to earth so that it drags along the ground. The earth's gravity and friction contributes a ...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Lorry Laurence mcLarry‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Lorry Laurence mcLarry‭

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How long time would it take for a space hulk to lose orbit?

In the Warhammer 40k universe, there are planets where the population hasn't developed so far and are left in the feudal stage, (or the technology has degenerated so much it is back to the point). ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Magic-Mouse‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Magic-Mouse‭

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Every now and again God puts us on pause. Can we detect this?

Imagine that God has many universes to deal with or just needs a break sometimes. He has a pause control. What plausible mechanism does God use to perform the pause without breaking the laws of ph...

12 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by chasly from UK‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by chasly from UK‭

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How full of people does our solar system have to become, to cause massive destruction to it?

It's the far future. Humans are still! increasing in population. We have developed habitable orbital structures and terraformed any planet we possibly could. We reached the maximum potential for h...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by DoubleDouble‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by DoubleDouble‭

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What goods would be worth trading between Earth and Mars?

Mars is a cold, inhospitable, slightly damp ball of rock that would be very difficult to do things like grow crops on. However, it's also very far away. Far enough that, presumably, it would probab...

10 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by ckersch‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by ckersch‭

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Viability of using randomly generated electronic radiation to mask the disposition of a fleet from passive scanners with electronic 'white noise'?

Lets say I have a space fleet flying to attack an installation. The enemy knows I'm coming but not my numbers or exact disposition. Since I'm moving much slower then C the light from my fleet wil...

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

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What would a space elevator on the moon be made out of?

Okay, so some space miners fly into space to get Helium-3, and then fly it back to earth to sell to non-space people. Flying into and off the earth is rather expensive, so they want to simply take ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by PyRulez‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by PyRulez‭

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What is the highest acceleration that a normal human could safely endure for (say) 8 hours?

I want to get a shuttle from place to place in a reasonable amount of time. Say, 6 to 8 hours maximum, with a short break at the midpoint to turn around. Assuming constant acceleration to midpoin...

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

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Moons of Moons of Moons

My question is simple: How many nested moons are physically possible? If our moon had a moon, that would be a nesting of 1. I'm assuming it's easily possible for a really big moon to be orbiting ...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Varrick‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by Varrick‭

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How big can a moon be where you can physically jump out of its orbit, to its planet?

So, imagine a team of space marines, fighting some sort of space bug zombies on a planet's moon. Things are going pretty bad for them, and the last surviving protagonists are running for their live...

7 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by DaaaahWhoosh‭  ·  last activity 6y ago by DaaaahWhoosh‭

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Making doomsayers right - a moon(s), planet alignment that matters

Considering our topic challenge, and the fantastic eclipse last Sunday a question came to me. Could there be a stable (relatively speaking) planetary system where a(n) eclipse/alignment would actu...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by James‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by James‭

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How could Kuutamian animals work?

In Ribbontails Series Aman5 there are creatures called Kuutamian animals. These animals are sapient and can have any form. The creator uses the excuse that they have three DNA strands, but how real...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Uncle Tres‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Uncle Tres‭

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Replicating the biblical flood

The Biblical story of the Flood describes how over a period of 40 days the earth is flooded so that the peak of the highest mountain is 15 cubits/22.5ft/6.858m below the new mean sea level. The fl...

6 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Monty Wild‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Monty Wild‭

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How to quickly leave a planet for another planet en mass starting out from stone age tools?

An alien race decides to test the hability of humans to survive and engage into space travel, for whatever reason. The planets The aliens prepares a pair of Earth-like planets revolving around a ...

5 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Victor Stafusa‭  ·  last activity 8y ago by Victor Stafusa‭

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What kind of human music do badger-folk like?

Okay, so now that we've established that the badger folk (or Melinae sapien, if you want to be politically correct) are trading their ore to the humans for cat food. Now we need to determine what ...

6 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by PyRulez‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by PyRulez‭