Freedom from the tyranny of gravity
So I've been browsing Worldbuilding for a while now and the answer to so many questions seems to be "No, gravity doesn't allow it".
Gravity (and the square-cube law, but as I understand the problem with that is also gravity) means we can't have believable dragons, giants (of any kind), large insects, flying whales. Even tall buildings and various sci-fi spaceship abilities are limited by gravity.
So I'm wondering is it possible to replace gravity with a similar force that keeps things attached to planets and makes things fall (orbits are a nice extra bonus but optional for the purpose of this question) and all the other things we expect from gravity, but that doesn't crush our giant creatures or make large flying animals impossible. Just lowering gravity isn't enough, that comes with its own different set of problems.
Obviously you can handwave this (and most stories and worlds must) and it's not something that would directly be mentioned in most cases but I'd like to know whether there is some other formula for gravity or another way to implement a similar force that allows fantasy worlds and creatures to exist without handwaving.
I understand this question may be impossible (or very difficult) to answer, but we have some very clever people on here so I'd be interested to see what they can come up with.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/78794. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
This is a little outlandish (and, for the record, no I am not actually a pastafarian), but might give you ideas regardless...
What is this "gravity" you speak of?
Everyone knows there is no such thing. The reason stuff falls is because the FSM's noodly appendages push down on all things, because, y'know, just floating off into space would be super-annoying. Who knows if He does this, in the same way, on all planets in all universes?
Point is, if you're willing to suspend a little disbelief for the sake of your story in order to get around the harsh mistress "gravity" (and if you have any sort of "magic", it's more or less given that you are willing), why not just go for it? Be creative! Your universe doesn't have to follow the laws of physics as we know them. Maybe it selectively ignores them, whether due to magic, supernatural beings, because reality is really a computer simulation, or whatever...
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