Activity for System
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question | — |
How to survive the G-force of Space Travel In my world ... Actually, in every hard sci-fi world with casual interplanetary travel, the G-force involved in acceleration would becomes so high that no unmodified human being could realistically survive it, leading to an authorial work around of some sort, or it simply not being addressed in the w... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
How does a solar sail return to its world? While trying to figure out a way that individuals could own spacecraft in my sci-fi setting without having access to things that could double as weapons of mass destruction, I settled on the widespread adoption of civilian solar sails, or more specifically, photon-particle sails. It has quite a few ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Sandalphon: A Machine that Copied Gametes Obligatory Premise In the year 2201, Diego OfeAde has been in control of Mars for 50 years. He has moved mankind into Valles Marineris and his aggressive population expansion program has seen the population increase to 150,000 souls. OfeAde is, at this point, fairly pleased with himself, until a ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Why would Fission be used in a world where Fusion reactors exist? In my world, all terrestrial bodies in the solar-system of over 900 km size have a significant human presence. Earth-moon Travel is as common as an interstate road trip, and Interplanetary travel is as common as going overseas, ranging from Venus to Earth is the same as a trip from the U.S. to U.K. t... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Designing a Mars-Class Zeppelin In my world, a scientist and engineer by the name of Guoliang Guan successfully uproots and moves a quarter of a million tons of habitat, industry, miscellaneous chemicals, storage containers, rocketry, life-support, and scientific experiments from all across the western hemisphere of Mars - to the b... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
How to get down Valles Marineris In my World, a perfect storm of catastrophic size strikes earth and black-death levels of mortality ensue, cutting short the Great Space Race. The only problem is that there are over 10,000 people stuck on Mars, but with mortality in the billions, Earth nations (or whatever is left of them) can hardl... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
What practical issues might prevent making a conventional-explosives bomb-powered spacecraft? Project Orion was a project to construct a spacecraft that rode the shockwaves of nuclear blasts as a form of propulsion, but the project was abandoned because of budget cuts, environmental concerns, and the end of the space race. In my world, a new space race starts between the U.S. and China over ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Generate electricity using altitude and pipe A present day society has had to relocate from their coastal community and have taken refuge at the top of a very high mountain roughly 10,000 feet above sea level. This mountain is the most prominent around and its profile is very steep, approx 45 degrees, from top to bottom on all sides, with a fla... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
A very strong person I remember reading Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The protagonist is a an extremely strong man, capable of hand to paw combat with lions. The origin of his strength is attributed to living among gorillas all his young life. What hand wavy arguments could I invoke for that incredible strength, speed... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Would super-sized humans be super-intelligent? A mad, egomaniac, scientist has developed a way of extending the natural growth of humans to create an army of 20ft (6 meter) tall soldiers. Physiologically, they are three times the size of normal people in terms of height and mass. He's managed (through genetic enhancements) to increase the effic... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is it conceivable, or at the least verisimilar, for Plutonium radioisotope generators/atomic batteries to power a small manufacturing town? A small manufacturing town serves as a comparison. The worldbuilding significance is for an underground facility with, in addition to a medical center, small-scale chemical production, a machinist workshop, hydroponics, and cultured meat lab wherein living conditions are adjusted to minimize power co... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
To what extent is maturation of the adolescent brain a matter of time versus experience? I'm aware the brain--especially the portion concerning planning and judgement--isn't matured until around the mid-20s and that the brain's structure is sensitive to environment. That said, let's assume a society with the knowledge of the adolescent brain being different from an adult brain educates a... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How could the intelligence of elephants be raised to a level closer to that of humans? Elephants are some of the most intellingent mammals, and they have large brain sizes compared to people. They are said to present self-awareness among other things. How could one go about raising the intelligence of elephants to a level closer to humans? I imagine a thousand year project doing this.... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Ant people polymorphism ( Queen ) (Perhaps termite people would be more appropriate) In my world, the Gbajumo (think race of semi-gods) decide that the humanoid beings of the world have become too cocky and comfortable in their supremacy, and since the current world order of peace and prosperity has gone on for 200 years, it's about... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can I use magic to make this change in human reproduction feasible without hurting genetic diversity? There was a culture I read about that understood human biology to be very different from what we know today. This was a matrilineal culture which believed that men did not pass on their genes, but a piece of their spirit. The spirit was the life force of a human being which kept the body alive. It po... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Can we manipulate the Sun, gas and ice giants to create more habitable planets and extend the life of our sun? Assuming we want our sun to last as long as possible with a similar luminosity and assuming we value life over lifelessness can and should we manipulate the sun, gas giants and ice giants to that end? (This is for an advanced civilization in the future, not today.) First the sun: I've read increa... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How would an astronaut conclude he's on Earth, but 600 million years in the future? Say we have a group of space travelers who have been frozen inside a sleeper ship for an enormous amount of time that left when Earth was recognizable. When they thaw out and reach their destination, they land on a planet which has only one super-continent and possesses a desert ecosystem which evolu... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How to communicate with an A.I. that doesn't believe it needs a language A thought experiment occurred to me today that, say we have a synthetic superintelligence that does not wish to talk to people, not out of malice, but from an agonizing indifference toward humanity. Said superintelligence has isolated itself at the oceanic pole of inaccessibility (48° 52"² 36"³ S 12... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Advanced alien insect long range communication I'm looking to create a highly advanced insect communication network that could be broadcast on an interplanetary basis. Now, my insects communicate through chemical signals and smells which they produce themselves through secretion, so obviously the vacuum of space presents a problem. Assuming th... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
What is this bacteria producing that is so sickly yellow? An illness has been slowly spreading throughout the inhabitants of my agrarian society, decimating villages. The first sign of infection is the excessive production of slimy yellow saliva, and since it is in excess, they have no choice other than spit it out (and risk being found out), or swallow it ... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can we have dragon-sized butterflies? I'm writing a species of dragon-sized butterflies¹ as flying mounts into a low-magic fantasy setting², and would like to know if these creatures have to be imbued with magic, or if they could just be mundane through some contrivances. What stands in the way of having an insect of this size, and how... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How would early astronomers prove the existence of a spherical firmanent around the Earth? Someone made the Earth. They placed man on the surface and gave them plants, animals, the waters, and the mountains to make their life compete. The Earth exists within a spherical firmament upon which the Moon, planets, stars and the sun are affixed. The firmament is, of course, an artificial cons... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Powering a starship with solar cells For a while now I've been building a science fiction world and I've been thinking what would be a feasible way to power a large ship capable of interstellar travel. I've always disliked the idea on a potentially explosive engine on a ship. What I am wondering is how feasible is solar power once the... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
What does a small fusion reaction sound like? I am familar with current reactor (experimental) fusion reactor design. But imagine a fusion reaction happening without a reactor, so there is no reactor hull to shield the sound from an innocent bystander. It is a small reaction and it is continuus and controlled. (so not all reactive matter is co... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How to find the man who isn't there? "As I was going up the stair I met a man who wasn't there! He wasn't there again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away" Antigonish by William Hughes Meams Paul Billson makes his living in industrial espionage. He's good at it. He's the kind of person that you never recall talking to, you ... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can black holes be used for daredevil gravity slingshot sport? This is set in the same universe as my Andromeda galactic war question (same tech level). In this question, I had somewhat purposely labelled the galactic core as "off-limits" (black holes and other nasty things). However, young fighter-jocks use this space for training and recreation - so much so ... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would a 'bend' in space-time look like to the external observer Judy likes coffee. Right now he is standing in the middle of the urban park sipping it. Unbeknownst to him a local phenomena occurs somewhat near: space itself bends where a lovely group of lilies grow. As space itself I - as a layman - am speaking about that abstract thing that is, according to re... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Can we build a world in 1,000 years? We have a fleet of sub-light speed generation ships and associated engineering devices/ships. Their original world can no longer support their species, and they must move to survive. The fleet of course cannot support its inhabitants forever. There is therefore a need to populate a new, self sufficie... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Extending the Kola Superdeep Borehole In an effort to accurately map and predict earthquakes and tectonic plate movements, scientists wish to insert sensors through the earth's crust and into the upper mantle. Through some Excel wizardy, they manage to get the funding to extend the Kola Superdeep borehole which currently extends to a li... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would make telepathy and clairvoyance scientifically plausible? I'm looking for a hypothetical scientific discovery that would make both things possible. I'm just looking for the most plausible scenario. (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would be a viable explanation for "destroyable knowledge"? In the game Warframe, we have blueprints which are "consumed" during the process of making a weapon / Warframe. In some Chinese fantasy Kung Fu movies, a person caught illegally learning martial arts, i.e. stealing, from someone who has not agreed to teach him, can be punished by having his Kung Fu ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How can you destroy a small device inside another person's head? In a novel I am writing, everyone carries a small device in their head. The device is fragile, but the human head isn't. How can this device be destroyed by another person quickly (i.e. within seconds) and in a realistic way, either with bare hands or some common implement (like a screwdriver or sto... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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How much would it cost to build an orbiting "Princess"? 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 Disney have successfully managed with minimal political developments. The question: "What cost factors and... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Encountering the Accountants : Spreading Numeracy in the Neolithic World The BBC in the UK are currently screening a archaeology series exploring the idea that the Neolithic peoples in the Orkney Isles (North of Scotland) were the cultural capital of the British Isles. There's evidence to show that the high standard of culture predated Stonehenge. I have this fictiona... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Can I kill a cyborg with magnetism? I am an average person being hunted down by a homicidal cyborg. He is about 90% metal, with his only remaining organ being a brain and all other meat on him being tissues which serve only as an anchor for cybernetics. I have exhausted just about every method of killing or hiding from a person, but I... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What would be the immediate climatic effects of having a continent appear out of nowhere? I am writing a story where a freak magical accident causes a fully-formed landmass to pop into existence like it was there all along. For the purposes of this question, let's assume: the continent isn't very large, a bit smaller than Australia the continent appears shortly southwest of Cape of Goo... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Breeding smaller humans Suppose in the future (about 3-4 decades in the future), we start preferring smaller people as mates. The average size of a human would go down, maybe as far as or further than average heights from the middle ages, peaking not far above 140cm. This would mean that everything could be made smaller to ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
How do I Create a Privacy Shield? I don't trust anyone when I conduct my special line of business. I do my thing, face-to-face, verbally. I hand over a sealed envelope of cash and I'm done. I don't want to be recorded, I don't want to be observed from a distance. What I require is a portable device that can be constructed to cont... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Efficiency of Aquaculture in a Neolithic Society Being inspired by the lovely concept art of Star Trek's Nibiru, I have long thought that the Nibirans would use the tiered pools for aquacultural purposes, and would like to implement tiered aquacultural pools in the setting I am working on. The idea is that these farmers would build (slowly moving) ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Finding Signs of Life from afar If I were to attempt the colonization of a planet with preexisting life, how would I manage to pinpoint a candidate planet from the comforts of Earth's orbit? I am interested in the stars somewhere within 40 light years from Earth, and with relatively realistic technology (no FTL drives or time machi... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Standardisation of Time in a FTL Universe Here on Earth, time standardisation was enabled by the invention of accurate time pieces which allowed us to create a global constant (GMT/Zulu time) and regional offsets. If we travel outside our time-zone for a meeting, we can be sure to know when to leave to arrive there at the right time. In an... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Physics Plus: Artifical Gravity in Space This is the next piece in my question-series, you guys have been absolutely awesome in your answers to the first question: How to solve the old 'gun on a spaceship' problem? In this series, I try to find a number of questions bugging me while working out my current (awesome) project :) All answers ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Building an Ethics Framework for use of Uploaded Personalities Five years ago, our company reached the stage where we were able to create, maintain, and communicate with digitized brain transfer images. These trials were conducted on patients with life-limiting conditions under the supervision and support of their families and their physicians. These trials we... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Where on a tidally locked planet with a 25 °C maximum is the 0 °C isotherm? I am writing a novel. In that novel, humans have settled a tidally locked planet. That planet is positioned at just such a distance from its sun that the sun heats the planet to an average of 25 °C at the substellar point, that is, at the center of the side facing the sun. The planet is like our Ear... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Powerful and strong tail If humans hadn't lost their tails and today we had fully prehensile tails as long as 1/2 our body and stronger than an arm, how would the tail of a bodybuilder or just a buff person look? Would tail muscles be as visible as the trapezium or the abdominal and change completely the appearance and morph... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What would a orbital station and activity look like from the ground? The Setup: We have a highly advanced orbital station. It is designed to be rather stealthy, like a observation post. Is it possible to make it completely invisible to the naked eye, even when in low-earth orbit? Now to the hard part: Computers or similar mechanisms on the ground are controlled by ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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How to Kill the Thought-Crime Killer Joe Schmoe was six years old when he killed his best friend; it wasn't his fault, it was just the way that he was made... Joe was born with an auto-telepathic telekinetic feedback ability - he has the ability to unconsciously kill anyone who has thoughts of killing him. It doesn't matter if those t... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What would be the mass source for a futuristic retreat's reactor? Consider the following: We have a city, designed to be a retreat. Everything consumed and needed by the population is created via a machine in the middle of this stronghold. This machine is able to convert matter into another type of matter and into energy. It could be simplified: We have a reall... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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How to keep water out of a trench civilization In my world there is a neolithic civilization of people who inhabit earthen trenches. The people first soften the earth with ... fluids ... and dig out 6 - 12 foot deep trench systems that extend out for many square miles with bamboo and ceramic trowels & spades. Though digging out massive trench s... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Can charmspeak be scientifically explained? Charmspeak is defined as mind control through the medium of speech - that is, the user tells the target what to do, and the target has no choice but to obey. Is there a way to explain such a phenomenon scientifically? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |