Activity for JBH
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question | — |
Is it possible to kill all life on Earth? Edit: It has been suggested that my question is a duplicate of What could humans do to render the earth uninhabitable?. That question only asks what would be necessary to make human life impossible. That is much simpler than what I'm asking and every answer is geared only to that limited scope... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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What does the view outside my ship traveling at light speed look like? World Rules: Travelers are able to move at the speed of light without disruption of their lives. Time passes "normally" for them. They think, breathe, love, cry, and steer the ship as if they were merely crossing the Atlantic. Whatever allows the ship to travel at the speed of light, it does not ... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
| Question | — |
Managing heat dissipation in a magic wand Backstory You won't believe it, but I'll tell you anyway. I'm a Level 61 wizard. If you think about it, wands aren't all that hard to use. Point, invoke, joyfully watch your enemy burn in the fires of Reetath. I've watched wizards do it all my life.2 So, when I stumbled across a fairly new-look... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Navigating storm fronts in space Storm fronts — especially surprise storm fronts — are a popular Sci-Fi trope. Ion storms and radiation storms and neutronic storms and they invariably look 2D, like ribbons in space. But then I read this article about nearby supernovas millions of years ago that showered our planet with... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
| Question | — |
Feasibility of a purely mechanical grayscale "computer monitor" Based on a previous question asking about mechanical computing (Babbage engines, etc.) I wondered how a steampunk story could present the concept of a modern computer monitor in a steam-driven mechanical world. Background: While pondering the problem of shrinking or otherwise utilizing mechanic... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
I cast my stop-time spell and really, really, really want to punch my sworn enemy - which of these two scenarios is more believable? I spent my life, my fortune, my family connections... I sold my children into slavery and my soul to Ilnarren... Wanted posters hang from from the Abyss of Shrondir to the expanse of d'o (most bearing passable liknesses)... I've sworn fealty to the Great Abitor and the Peasant of Myksyr... and betr... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
How likely is the flotsam of a space battle to be captured by our sun's gravity well? A light-year distant from Sol saw the collision of a massive space-born battle fleet against an awe-inspiring dreadnought. At one point in the battle, the flotilla fired rail-guns with 100 metric ton slugs and nuclear missiles. ...And a lot of them missed their target ...And kept on sailing throug... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is it possible to make high-compressive-strength cement on Mars? I was having fun reading this article about making cement on the moon when I asked myself (and now you), is it possible to make a suitably high-compressive-strength cement on Mars? Since concrete is simply cement with rocks in... I'm only asking about cement. I'm assuming absolutely nothing other t... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
What would the night sky look like for a world on the upper plane of the galaxy, near its rim? I would like to include a world in a story that is located on the upper plane (or bottom, doesn't matter, but call it upper for the sake of reference) of the galaxy. If you think of the galaxy as a cookie, the world is on top near the rim, not in the middle of the cookie. I could imagine that inhab... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
How far can a human see? I'm asking this question as a reference for use in worldbuilding when developing world size, atmospheric content, or alien optometric abilities (aka, vision). While I'm specifically asking two questions, their relevance is so close that it's more practical to ask them once, together. Given... A... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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Can a collision with a neutron star make a planet via the can-o-snakes method? Simplistically, a neutron star is a celestial body with enormous mass crushed into a small volume. That crushing force is gravity and the result, one might think, is atoms packed much more closely than they want to be. Background rumination in question form Is it a true or false premise that the c... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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Would interplanetary transmissions in the Wolf 359 star system be detectable by Earth? Inspired by: How much electromagnetic transmission noise does Earth have to emit to be noticeable? Premise: Assume that the infamous Wolf 359 star system has one habitable planet and a second, habitable or not, upon which the Wolvians have developed a mining operation. The two planets (maximum... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could an astronaut in a near-future space ship survive transit through our asteroid belt? In the near future we may find cargo ships fleeing space pirates! Given that... It's a small cargo ship carrying 10 metric tons of wheat (cargo volume, approximately 13 m3). Total volume: 100 m3. Total mass (loaded): 30 metric tons. Thruster technology is such that the ship can successfully mane... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Can I produce a true 3D orbit? I've been doing a little research (including reading Howard Curtis' Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students) because I want to build a solar system with a planet that has a true three-dimensional orbit. Regrettably, I'm not far enough into Curtis' book to answer this question, if it is answerable... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Conditional deniability of a natural asteroid belt with an atmosphere? Is it unreasonable to suspend one's disbelief that an asteroid belt naturally formed with enough mass distributed through the belt to justify the formation of a belt-wide atmosphere given the following conditions and limitations? The atmosphere should be Earth-like @ sea level (14.7psi) along the s... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Could a species develop the tech necessary to land on their own moon without comprehending light? Inspired by a brief comment converstaion found here. I would like to investigate the design and development of an alien species whose technological development did not include an understanding of light. Let us assume that the species is entirely blind, and only has the capacity to interact with the... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Would there be stress on my wormhole between two planetary surfaces due to their orbits? Building on this question: Settings formed by Uncontrolled Terraforming of Venus and Mars via Portals My government, the Great Council of Duhurang1 has authorized the Minister of Astronomic Science2 to open a Canal of Heaven3 between the Bosom of Hope4 and the Absorbant Darkness5 and demand an accou... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Would Gravero! experience a massive heat blast after crushing an enemy into a diamond? My new superhuman, Gravero!, has just entered combat. He's a new superhero with a lot going for him! He's resplendant in his dashing tights, his cape flows in exactly the right direction when he stands proudly with both hands on his hips... But the first time he crushed a well-armed enemy into a d... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could solar sails and solar wind plausibly decelerate a ship traveling at 0.05c? In my story interstellar travel is common, but nothing's perfect, and a mining ship returning from a deep-space run (you'd be surprised what's out there) just discovered that something is very, very wrong. \crackle\ Mayday... Mayday... this is the Tycho Brahe... Primary engine offline. Asteroid im... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
What are the safety margins for destroying a planet from space? My empire's flagship, the Persecutor class UJBHE1 Abhorrent, rides into the home system of my greatest enemy, Baron Obsequious, levels its Death Ray2 at his beloved home, and pulls the trigger.3 Baron Obsequious' prized emerald explodes in a shower of light that would make George Lucas proud. Give... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
My ship is traveling at 0.05c, is the energy from debris impacts trackable? While once living in Texas, my family and I had the privilege of watching a shuttle re-entry. It was breath-taking. I kid you not, it was like watching the finger of god drawing a line of fire through the sky. That memory and this question got me thinking. The impact of even small rocks on the fo... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Is there any material today that could withstand the impact of a baseball at 0.05c? I would like to better understand intragalactic ship design (aka, "spaceships"). It's travelling at a barely tolerable 0.05c (86 years to Alpha Centauri). It happens to impact with a baseball (145 grams). (In reality it would impact with rocks. We believe there's nothing out there other than inco... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Smartphone camera resolution can image a human retina: can we save retina biometrics? RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ "“ April 2, 2019 "“ Samsung Electronics America, Inc. announced that the new, award-winning Galaxy S11 and Galaxy S11+, which have been recognized by smartphone reviewers worldwide for their best-in-class display, design and camera, are now available for purchase at U.S. wireless ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Does my shipboard computer slow down as I approach light speed? This question about time dilation got me thinking. The speed of an electron through copper is a whole heckofa lot slower than the speed of light, but if I understand the limits of relativity correctly, the electron can never travel faster than the speed of light anyway. Now, let's ignore the ultra ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is there a habitability zone between the primary and secondary stars of a binary star system? Is there a habitability zone between the primary and secondary stars in a binary star system for a planet orbiting only the primary star at a distance less than that of the secondary star and, if so, what is the greatest energy output of the secondary star (in terms of energy received by the planet) ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Habitability of a world inside a dark nebula For your consideration, a star system inside a dark nebula with a potentially habitable planet. Being a dark nebula, we Earthers can't see light shining behind the nebula. Further and therefore: The nebula is large enough that the potential inhabitants won't see any stars in any direction. This ... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Perceiving color like a native Assumptions One habitable world in each system (blue sun system and yellow sun system). The two worlds are fundamentally Earth-like. The native humanoid species on each world are genetically compatible. A native of the blue sun system visits the world in the yellow sun system. Question Would the... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Are there physiological traits common to all tool-building species? Alien and fantasy creatures can be designed in an infinite number of ways. But are there physiological traits that would be common among all tool-developing (technology-building) species? As an example, I suspect all such species must have some means of manipulating small things. Whether it be fin... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could plant life evolve on a world with a toroidal magnetic field? Let us assume that my new world has within its rings, shells, and blobs of remarkably cool magnetically-involved stuff such that its magnetic field is toroidal (shaped like a donut) rather than spherical. The toroid is equatorially aligned, meaning the planet is ringed by the magnetotoroid somewhat... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
What technologies might lead to or support "perfect recycling" I'm developing fictional technology for "perfect recycling." A large plant that takes in water and every cubic millimeter of waste humanity can produce (in the local area, of course). It disintegrates (for lack of a better description) the waste and water. Sea water is used to "balance" the proces... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |