Posts by HDE 226868
Flywheels The method[3]: Generate electricity normally. Use the electricity to accelerate a flywheel to very high speeds. Capture the kinetic energy of the flywheel when needed. The benefits ...
Is it possible? Absolutely. Pluto and Charon are tidally locked, and yet Pluto has four other moons1. Charon is relatively massive in comparison to Pluto - about one twelfth its mass. Indeed, the c...
I suppose I'll address the solar flares angle, since nobody appears to have tried that yet. My main objection here is that an external source will have a very hard time causing solar flares. Solar...
Yes, it can happen. For this to be possible, you first have to put the planet far enough away that it can become totally icy. Then, after the temperature rises as the red dwarf transitions into a ...
Note: If anyone can double-check my numbers and result at the end of this answer, that would be much appreciated. This looks like a question that can be broken down as per your bullet points, so I...
$2.55\times10^{45}\text{ Joules}$. But it probably won't work. There are a few things we need to get straight here, namely, the differences between brown dwarfs and giant planets. Here are two of ...
Note: This answer is not even close to being finished. I'm putting it out there as a sort of sanity-check, so I can get some input as to whether or not my idea is totally crazy or not. Links and mo...
The equation for the power emitted by a laser beam at a distance in a circle of radius $r$ at a distance $z$ where the beam diameter is $w(z)$ is $$P(r,z)=\frac{1}{2}\pi I_0w_0^2\left(1-e^{-2r^2/w^...
Given that they're 2.2 kilometers underground, it looks like they can take advantage of the water table, the place where rocks are saturated with stored groundwater. The water table often holds aqu...
No, because of Hamilton's equations and conservation laws. At some time $t$, the configuration of the universe is represented (classically) by a point in phase space. Phase space describes the pos...
I'm ~99% certain that the effects of a second celestial body on seismic activity on an Earth-like planet has been covered before (in that case, by a second Earth-like planet); if anyone can point m...
The Oort Cloud The far edge of the Oort Cloud is believed to be 100,000 AU from the Sun. In fact, Duncan et al. (1987) created simulations that showed the inner edge of the Cloud to be at ~3,000 A...
I'm incredibly embarrassed to be chasing the bounty here, but I can't resist the challenge. Besides, drones are cool. Okay, to start with this, we need to know just what developments have been mad...
Atmosphere, surface temperature and other properties directly related to life Magnetosphere: Magnetospheres are thought to be driven by a dynamo process driven by internal circulation in the ...
This question is a sort of follow-up to Samuel's previous world map question, Creating a realistic world(s) map - planetary systems. Lots of science fiction stories involve journeying to nearby st...
1.Could any planetary orbit sustain life long-term without an imported energy source? I believe that black holes emit Hawking energy. Could that be of use to living creatures? The power emitte...
Stars generate their energy by fusing lighter elements into heavier elements. The most common reaction in Sun-like stars is the conversion of hydrogen to helium via the proton-proton chain, but hea...
As a first approximation, we treat the rod as a one-dimensional rod of length $L$. On each end is a heat source (the mantles of each of the two "Earths". We can begin to model the system as followi...
Ordering of planets (mass and type) Can I start out by jokingly complaining that you picked a rather complex system? We've found a lot of exoplanets, but there are not many that reside in complex ...
The idea of uploading one's personality and consciousness to a computer is a semi-common science fiction trope. It has been suggested as a way to essential immortality. In a story I'm working on, ...
The Sun has nowhere near enough mass to enter the branch of stellar evolution that would lead to a supernova, fortunately for us. However, there are planets that orbit stars that are destined to go...
Jim2B beat me to the best answer, but there are more solutions. Analyzing a system like this is called the three-body problem, a case of the n-body problem. There are not many stable solutions to ...
A key part of the plot in a story I'm working on revolves around the main region being on top of volcano that is set to erupt. The trouble is that the region in question in my setting is roughly th...
Gawiser & Silk (2000) provide a nice overview of the CMB (possibly better than Wikipedia). The paper is a bit outdated - after all, they use a figure of 15 billion years as the age of the unive...
Special cases Tectonically-locked Mostly Frozen Surface Water-free (Dune) Or, no/very-little free water. All Water (Europa) Currently, by question definition, this is non-habitable. (Orig...
