Activity for Renan‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Why do flying saucers have to spin while flying? What L.Dutch said, plus whatever process is making the hull rotate is making it act like a turbine from a wind or hydro power plant. From a certain point of view, the whole outside of the ship is an alternator. That supplies the ship with electricity. No spin = no power = no avionics (and possibly no... (more)	—	over 4 years ago
Question	—	Can an atmosphere be thicker at higher altitudes? Can a world exist where the atmosphere is actually thicker at some altitude than at sea level? If so, what mechanisms would be involved? (more)	—	almost 5 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically correct banshee The original, irish lore around banshees has it that they merely foretell the death of someone, but do not cause that death. American pop culture has changed this, so they do bring death and destruction - as seen in various media such as videogames, books (I remember there was a malicious one in some... (more)	—	about 5 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically correct diegetic singing princess I recently watched Wifi Ralph. There is a scene where Disney princesses teach Vanellope a mechanism that allows her to unlock the wonderful, magical power of diegetic music. Didn't want to read the spoiler? No problem, here goes an explanation. Diegetic music is a part of the soundtrack for au... (more)	—	about 5 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically Correct Whomping Willow The whomping willow is a fictional tree from the Harry Potter series of books. It is a magic willow that can move its branches to punch people who come close to it. Small animals such as cats and rats can approach without much worry; Anything human-sized or larger gets whacked. As for how strongly... (more)	—	about 5 years ago
Question	—	Moving mountains In our world, mountains generally only move up (while forming) or down (while eroding or sinking). Otherwise they follow the tectonic plates they happen to be on. In island chains like the Hawaiian archipelago it may seem that they are moving but actually some plate is moving apart from another one, ... (more)	—	about 5 years ago
Question	—	Would it be possible to have a GMO that produces chocolate? I am inspired by some people who apparently believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. I know that for sweet, delicious chocolate to come into existence, we need to do things to cocoa. Ferment it, grind it, mix it, bake it. That's boring. Besides, as cheap as human labour comes, animal don't unio... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	Algae using UV light from auroras for photosynthesis I was reading some questions on Quora and I found this claim: The polar regions have a very odd reason for them to have so much oxygen production. You see the Polar aurora run day and night in the UV band. They are about 600 watts per square meter day and night. You don't see it because you don't... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	How to evolve human-like eyes that can stare at the sun without protection? Imagine a species that is very much like humans in shape, size and physiology. But they are able to stare at the sun for long periods without suffering any harm, and without needing any artificial device. Suppose the evolutionary pressure for this is that they come from a much brighter world. How c... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	Can the poison from Kingsmen be concocted? In the movie Kingsmen, there is a poison which behaves differently from most other poisons. It has to be ingested in order to kill, but that is not enough. It is harmless until a radio signal is broadcast close to the victim, which causes death in a few seconds. This allows spies and assassins to do... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	Could a passive radar-sighted creature see by space radio emissions? I am working on a world which is very dark due to an opaque gas layer in the hight atmosphere; but it is opaque mostly in the terahertz range. The creatures in this world therefore rely very little on visible light. Some creatures have evolved sensitivity to radio waves (inspired by a handful of ques... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	Rivers without rain On Earth, rivers are possible because rain and snow deposit water in high places. That water then forms rivers when flowing to lower places. Would it be possible to have the phenomena of rivers flowing into oceans on a planet where raining and snowing do not happen? If so, under what conditions coul... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	Exploding vertebrates Colobopsis ants explode when they are losing a fight, a behavior which is probably meant to discourage predators from hunting that species. It may also turn tides when in ant wars for territory. Would it be possible for vertebrates, specially mammals and birds to develop that ability, either through... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Question	—	How to create an artificial hurricane? Imagine a civilization capable of interstellar travel and building Dyson structures, so technological advancement and energy acquisition are not a concern. They found a planet that is very Earth like. And by Earth-like I mean it orbits a star similar to the sun, with an orbit similar to Earth's. It ... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Question	—	Is it possible to place a permanent probe on Uranus? Before anyone points the finger saying this is a tasteless joke, there are some actual good reasons to pick that specific planet for exploration among the giants in our solar system: Smallest mass among the giants means an easier time navigating its gravity well; Only giant panet with a surface gra... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically correct metalhead, part 2 - physiology In the Land of Metal, there exists a tribe that has upheld the gospel of Manowar with such zeal that it modified their bodies. Metalheads descend from humans, and may look human at a glance. A more careful examination, however, will reveal the traits their kind has acquired through the ages. These t... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically correct metalhead, part 1 - headbanging In the Land of Metal, there exists a tribe that has upheld the gospel of Manowar with such zeal that it modified their bodies. Metalheads descend from humans, and may look human at a glance. A more careful examination, however, will reveal the traits their kind has acquired through the ages. These t... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	How much medical information could we gather from a wrist-worn device? Context I have been thinking about the Pip Boy device from the Fallout series of videogames. It is a portable, wearable computer that can gather a lot of data about the user. It looks like this: And gives out readings such as this: Its "home" screen shows the user's medical condition. The Pip... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	Space vacuum food preservation In a world I am creating, some people have colonized Ceres-like and Moon-like worlds - that is, they live in domes or underground, in pressurized buildings. The planets have no atmosphere for all practical purposes. I am now working on such people's cultures, and I'm considering food. Would it be po... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	Explosion-powered low-tech elevator I am making a world where people live without access to many raw materials, including metals and wood. Among other things they harvest their own dead for a paper analogue. Another thing that is harvestable from corpses is gas, so I have been thinking. In our own world, people sit on airbags and acti... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	Seismotrophic microbes Earthquakes release a lot of energy, and some places on Earth have quakes happening very often. I have seen sources quoting the Earth having quakes from 20 to 1,400 times a day, depending on the Richter scale threshold you use to call a tremor an Earthquake. Most activity seems to be concentrated on ... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically correct sharknado shark Raining animals is a rare meteorological phenomenon in which flightless animals fall from the sky. Such occurrences have been reported in many countries throughout history. One hypothesis is that tornadic waterspouts sometimes pick up creatures such as fish or frogs, and carry them for up to sever... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Question	—	How to make it rain men properly? In a certain world there is a ruler who runs a very powerful country with an iron fist. A faction of oppositionists has been giving her lip and has made some mean comments implying she brings the country dishonor due to not being chaste. She wishes to punish those remarks by enacting a certain song ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Biological adaptations necessary for weaponized (or otherwise made useful) reflux I have been thinking about which mutants from Marvel are most realistic and Zeitgeist comes to mind. Long story short, his power is weaponized acidic vomit. He can spew it a few meters away at will. I am imagining a world where rather than superhero stuff, acidic vomit is something that humans have ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	A moon that is hard to orbit I had a dream last night where I was coordinating a space program for an Earth-like planet, with a Moon much like our own. The Moon in the dream had an annoying quirk... The space program kept sending hundreds of probes to try and orbit the Moon. Each probe managed to complete no more than a handfu... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically correct Zerg Overlord Zerg Overlords are flying alien creatures that aid their broods by managing lesser members of the swarm, transporting units within their carapaces, and alerting a hive about any danger they perceive with their heightened senses. They are also quite large: An inprisoned overlord, with a human clo... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How to go out for a walk in microgravity? Suppose that humanity has spread out through space. Humans are exploring all kinds of environments, including some with gravity much weaker than our Moon's: Ceres (surface gravity $=0.28 m/s^2$) Enceladus (surface gravity $=0.113 m/s^2$) Phobos (surface gravity $=0.0057m/s^2$) Atlas (surface gravit... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How could mammals evolve to resist damage from fire? In a story I am writing, some animals (including sentient ones) can touch fire without being harmed. Not any kind of fire, though. They can caress the fire of a candle with a finger, and they can have their paws or hands inside a fireplace for a few seconds with only some disconfort and pain but no ... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically Correct Graboid From the movie Tremors, behold the graboid: These are vicious, SUV to bus sized sandworms that have acquired a taste for human flesh. They are known to "swim" through the earth really fast too. I know some characteristics the graboids have in the movies are unrealistic (their speed comes to mind)... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How would we see the world if we could see polarized light? I am often fascinated by one of Earth's most magnificent beings, the mantis shrimp (also known as 1-2-3-death). These beautiful animals have sixteen kinds of colour receptive cones - compare to our measly three! They can also see polarized light in ways that we cannot. Which got me thinking... What ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically correct pixie I am thinking about the miniature kind of fae, like Tinker Bell. I think that class of faery would be the most likely to be able to fly realistically, due to the wingspan/body weight ratio. But would their lungs support their bodies if they were like our own? What do they eat? Where do they live? H... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Technological adaptations for colonization of a higher gravity world Suppose humanity found a rocky planet outside the solar system. It is in the habitable zone of its star, has breathable air, clean water etc. A true paradise. Only problem is, its surface gravity double that of Earth. Let's forget for a while that this is going to be extremely taxing on whatever co... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Slow killing atmosphere I have seen some questions asking whether some atmospheric compositions are survivable for humans. Most of them focus on long term survival, as in people being able to breathe indefinitely without the need for special apparatus, or at least with a breather. I want a variation of the second case. I a... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why would merfolk have hair? In a fictional world with merfolk, the hair could not be a part of their body at all, but some kind of algae or other organism that would look like hair to a human or humanoid observer from another species. The symbiote would simply prefer to attach to the merfolk's head and not other body parts due ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago