Activity for Mikey‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Question	—	How large would an artificial object need to be for us to detect it near Proxima Centauri 4+ light years away, aliens living on Proxima Centauri B have space travel and incredible technology, but are not interested in traveling out of their system or in returning our radio-babble, rather going about their business. They have built in their solar system a very large structure as a cultura... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Why would Mars rovers talk to each other? In my near future of manned Mars exploration, NASA/ESA/etc have a dozen or so rovers spread out around Mars. For scientific purposes, the rovers 'talk' to each other via low and high gain antennae bounced off of several orbiters. The rovers are similar to ours today and far enough away that they wi... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	What happens when my airplanes go into space? Obviously, it's not a good idea. The premise: An advanced species has a plot to remove everything in our airspace and place it 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth. Their purpose is a misguided idea to study our air-faring elements. The birds, the kid skip-roping, the hot air balloons and sky-d... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	What is the smallest planetary mass that can prevent 'me' from flying off into space? I have a series of astronauts landing on an asteroid. I'd like to know the threshold of mass for them to not fly off into space. Specifications: Assumption is all astronauts are under 180cm, 80kg. Assumption is an astronaut may jump lightly and not fly off into space. Request is a comfortable ra... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	How wide would my cylinder be to allow air 500m below water surface? I'd like my (very well funded) group of scientists to conduct an important excavation, in-situ with fully breathable air and comfort. I realize a pipe down to the surface would require a pump and could cause issues. What I'd like is a cylinder wide enough that there is natural ventilation, and they... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Question	—	Is it possible that a group of people can hear radio frequency (naturally) In my narrative several people can hear a soft buzzing when it is very quiet. It's almost unintelligible, but discovered it is what's on the radio. The people aren't related, but they may be very distant relatives. I'm thinking there's a trigger gene that, say, when they hit their head a certain w... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How viable are my glass towers with (Arab-Islamic) Renaissance technology/engineering? In my alternate history, during the Islamic golden age (in this case, 9th century Arabia - present day Oman), my characters are building a series of glass towers. They are like lighthouses traversing from present-day Muscat to Niswah; 6 towers, one every five miles (total 30 mile journey). For aest... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	What happens when we travel to our new dimension? My advanced human society understands how to search & find data on other dimensions; as well, we can travel if they're compatible. For years all we've found was data indicating dimensions with totally different laws of physics and chaos, many without space as we know it. Finally, we've found a di... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Can a plant evolve to give off CO2? In my alternate history (1800s), I have troop hiking through tropical sub-Saharan Africa. For plot reasons, I have man-killing mosquitos, but I also have a plant that exudes CO2 and other attractants. These flowering plants are placed in the room at night to attract the mosquitos away from people. ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How far in the future can my protagonist travel without getting sick? I'd like to send my protagonist permanently into the near-ish future. I suspect that something as simple as the common cold could be deadly to my protagonist once we get a little further along. I am looking for a rule of thumb that there might be, in science or hard science-fiction. Setting aside ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How can I avoid a spark on an oxygen-rich planet My NASA-like scientists in a system far, far away, but otherwise similar to us today, understand that their nearest sister planet, Sunev, is habitable for mankind. With one exception: it is almost pure oxygen. My space program really wants to get a scientist out there, but the likelihood of entry a... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Can a star be so distant/isolated that its 'Earth' can't see other stars? I'm putting together a scenario, where a "Sun" and some debris are flung so distant that 14 billion years after the big bang, it has an "Earth" (and maybe some other minor rocky/icy objects), but no stars are observable to the naked eye. I know we can't see anything other than our own galaxy with th... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	How can I connect the rotating portion of my space craft to the non-rotating? I have a large rotating (think wagonwheel) portion of a space-craft that, at the hub, connects to a non-rotating scientific research station. Imagine a football (soccer) field sized research and logistics station in microgravity, connected to a hub of a rotating space colony. The floating scientist... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	What is the best way to use my two portals? To avoid being too broad, I'd like to use the portals for purely altruistic purposes (health, environment, safety), and not for scientific or military acheivement (e.g. - not an instant space elevator, which would be to save money and a bit of the 'ol environment). My fairly well-to-do scientist is ... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	How could 1BC Earth speed up communication across vast distances? Tech level is early Rome, China, Ethiopia, etc. first century BC. Unlike history, there's peace and cooperation among all the benign monarchies of the whole Earth. But it's hard to get daily communication from (now) peaceful Rome to (now) peaceful imperial China, for example, and back to Ethiopia.... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	What would cause a supermassive plateau that sticks out of the ocean On an Earth-like planet, there is a massive plateau, standing more than 1km high, and the breadth of a continent in the middle of an otherwise ocean planet. I know there are climactic issues to this, but instead of hand-waving it, the best answer would explain the processes that created this steep, ... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	What happened when my scientist drilled a hole through Europa's "crust"? I gave this a quick test on sandbox, and agreed with the comment that I should steer away from the physics part and focus on the geology, etc. Assuming Europa's ice crust is 10km thick as some speculate, and my explorers bore a drill-hole 1m in radius to the salt water below, would that create some ... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	What modifications are needed for my sea creature to able to hold its breath for weeks? Sperm whales can go 90 minutes at a time without needing to surface. I am interested in an idea for a creature that is air-breathing, but spends a lot of time at depths of (100m to 300m) and sometimes briefly on land. An adult is about the size of a human, and is warm-blooded, although not necessa... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	How can I effectively drain Salt Lake and can it be useful? The time is near-future. For peripheral reasons, the United States and the people of Utah have just had it with the Great Salt Lake: everyone wants it empty. There is a justified need to use the basin of the 4,400 km2 of the basin; dry, it is not a dire emergency: the studies, environmental impact st... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	What logistics are required to close a city - from the inside? It is near future, Portland, Oregon, and the residents and neighboring farmers are sick of everyone moving there now that climate change has made it a (even more) fabulous place to live. In an extreme gesture, the entire city decides to build a wall around the city and neighboring farms, and (hand-w... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	How deep should our colony be on the Moon/Mars? I am a staunch believer that any near-future permanent colony on the Moon or Mars should be built underground, at least the living spaces, due to the harmful effects of radiation. What is the gradient (or is there a rule of thumb) for depth beneath the surface that we should build the habitats for l... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	Would it be impossible for me to have a nebula in my planet's night sky? I'd like to be able to see from my Earth-like planet, a very bright nebula that can even be seen during the daytime. I question, however, whether that is possible, because in order for it to be contained in our viewing, it would have to be so far away as we wouldn't see it (since they're hundreds of... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	Under what parameters can my 'rocketeer' survive? Assumptions for the story: The rocket pack is not unlike the scenario of the movie when I was little, "Rocketeer," in terms of viability. I have hand-waved it in my story. The rocket pack should be assumed for this question to be unlimited in fuel and power without subjecting harm to the character... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	Can I have a very dense asteroid belt ring around a star? I'd like to have an advanced civilization that lives in a ring around their sun, but a ring planet just can't work. In this case, they are among densely agglomerated asteroids (with life support, there's no atmosphere or anything) about as far out as our first asteroid belt, and have built bridges, ... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	Can I put a sphere around my asteroid? A different form and function of a Dyson sphere. It is fairly far in the future and the residents of a D-type spherical asteroid (similar in size to Deimos, 6km radius). They've been living in habitats and small domes dotted across the surface, with material shipped in and out. Instead of living und... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can my large, urban trophy float? The city - a modern, sterile 'utopia' (with the undercurrents of government control and suppression, of course), that can be current tech, or future tech so long as the day-to-day lives are in current tech. Lots of surveillance, propoganda, etc., but people seem to go about happy for the most part. ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can I get soil for my Martians? We've created a series of mechanisms to terraform the temperature and atmosphere to be Earthlike. My geologists are screaming at me, because a lot of features are being rapidly eroded by the new hydrological process. Anywho. I still don't have soil. Our agronomists are great with hydroponics, but... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What is the best practice for (alien) archaeology? We're a lovely, ethical, near-future population of Earthlings, and prepared to begin terraforming Mars (yes, I went there: set it aside). We have just stumbled on remnants of an alien civilization that both dates to around the same time as our Phoenicia in terms of relative technology and social n... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How would people adapt to a wet world? In the near future, we've decided to send a permanent colony to Planet W. In my story, this planet has ankle-deep freshwater covering the surface. The 'surface' underneath this ankle-deep water varies from smooth stones and clear water, to an organic, murky mud or clay, to sparkling sandy beach: all ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How would our society react to a major time-jump? Our omniscient God has decided to intervene for (arguably, if you ask some religious people) the first time at least in a very long time. For matters unknown to us, He has frozen all time on Earth, but has not frozen the cosmos outside of the planet; every molecule, every person, every satellite and... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can I explain a sudden abundance of naturally-occurring beer? Researchers are scratching their heads, and Portland Water Bureau is furious. In Portland, Oregon, a reservoir in one of the City parks has begun spilling out a river of naturally occurring beer/ale. How can this happen? I'd like to avoid magic or human intervention in favor of a series of coincid... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can I get a very large air bubble floating under Europa's ice? I hope this isn't a stupid question ("just add air"). I would like my intrepid explorers to have drilled through the ice of Europa and into the water without creating a geyser (they plugged the hole behind them). This is assuming a liquid subsurface ocean. Once under the ice, they encountered a ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How could a simple submarine be built using 100 BC technology? I have some ideas, but I'd like my fictional Roman (100BC) General Mikey (ha) to build a submarine(s). This should be able to navigate in lakes and calm shores of the Mediterranean, succeed in bringing down simple boats loaded with soldiers, and finally, travel longer than "just as much air is insid... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What forces should I consider for my hotel room on the Space Elevator? I asked a similar question (in a SpaceEx manner) on Space Exploration, but here I've made it a bit more ... worldbuilding. We have a nice Space Elevator, and I'm in charge of the luxury guest accommodation for the six-day round trip. Setting aside the design considerations, I am interested in what ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How many people are required for a healthy re-population of the Earth (Post-Apocalypse)? In my particular Earth, much has remained after the human-killing virus, and nature is thriving - even taking over the cities. It's beautiful. But I have separated the healthy populace in orbit until it was safe to return. In a near-future scenario, where I have rescued only a few non-related pe... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What do you suppose the environmental impact assessments should be in near future? Inevitably, we will be colonizing and impacting other planetary bodies, whether for establishing life or drilling/mining. Today, you can expect on Earth there will be environmental requirements for development in both Western and many under-developed countries. The EU and UN require SEAs, the US re... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can I rationalize my object of no light? On today's Earth, a mysterious cube of no light has appeared, about the size of a house. It's confounding, because it appears to have the mass of stone, by the way it is difficult to move and the impression it makes in the sand. It appears black, but darker - as in it doesn't reflect visible light.... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	New York to Los Angeles using no fuel In my very lengthy story in the near future, there are some great 'Modern Marvels'. The next one I'm going to introduce might not be feasible, but if it is, I'd like to attach some numbers to it. The Secretary for Urban & Regional Development with the Federal Highway Administration have secured the... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Stumped: How can I get a huge Earth-like planet? I hope this isn't too broad. I would like an Earth-like planet for November's NaNoWriMo that is just enormous, but plausible. Then I started to get into material composition, proximity to the star, trying to achieve the right densities - well, you get the idea. I'm trying to have 10x the radius of... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How can people naturally become smaller? Over the course of Homo-sapiens, we have become larger, because of diet & selection. Even in the last couple centuries. Today, we vary across geography and cultures, too, of course. Now it is thousands of years in the future (your call) and people live happily on Earth, but have evolved to be much... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What are the design considerations for my underwater settlement? I have made my billions here in the present day, and I'd like to have a permanent underwater settlement. It is about as useless as the Mars One mission (yes, I went there), but some people may come and go as they like or can afford to. This is fully pressurized and connection with the outside wor... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	What are the possibilities of a dwarf planet orbiting opposite Earth's orbit? I am drafting a short story about a small object orbiting the Sun at the precise 'speed' as Earth's opposite the Sun, undiscovered by us due to its position. The problems I see with this include the following. We would have detected it by now, because of the gravity that impacts other objects in t... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Question	—	What happens to air pressure if the ice caps completely melt? Apologies; it just didn't seem like an appropriate question for Earth Science or Biology. Let me know if I'm incorrect. Maybe Physics? If all the ice, permafrost, ice caps, etc. melted due to global warming, and became water, would there be a significant, or even deadly (to us) change in the pressu... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago