Activity for Andon‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Why would my species expose their brains through a glass dome? It is precisely those diseases and bacteria that make the brain need to be visible and, potentially, accessible. The bacteria and diseases attack the brain from the outside in, and they leave discoloration in their wake. Since they attack the outside protective layers first, this means that if one's... (more)	—	almost 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: What problems would arise for the human species making itself into robots OK. So. Here's the assumptions I'm making with this answer: Humanity has figured out how to transfer their minds into robot minds These (base) robot bodies are on par with human bodies, in terms of dexterity, strength, etc. Parts can be replaced and repaired. All of them. If we can upload to one br... (more)	—	almost 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: Physiology of a heart hijacking parasite? As @vodolaz095 mentioned, this isn't something that could happen quickly - @John O's answer points out a lot of the issues that show up there. There is a parasite that does something marginally similar - Cymothoa exigua. This lovely parasite will sever the blood vessels in the fish's tongue, causing... (more)	—	almost 5 years ago
Question	—	How long would a stoplight work after the apocalypse? The apocalypse has come! Everything is dead, and I do mean everything. People. Animals. Plants. Don't ask how, I'm not entirely sure. Let's assume this town is in an out-of-the way area as far as natural disasters go. It's not somewhere that gets slammed by hurricanes, or is prone to earthquakes, or... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: What advantages could I give to "Halflings" to make them viable The biggest problem with spacecraft is weight. You want things to weigh less and less. So, your halflings have a natural advantage in spaceflight. This means that, while it seems you are fighting over a single planet, the halflings are going to have an advantage in space. While hardware requirements... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Cycle of Reincarnation - Bypassing the wait When they died matters The universe likes to keep things in balance, but the universe - not being sapient - is quite dumb about it. So, a body that dies of old age at 80, 90, etc years old will take the normal time to re-birth. A child? They didn't even have a chance to have new experiences, so they... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How would a sapient species descended from felids become herbivorous? Farming and direct choice It is a lot easier to farm plants than it is to farm animals, and easier to store them as well. You don't have to feed the dried apples you have in your storehouse over the winter. Cattle still have to be fed, which means you're growing and storing the food anyway. Instead... (more)	—	about 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What mechanism can prevent super-healing heroes from accidentally budding? Cells are semi-psychic Each cell emits a small psychic aura, which is strengthened by the cells around it. This aura operates outside the realm of physics (On another plane of existence, perhaps?), and all cells can 'detect' the aura at any range, instantaneously. The aura can't transmit information... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Would lower gravity lead to earlier spaceflight? This is in regards to the Tyranny of Rocket Fuel. Summed up: Heavier ships need more fuel which makes them heavier, etc. You end up with diminishing returns. This is compounded by higher gravity - Everything is heavier in the first place. There's an article that claims that, beyond 1.5g, conventional... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What software could I use to simulate my world's sky? Astrosynthesis is a nice generator that could fit your needs. It's a paid-for program, but it also has a 14-day trial so you can see what it has. It lets you generate stars as well as show them on a number of map types. I've fiddled around with it before, and I think you can do things to make conste... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can Pinnipeds Fit in a Worm Forest? An acre is, with rounding, a square with a side length of just under 210 feet. With 53 worms per acre, each worm has about 820 ft/sq - Or, a square with a side length of just under 29 feet. Dispersed evenly, your worms will be 30ft apart. Plenty of room for pretty much anything not whale-sized to f... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Alternative biological oxidizer A concept I've encountered a few times is aliens with "vastly" different biology than terrestrial creatures. In this case, I'm interested in replacing the parts that use oxygen with something a bit milder (a worse oxidizer). I'm looking for something that would, biologically, serve the same function... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Would naturally occuring room temperature superconductors affect a planet? Say we have a planet, similar to Earth, which has deposits of a naturally occuring superconductor. Perhaps have it about as common as deposits of gold - Moderately rare, but occurs in veins as opposed to being "evenly" spread out. Similar assumptions and comparisons can be made about its presence in ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Generating and storing power in a post-apocalyptic world Aqua power is going to be the easiest to harness, especially with the (Personal opinion: Ridiculous) restriction of no mining. Without any organized industry (Opinion the same as the above), you can't make anything remotely like a steam engine or internal combustion engine. They're just too complex ... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Question	—	Can a Prototaxite be used for a wood equivalent? Prototaxites. Giant, finger-shaped mushrooms. Painting by Mary Parrish, National Museum of Natural History. These monsters existed before trees did, and while there are a few theories on whether they actually existed as depicted above, for the sake of the fact that I'm going with an alien planet,... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Question	—	What aquatic creatures would survive a large-end mass extinction? I want this world to have two things, typically on the complete opposite end of geological timescales: Land fauna is incredibly "Young" - Pretty much nothing larger than a "large" insect (Some liberties allowed), and even the flora isn't that complex. Still need some tree-analog, though. Radioactiv... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Drop capsule shape Use a MOOSE Or, rather in this case, a COOSE, but that sounds less cool. MOOSE stands for Man Out Of Space Easiest. The general concept is a teadrop-shaped device, but it's inflatable. Deflated, it doesn't take up a lot of space. Inflate it and shove it down from orbit, and there you go. For this,... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Question	—	How does a small starting population affect diversity of a colony? Scenario: A colony of 20,000 is founded, and has no access to any further inhabitants. Assuming this colony is humans of varying traits (genetics such as skin color, eye color, etc) with no single one significantly outnumbering any other, and ignoring any other genetic issues from the population size... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to keep my colonists primitive? Absolutely nothing That is, more accurately, that nothing has stifled their progress, and their civilization is right where it naturally would be. Well, natrually other than the fact that they were uplifted. Think of this: Ancient Egypt was more than 5,000 years ago, and your advanced aliens/gods h... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Question	—	Will these foods provide sufficient nutrition? A few of my previous questions have mentioned that the colonists to this world will be scrambling to get whatever foods they can grow, because the planet's fauna is largely nonexistent (There's sea life, but not much else) and the flora offers little to no nutrition due to different biology. With th... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can Dwarves produce honey underground? The dwarves can keep the bees in the caverns, but provide them with suitable exits. You have your beekeepers on the upper levels of the cities. You'll need ventilation somehow to allow for your city to breathe, so these vents can be plenty useful for the bees to exit and re-enter. The beekeepers don... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Question	—	Impact of lack of fauna on an industrialized society Related to a previous question which focused more on surviving on such a world. This presumes a significant advancement in technologies - that is, to 1940s-1950s level technology. There are some differences, primarily in aircraft, but assumptions about historic tech can generally be presumed to hold... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the risks with massive banks of batteries/capacitors? Watch this overly gratuitously destructive video of some poor normal capacitors. Those are low-voltage low-capacitance capacitors. And they still have a decent amount of force to them. A high-voltage high-capacitance capacitor would be, in a word, cataclysmic to anything nearby. Something powerful... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does gravity effect the density of water on an ocean planet? Water is, generally speaking, incompressible. It doesn't act like other liquids, at least not until you treat is as though it's already at absurd compression as it is. I highly doubt that water would be functionally different. Additionally, a fun fact pertaining to water: If it floats, it will float... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: A Possible Celestial Object Hidden from the Bright Side of a Tidally Locked Planet A synchronized orbit like you described is, simply put, not possible. For every orbit, there is a set speed for that orbit. No faster and no slower. Gaining or losing speed changes the orbital properties. So, something in a further orbit would have a different orbital period. Additionally, eccentric... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it realistic to have a moon made of antimatter? Is it realistic - No. Very, very much no. Planets all form from the same disk, so having one moon be antimatter while everything else is regular matter is... not exactly plausible. There are a small handful of ways that an extrasolar object could be captured, but stars form in groups - of largely the... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Impact of living on a world with no terrestrial fauna Assume Humanity was really wrecked by some malignant force, and a group managed to escape and find a habitable planet and 'settle' it. They weren't able to bring along much in the way of advanced technology, but they were able to bring along relevant knowledge. So, while they reverted to the 'Middle ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it possible for a planetary ring to exist beyond a planet's Rochelimit? The answer is, in short, Yes. Saturn, for example, has several ring moonlets and shepherd moons. Additionally, the Roche Limit varies depending on the size and composition of the satellite itself. One satellite can tolerate a bit more or a bit less than another one. So, theoretically, you can have... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can a creature's physiology involuntary react to whether a child is being raised or not? Pheromones. Simply put, the child gives off the Pheromones. Spending time near the child, such as via raising, would cause the parents to undergo these sorts of changes. Once the child matures, they no longer give off the Pheromones so the parents can go back to mating. This does have some weird im... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	High-speed shieldless spacecraft requirements In my Sci-Fi universe, I want humans to, initially, have two traits to their spaceship building: Really good drive systems, at least compared to other races. Complete and utter lack of any sci-fi "Deflectors" From everything I know, this leads to a ship needing a heavily armored prow to withstand... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Feasibility and challenges of a kingdom existing within an eternal night? There's a really simple solution here that I'm surprised nobody has touched on. You simply have it in really northern or southern latitudes, and have the planet have a minimal axial tilt. Orient the mountains so that they're towards the equator, and you have even more of a barrier to sunlight. Esse... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Could a geothermal plant work for several millennia From my understanding of geology, the answer is Yes. This is, of course, discounting anything to do with maintaining the facility over such a time period. The biggest issue that I can see is plate tectonics. Hawaii is/was formed by a hotspot in the plate, which moves while the islands themselves don... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does a compound exist that can phase shift between gas and solid/liquid when electricity is applied? Without knowing why you want this, it's hard to give a proper answer. As Will mentioned, direct electric boiling is possible, and indirect condensation is also possible. It's incredibly inefficient and very slow. Playing with the laws of physics gives you a much more rapid option, but with significa... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can Nebulae be harvested? It's incredibly impractical to attempt to harvest a nebula. Density of a Nebula is somewhere between 100 and 10,000 particles per cubic centimeter. Really, really young nebula can have about 1,000,000 particles per cubic centimeter. For comparison, sea level atmosphere has about 25,000,000,000,000,... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	How deep must a submarine dive to avoid megastorms? In a previous question, I established an area that creates megastorms. Unlike a bunch of my other questions, this one is incredibly straightforward: Just how deep does a submarine (Or aquatic life, for that matter) have to dive in order to safely ignore a large-scale storm? It doesn't necessarily ha... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Man-powered spacecraft for sport Solar Sails. Without any sort of compressed gas, chemical reactions, or flywheels, the only way you're going to get a spacecraft to move is via something outside. A human simply cannot provide any means of propulsion - Or, for that matter, attitude control - for a vehicle in space. All earth-based v... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Discovering an AI in a human body Our AI in question inhabits a synthetic brain housed in an organic and genetically modified human body (With a few other cybernetics). This body/brain combination was the result of a black project aimed to create super-soldiers (Why is it always super-soldiers?), and every synthetic brain produced as... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	"Night" sky between galaxies Say we're on a ship traveling between the Milky Way and Andromeda. We decide to stop and take a look out our space-windows. What do we see? I'm presuming that the Milky Way and Andromeda would both be large and easily visible. But what about the other galaxies, further away? Would stuff normally re... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Cauldron of Storms: Geography to create and isolate localized mega-storms Welcome to the Black Cauldron. The Cauldron of Storms, even. It's a sunny day now, perfect for fishing. Just not here. There's no boats on the water. The weather can go bad, quickly. And anything on the water then... Well, there's plenty of wrecks on the bottom. Big ships. Little ships. Sometimes peo... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What purpose could baseline humans possibly serve in a society of digitized minds? Population Growth As @c.z. touched on, digital minds are just that - digital minds. If you clone a mind, that's all it is - A clone of the original, or originals. It wouldn't be unique. Adding a biological component would make it truly unique. Adding on this, as others have said the numerous costs i... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	Antimatter Explosion Signature The DoomFleet returns! And this time, it's with a more "Conventional" weapon - That is, projectiles with an antimatter core. Ultra-simple explanation is they have a "small" amount of antimatter in them, maybe a few dozen grams, suspended by some "basic" EM field. Of course, being projectiles, when t... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	Removing an atmosphere from a previously-habitable world Alien AI DoomFleet has a mission: Destroy threats to their creator. They do this by detecting the signature of FTL drives, going to the system, and blowing everything up, up to and including the homeworld. For thematic purposes, I want the worlds to be stripped of their atmosphere. I'm not sure wher... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What does a small fusion reaction sound like? I imagine it'd sound a lot like the sun or a star would, but it wouldn't necessarily be extremely loud. Most sound comes not from the fusion reaction, the fission reactions, burning coal, or whatever the source of energy is, but the equipment that is being used to gather the power being produced. An... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	Determining sufficient nutrition with minimal technology We're in a military space cruiser, designed for in-system patrolling. We're selected to test out a prototype FTL drive. The initial tests are supposed to be short-ranged in-system hops. A disaster happens and we're forced to make an unprepared long-distance jump to a distant system. Thankfully, we k... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Could a human survive 5Gs for about two days using existing or near future technology? Lying on their back, on a bed made of some form of comfortable and supportive material, I'd say it's likely that they could survive. The bigger problems come from laying on your back for two days: Hydration and Eating At 5Gs, eating anything will be difficult. Not to mention, have you tried eating ... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How would one destroy a black hole? So. Black holes are hard to approach. Time gets a little, shall we say, funky as you get closer. And then, of course, there's the tide. They'll tear a ship apart quicker than anything. I won't even give more than a cursory nod to the radiation, as we're all familiar with that. So, obviously, dropping... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to send a message to the past using a precognizant rabbit? You are, in essence, talking to yourself. So you need to make a set of rules that you'll follow. Let's say we have the rabbit in a long cage, and we use Morse Code to communicate with ourselves. We can convince the rabbit to go to one end of the cage or another - And designate one end as a dot, the o... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Where is the best place to park your damaged spaceship, longterm? A simple extremely high orbit, such as the aptly named Graveyard Orbit - These orbits are really high and designed so that the satellites will be there for a very, very long time. An orbit should be able to be accomplished outside the ring system (And thus, outside major influence from the moons). F... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Gripping with radial palms Round objects would be preferred. They'd probably hold cups from the bottom. That would change how their things would be designed more than anything else. They'd like things like stick shifts and levers with knobs more than, say, a steering wheel. I don't think they'd have too much issue with pickin... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	Psychological impact of being immortal Imagine a meta-human, one engineered to be immortal. A combination of cybernetic enhancements, genetic engineering, and other scientific modifications have made it so this human will not die from aging, and is very hard to kill. They are designed to be a magnificent soldier, and if they start sufferi... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago

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