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I have an alien character who gets stronger over time but for the most part can control Vibrations.

At first he can only emit Vibrations from his hands but later on in the story he can control shape and manipulate the vibrations he create. So with this what could he do?(Like Daisy from Marvel Agents of Shield) How powerful could he become?

Also could he stop a bullet from a handgun thats in point blank range?

Example: slow the vibrations in the molecules in the air below your feet to temporarily turn them into a solid

If what I am asking is stupid I am sorry. I know I will get negged for some reason I don't know.

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    $\begingroup$ Maybe one question... vibrations of... what? Vibrations in itself isn't a thing. And I'm not sure you understand what you're talking about. I'd recomment to try to get better informed about the basic science (wikipedia would be a good start) and then, you'll be able to get a better answer. On the other hand, the site isn't suitable for too many questions at once, or open-ended questions. So you'd need to clarify those points as well. $\endgroup$
    – clem steredenn
    Jul 18, 2016 at 7:01
  • $\begingroup$ I can also emit vibrations from my hands, for example by snapping my fingers, or clapping, or drumming. $\endgroup$
    – hyde
    Jul 18, 2016 at 7:40
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    $\begingroup$ You really should make use of the sandbox on Worldbuilding Meta. Get feedback and help the wording or help you understand the flaws before actually posting! $\endgroup$
    – JDługosz
    Jul 18, 2016 at 10:50
  • $\begingroup$ When you say that he can control "the vibrations in the molecules..." that sounds a lot like saying that he can control an object's thermal energy. Basically, that he can make objects hotter or colder. The problem from a scientific standpoint is that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. That makes the ability a kind of magic unless your character is somehow moving energy around rather than creating and destroying. If the character can increase the thermal energy in a bullet (make its molecules move really quickly) then he could vaporize it. The bullet might still burn him. $\endgroup$
    – Hugh Meyers
    Jul 18, 2016 at 12:18
  • $\begingroup$ I find this a good and fascinating question, perhaps if you clarify, for example like this: control vibrations of chunks of matter producing or oppressing sound. I also agree with the comment of @HughMeyers. $\endgroup$
    – nalply
    Aug 13, 2019 at 9:21

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Thiiiiiiis... REALLY is up to you. See, vibrations at their most basic are just the transfer of kinetic energy from one object to another in such a way that it produces periodic oscillations. So really, the ability to make objects vibrate at a distance is no different from telekinesis in practice.

The problem with this as it relates to your question is that telekinesis, and indeed superpowers in general, rarely have any clearly defined energy source. This is important because what you can and can't do with telekinesis is largely defined by how much force you can exert with it, which loops back to how much energy you have at your disposal.

Most authors never bother to explain where the energy for telekinesis and other superpowers come from of course (because there is no good answer). So that means that your telekinesis or your vibrations are as strong as you feel they should be. They rely entirely on the elementary transfer of energy between objects, and since you have no clearly defined source of energy (and thus no limits), your powers can be as strong or as weak as you want them to be.

If you're asking what applications vibrations as a superpower could be used for, you could theoretically cause objects to combust or explode by vibrating their molecules at the right frequency. Similarly, you can demolish buildings and other structures by making them oscillate at the right frequencies (in theory at least). Earthquakes might be another interesting avenue to look into but your character would need to be really powerful to do that.

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Just mechanical vibrations or electromagnetic as well?

In the latter case, he can bend light, disrupt power and communications, melt/freeze objects just by looking at them, and generally interfere with any system that uses electrical or magnetic fields. Marvel severely underpowered Magneto. If you consider that most telecommunications are merely EM vibrations, he could control nuclear arsenals (or equivalent) anywhere in the world.

With just mechanical vibrations, assuming conservation of energy holds, he can deflect bullets, freeze/heat up an area/object (heat by transferring kinetic energy from somewhere else), demolish buildings (as pointed out above),cause fuel explosions, etc.

He can't STOP a bullet, as there would be too much energy to dissipate with ease; or freeze air solid, since it's mostly vacuum.

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Controlling vibrations just means he can sing, right? He can ditch the superhero gig and get a job on Broadway! Then there is no limit to his power.

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I doubt it's possible to stop a bullet with what is essentially sound but that's not to say this isn't an incredibly cool and useful ability. If your alien can control and sense vibrations in the same sense that Magneto can control magnetism then these are his advantages.

  1. He's aware of everything that happens around him, a lot of things make sound and there's a lot of sounds we can't hear, if your alien can sense vibrations well above and below our hearing that's essentially motion detecting radar which is an absolutely fantastic advantage in a gunfight.

  2. If he can sense an project vibrations then he has something like sonar, you alien doesn't need eyeballs anymore, his ability to telekinetically use sonar lets him not only "see" everything around him but also inside of everything.

  3. By phase shifting every sound he makes your alien is utterly silent, we rely heavily on sound to tell us where to direct our eyes and without it we're very easy to sneak up on.

  4. He can make illusionary sounds, basically your alien is going to get the drop on everybody every time which honestly is better than being able to stop bullets, he doesn't have to stop them because he can ambush people so effectively they'll never have a chance to attack him.

  5. Brown note.

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Oscillations can disintegrate, heat and if adjusted properly can cool a solid. A disintegrated bullet won't do much damage. He can also heat up the gun so it will blow up at the hand of its owner. But as Z. Schroeder said, this would require tons of energy.

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