Linked Questions

28 votes
5 answers
3k views

How much can a magician lift if constrained by her own body's energy?

In Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle ( the Eragon books ), magic works in a very specifically defined way. A magician can only use magic as far as his own bodily strength would be able to take ...
Shokhet's user avatar
  • 2,831
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Magic and physics with human power output

I had a look at this question, and though about magic and the human body's energy output. I remember calculating the energy require to walk up a 3.4m staircase quickly in a school physics lesson once....
AJF's user avatar
  • 287
8 votes
4 answers
3k views

How much energy do plants produce?

Consider a magic system that follows the Eragon model; "doing it by magic takes just as much (biological) energy as doing it the mundane way". In Eragon, magical energy can be drawn from other living ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 14.4k
3 votes
1 answer
696 views

How can wizards do such powerful things running on pure human metabolism? [duplicate]

In fiction, we often see magic used for very flashy effects (like, say, fireballs). But human metabolic output doesn't seem powerful enough to account for things like this. Is it possible to build a ...
Kevin's user avatar
  • 931
4 votes
3 answers
355 views

How can I meaningfully define the energy cost of magical levitation?

In the world I'm building, there is a form of "magic"¹ that effectively amounts to metabolism-powered telekinesis. In particular, there is a maximum power limit of approximately 20 W/kg relative to a ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 14.4k
6 votes
1 answer
416 views

Does "kinetic magic" (essentially telekinesis) imply unlimited energy?

In another question, I talked about a form of magic that converts metabolic energy (i.e. the energy produced by biological processes in "animals", which for this purpose includes e.g. yeast) into ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 14.4k
6 votes
1 answer
269 views

Tiny electrical generator?

Background My world has a form of magic that is similar to telekinesis; that is, it makes things move. I also have technology that is essentially the same as today's real world. Thinking about it, ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 14.4k
2 votes
2 answers
313 views

How much energy could yeast produce?

In this question, I asked about using living things as power sources for metabolism-based magic, and concluded that yeast (most likely bred specifically for the purpose) seem like a good candidate for ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 14.4k
-1 votes
2 answers
191 views

Using magic to replicate modern technology [closed]

In a fantasy world that operates with magic, can wizards and mages use their abilities to replicate modern technology? For example either a flashlight or a modern aircraft? How would they accomplish ...
Randomuser's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
151 views

Would "slave labor" (magic/telekinesis) help with garbage processing?

Here's a sort of offbeat question. My world has "telekinetic magic"; details later, but grossly simplified, it can be thought of as ethical slave labor. Would this be useful for garbage ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 14.4k