Questions tagged [alternate-earth]
For questions relating to radically changed Earth. This alternate Earth could be a post-apocalyptic Earth, or Earth with major changes in the current social/political/economical schemes.
258
questions
33
votes
16
answers
6k
views
How could mankind of ancient times cause significant climate change?
They don't posses any advanced knowledge, their knowledge is in fact irrelevant, just their possible actions (it doesn't matter how irrational those actions might be) that would cause significant ...
- 619
33
votes
10
answers
6k
views
How dangerous are animals with no history of human contact?
Wild animals like wolves, lions and bears rarely attack people. They behave as though they know humans are dangerous and generally best avoided.
Imagine a group of people traveling sideways in time, ...
- 4,888
32
votes
8
answers
5k
views
Is there a reason why a country would only use open negotiations?
For plot reasons I need a country that will always negotiate with foreign delegations using open door policy. The media can watch and record the negotiations but they can't participate.
Is there a ...
- 997
29
votes
17
answers
5k
views
How to explain human life expectancy increase?
What could be most reasonable explanation for rapid increase in life expectancy for all people on earth?
Some points:
Effect can be increased over time: 100 years in 2020, 140 - in 2030.. and so on,...
- 528
28
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Biplanes landing on top of skyscrapers by means of a wind tunnel in retro-future Earth
In a retro-future version of Earth, one of the main modes of air travel is by gasoline-powered biplane (design circa 1914).
I want these to land in places where in real-life Earth only helicopters ...
- 49.3k
24
votes
5
answers
3k
views
How To Make Earth's Oceans as Brackish as Lyr's
Allow me to present Lyr, one of a handful of worlds crafted by artist Chris Wayan:
The one detail among a vast many that is important to this question is that its salinity is about 1.5%, roughly half ...
- 14.5k
22
votes
11
answers
4k
views
Biological duck tape - how does it grow and how did it evolve?
Imagine vast areas covered in sheets of a (preferably grey) biological waterproof material that is stuck to the rocks below it.
Humans come along at harvest time and cut these sheets into strips, peel ...
- 49.3k
22
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Finding real world historic examples of cultures/organizations/tribes to represent Orcs
I plan to make this a series of questions to avoid being overly broad. Each question will address a particular fantasy species ("race" in RPG terms).
The traits will be based on the content included ...
- 32.8k
20
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Economic super power with little political clout?
Is it possible for a country to be economic & technological super power but to have relatively little political clout?
If its possible under what circumstances it could happen?
- 997
20
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How would human civilisation develop with little iron?
Imagine a planet that's identical in pretty much every aspect (including Homo Sapiens) to our own current Earth, with only a single exception - the continental crust has, for whatever reason, much ...
- 1,465
18
votes
10
answers
2k
views
Is there a way to have coal but not oil?
Reading this answer I realized that for my purposes I don't really want a fully steampunk world. All I want is lack of cars and planes as we know them, and lack of oil, or inaccessible deposits of oil,...
- 33.1k
18
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Assuming a flat world and no obstacles, how far could you see?
I know this question has been asked in similar places, but I'm after a specific part of the problem. Assuming the following:
Perfectly flat, infinite world
Earth's atmosphere
Sun directly overhead of ...
- 585
17
votes
13
answers
2k
views
Noah's flood actually happened. When does science prove that it happened?
Plot
Noah's Flood actually happened more or less as written. Suddenly appearing flood waters covered the Earth, excepting a few mountain tops, and all land animals had to wait it out on an Ark. The ...
- 85.1k
17
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Could deliberately induced Kessler Syndrome stop ICBMs?
In a previous question I asked how Mutually Assured Destruction could be made not assured. Most of the highly rated answers focused on political methods, but one answer raised the possibility that ...
- 3,529
13
votes
13
answers
6k
views
Is this state of Earth possible, after humans left for a million years?
It is the year 4056 (or probably later). The rocket with the last residents of Earth just took off, because global warming and pollution couldn't be stopped nor reverted and Earth became uninhabitable....
- 351
13
votes
23
answers
6k
views
Reasons why a high tech species does not have space travel
I am writing a story where humanity has advanced technology, but I want to give a justification for why they are still on their planet. Here humanity has advanced ai, superconductors, laser weapons ...
- 169
13
votes
19
answers
4k
views
What aspect of planet Earth must be changed to prevent the industrial revolution?
I am thinking of a planet (I suppose one would call it a parallel earth) where the industrial revolution never happens, and people live with 1700s technology forever. What differences in resources/...
- 281
13
votes
13
answers
2k
views
In a world of groovy super spies, how would a spy cross a ravine?
I'm developing an alternate Earth where super spies exist. Men and women of extraordinary skill with extraordinary gadgets who act in extraordinary ways to protect the proverbial "King and ...
- 116k
13
votes
5
answers
1k
views
An Inverse Great Dying
252 million years ago, the worst event in the history of life on Earth occurred. 70% of all terrestrial species and 96% of all marine species became extinct through, according to geological records, ...
- 14.5k
12
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Would it be possible to turn off a small country's internet from the outside? [closed]
Let's say a country is going through political turmoil because a big enough part of the population wants to split off from it and form their own national identity, and they succeed. Let's call the ...
- 121
11
votes
11
answers
4k
views
Would human civilization develop at a slower pace if Earth was 5.8x larger?
EDIT:
Calculations were incorrect, the earth in my comic is not 5.8x larger, it is 2.4x larger. Its surface area is 5.8x larger but the diameter is 2.4x larger.
Anyway
I'm working on a comic that ...
- 764
11
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Could a planet have a naturally occuring moon at one of its Lagrange points?
Would it be possible for a planet to naturally have a moon or large natural satellite at one of its Lagrange points?
If so would it then also be able to have a second moon that would be orbiting this ...
- 111
11
votes
8
answers
3k
views
What key invention allows the exploration of my hot humid world?
I want to know what key invention would allow my civilization to travel down to and explore its world at sea level. This is similar to my previous question* but this time does not assume metals are in ...
- 36.9k
11
votes
4
answers
247
views
Utility of a domesticated dwarf elephant
In prehistoric times, there used to be a dwarf elephant species in many Mediterranean islands.
They were about 1.5-2 meters high, but probably became extinct before the arrival of the first human ...
- 7,309
10
votes
11
answers
5k
views
Are airships practical in a world without much metal?
Following on from my previous question about airship engines, I was planning to limit the development of the internal combustion engine and much modern technology in my world by greatly restricting ...
- 36.9k
10
votes
9
answers
2k
views
How to slow and limit the scope of the internal combustion engine in powering an airship
I need to limit the development of the internal combustion engine so that it is only available in small numbers to few individuals and does not progress technically, or at least only progresses slowly....
- 36.9k
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Could Cats Add Lots of Plants to Their Diet?
Because nature is never straightforward, there are different levels of carnivores. On the lowest rung of the ladder are the hypocarnivores, in which meat can't take any more than 30% of their caloric ...
- 14.5k
10
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Could humans wipe out all remaining wild vertebrates on Earth in one year, if no effort is spared in doing so?
Humans already exterminated more than 50 % of wild vertebrates individuals since 1970 1, 2.
I was wondering if it is possible to wipe out the remaining 50 % in less than a year ?
Note that, in this ...
- 2,127
10
votes
2
answers
645
views
Nocturnal Photosynthesis
It's a basic fact that most plants need sunlight to generate growth. Sure, they also need water and nutrients, but their reliance on sunlight is the one sole thing that separates them from animals.
...
- 14.5k
10
votes
2
answers
771
views
What would be the minimum percentage of water for a livable earth?
I am writing a small piece of fiction for a game. I wanted to describe it as much as possible. The setting is Earth, more than a milenia after an event of cataclysmic proportions that made the planet ...
- 103
9
votes
8
answers
2k
views
Is it plausible for a tribe to have a standing army?
I'm creating a parallel world inspired by migration period in the dark ages.
I have a tribe that has a something akin to standing army consisting of
infantry
cavalry
rangers
Wealthier clan leaders ...
9
votes
10
answers
1k
views
What factors would limit the size of an ancient wagon and how big could they get?
I would like to create a setting where it would have been beneficial to use very large wagons. You are free to choose the setting, cargo and route, within the limitations below. The wagons don’t have ...
- 36.9k
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Could a river civilization develop in a cold desert climate?
There seems to be a trend with the oldest civilizations (Civilizations being urbanized societies with a government and social heirarchy) starting around river valleys surrounded by desert; the ...
- 93
9
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How could a world develop where it was necessary to mine all soil for agricultural use
I want to create a world were soil mining is a major industry. Imagine a vaguely Earth sized world where almost the entire surface of the planet is under, ocean, ice caps or is a hot or cold desert ...
- 36.9k
9
votes
5
answers
490
views
What do I need to consider for a justice system for powered people by powered people?
In one of my stories, there are people with powers. Inherited from parent to child or through accident and experimentation. There's the main government like ours, and a para-military agency ...
- 1,713
9
votes
2
answers
210
views
What geological and chemical changes to the earth's makeup could effectively limit technological advancement
Basically, I want to freeze the technology of earth at a level reminiscent of pre-Industrial Revolution Europe. I'm trying to figure out what substance or material would have to be absent from the ...
- 363
8
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Possible height and size of a giant tree on an Earth-like planet?
I'm working on a story about another dimension of this same Earth but without the same human development and history. The land and natural conditions would be the same except for the ones directly ...
- 180
8
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Is there dense, non flammable gas that I can cover the Earth in?
This question is related to Deadly, Heavier than Air Gas, and Is a world with two different types of air possible? but has several different criteria. I've also looked at https://chemistry....
- 3,529
8
votes
5
answers
292
views
A Pangaean civilization has its land split apart by something
I want to write a story that has a Pangaean like world, but human civilization already existed during that era. Basically, the earth just has one giant piece of land while the rest is the sea.
People ...
- 81
8
votes
2
answers
152
views
How far across the sea can mosquitoes disperse?
One of the more interesting facts about the biogeography of Hawaii is that mosquitoes were not always present; they only arrived in the early nineteenth century, as stowaways aboard oceangoing ships. ...
- 4,888
8
votes
1
answer
412
views
Is this a plausible timeline if the United States legalized prior restraint following the Pentagon Papers?
In actual history, the Supreme Court ruled in 1971 in New York Times v. US that prior restraint is illegal, upholding its earlier decision in 1931 in Near v. Minnesota.
In my alternate history, the ...
- 796
8
votes
1
answer
614
views
How far could you see the Andes from the Pacific on a flat Earth?
Several questions on related subtopics of vision distance on a flat world have been asked before, but this one remains unaddressed. Specifically:
The answer from Euclidean geometry would be infinite (...
- 4,888
8
votes
3
answers
417
views
Planetizing the World of Jack and the Beanstalk: How Small is Too Small?
We all know the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk--a farmboy sells his cow for some "magic beans", which in turn grow into a mountainously tall stalk that led him to the land of a giant. Now, ...
- 14.5k
8
votes
1
answer
401
views
The Great Oxidation Event...Artificially Imposed on a Tharn-Like Alternate Earth
From 2.4 to either 2.1 or two billion years ago, Earth underwent a surge in a waste product that we know as "oxygen". Before that, life thrived in an ocean rich with iron under an atmosphere loaded ...
- 14.5k
8
votes
2
answers
254
views
Ice coverage of a horizontal torus planet
How much ice would a torus planet be covered in if it rotated horizontally without a tilt such that its inner region never sees sunlight?
It's basically earth but as a torus and a completely '...
- 1,473
7
votes
5
answers
1k
views
How can my fictional race of humans extend the area of their world they can explore?
This world is an alternate Earth similar size, mass and distance from its star to our Earth. The atmosphere is similar in composition to Earth except at 5000m altitude the pressure is two bar and the ...
- 36.9k
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can Apes (Including Humans) Be Naturally Patterned Like Felids?
For visual reference:
Apes are visual species who rely more on their eyesight than any of the other senses. As a result, they see the world in three shades of color, whereas other mammals see in one ...
- 14.5k
7
votes
3
answers
847
views
These Primates Don't Look Like Primates. How to Fix Them
For years, I've been building and rebuilding an alternate Earth. The point of departure is 56 million years ago, when the hottest episode in the last 100 million years, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal ...
- 14.5k
7
votes
7
answers
594
views
Could an intelligent worm-like race invent and build computers?
We have a regular Earth as we know it, but instead of humans, there is this worm-like race, intelligent similarly as nowadays humans.
Their inner physiology is different from our worms (and not ...
- 1,388
7
votes
3
answers
279
views
Plant and Animal Life in a Taller Tibet--Possible or Not?
Back home, the Tibetan Plateau averages 4,950 meters above sea level with its highest point being Mount Everest, 8,848 meters--29,029 feet--above sea level. At such heights, problems are resulted as ...
- 14.5k