Questions tagged [chemistry]
For questions that have to do with chemistry, chemical reactions be they biological or artificial, or the industrial processes of chemistry.
476
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1answer
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Hidden specks will blow up the world if overheated: how bad a thing is this?
I'd encourage you to take about 4 min to read the whole post.
Multiple masses of parabanic acid appear at random around the world (but see Context and constraints), displacing any matter in their way ...
4
votes
3answers
207 views
How severe can an Iron Aversion be?
I like the idea of elves having a distinct weakness against iron, to the point where they're intensely scared of it and can't stand the touch of it.
My question is: Assuming the Elves are mostly like ...
3
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4answers
124 views
Scientific reason for incense burners to be an effective ward against malevolent “spirits”
Malevolent Spirit: Malevolent spirits are swarms of barely visible machines that have accidentally been imprinted with a deceased person's memories. They posess swarm intelligence and communicate with ...
3
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2answers
111 views
Light-activated Expanding Chemicals
In my world, electricity has not yet been discovered, but they have somehow still managed to attain a technological advancement similar to modern times.
I am currently trying to tackle the problem of ...
27
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8answers
8k views
What elements would be created in a star composed entirely of gold?
I'm working with the idea of creating a sun made out of pure gold. Of course, this would be completely man-made. Why would anyone want to do this? Because I want a cool concept like that in my story! :...
4
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1answer
106 views
Can an Insect's Pheromones Be Visible?
In my story, there is a type of bee that releases a pheromone during mating season that is visible at night in brightly lit areas. This is similar to how you can see rain more easily at night if you ...
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2answers
104 views
Is it possible to transmutate hydrogen into the chemicals and fuse them to create bread? [closed]
I was wondering whether it would be chemically possible to take hydrogen from the air and transmute it into the required elements used to make bread. It doesn't have to be bread, it could be any food ...
3
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1answer
109 views
What could cause Fluorocarbons to be present in an Earth-like atmosphere?
Pretty simple (in theory that is) question for one of my worlds. I heard carbon fluorides are intense greenhouse gases but otherwise harmless and didn't lead to large issues (atleast none that I could ...
4
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1answer
139 views
what liquid or substance for rainbow colours oil patterned alien skin?
I was thinking of an alien humanoid charcter for my super powered beings story that would be completely black and faceless with similarities to venom and its strings of symbiotic goo but this ...
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3answers
2k views
Iron-age tools, is there a way to extract heavy metals out of a creature?
Assume a location which is heavily polluted with dust of several types of elemental metals (copper, silver, nickel, cobalt etc) or their respective oxides and salts (whatever is stable in humidity and ...
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votes
2answers
181 views
What rare elements would be most needed in building a space station beyond the Earth?
If people were attempting to build a space station beyond the Hill Sphere, (outside of the area where Earth's gravity dominates), and wanted to mine the raw materials for the station from dwarf ...
4
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2answers
355 views
Is an earthlike planet with ammonia oceans even plausible?
The idea of a planet where ammonia replaces water as the dominant liquid in the environment is quite popular in science fiction. I tried to develop a scenario where these kind of oceans are plausible ...
3
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6answers
186 views
Powering a Nanobot Via Nuclear Fission of Its Material
First let me say that I know almost nothing but the basics about nuclear fission. I know more about nano robotics but I've got no degree in the matter, just a rather in depth curiosity and a lot of ...
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2answers
166 views
Implications of a scifi society's industry [closed]
If a space faring society has access to such resources, and technological capabilities that they are able to make alloys strong enough to build large, armored space vessels, extract gas from a gas ...
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vote
3answers
104 views
Heavenly Host Daycare and Correctional Facility for misbehaving gods: Bahamut and Tiamat 1/2: Containment
Once upon a time there was a world called, "The Gone, but not Forgotten Realms", ran by #GamerGate Garry and #ClintonBodyCount Anon. One day, Anon got tired of Garry taking his work for granted and ...
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3answers
262 views
Is there an element or compound that is highly reactive to any component of milk?
I like to take inspiration for new fantasy creatures from my dreams, so I get some weird ideas sometimes.
Last night I found this species. If milk gets on their skin, the creature looks as if it were ...
7
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3answers
710 views
Rare Earth Elements in the outer solar system
If a space station were to be built in the outer solar system, is there an asteroid beyond Jupiter with a ratio of rare earth elements high enough to make it worthwhile to mine for the rare earth ...
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1answer
200 views
Explaining Planet Colors/Compositions
I want to be able to explain: the coloration of my planets when I create them, but I don't have enough knowledge on the colors of elements or chemical compounds. I have done extensive research into ...
5
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3answers
95 views
What plasma temperature range to expect from Earth atmosphere common elements?
I intend to write a character that has the ability to turn nearby gasses into plasma for combat and utility purposes. However, I've been studying how plasma works and (as someone who is not as savvy ...
32
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7answers
17k views
A medieval fantasy adventurer lights a torch in a 100% pure oxygen room. What happens?
Exactly what it says on the tin. Kleeber the warrior is wearing a gambeson and carrying the standard adventurer's gear (leather backpack, 100ft of hemp rope, bedroll, spare clothes, waterskin, dry ...
3
votes
7answers
561 views
What would be needed to scientifically be able to stand on cloud?
Inspired from people walking on water using cornstarch plus myths such as monkey king, several gods in heaven/celestial palace, and other fiction works.
(image from Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama)
I ...
9
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2answers
856 views
Alternative to Magnesium's Role in Photosynthesis
It is a known fact that magnesium is a very important part of photosynthesis and chlorophyll. I have looked everywhere to try to find out this question but I have never really gotten a solid answer.
...
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6answers
425 views
What kind of “fog” could be harvested (and processed) for fuel?
In my setting, a permanent "fog" hangs over the ocean. It is thick, granting low visibility to anyone within it. Instead of water droplets, however, this fog would consist of some substance or ...
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12answers
7k views
What should be done with the carbon when using magic to get oxygen from carbon dioxide?
So, I'm working on a flintlock fantasy series, and my protagonist is what's called an Arcane Engineer. This is someone who makes magical devices. Among those she has made there is a mask that let ...
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3answers
256 views
Is a carbon planet with seas of methanol on its surface scientifically possible?
I am creating a carbon planet with seas of methanol on its surface, but I am not sure that this is possible.
It is predicted that carbon planets are depleted of water, since the available oxygen ...
3
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2answers
126 views
What element could be used on a fictional metal-poor planet for biological oxygen exchange?
I'm working on a hard sf novel about humans being forced to survive on a metal-poor planet. They have to take dietary metal supplements at first but eventually a bio-engineer rigs the biochemical ...
5
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2answers
528 views
What would happen if the Earth passed through an interstellar dust cloud?
I understand an interstellar dust cloud as "an accumulation of gas, plasma, and dust in our and other galaxies. Put differently, an interstellar cloud is a denser-than-average region of the ...
23
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1answer
609 views
Plausibility of helium dominated atmospheres on super-Earths
I've been using this helpful diagram a lot for worldbuilding.
Now I came to think about the fact that helium is more massive than hydrogen, thus a scenario where hydrogen escapes, but helium is ...
2
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1answer
125 views
Reality check- atmospheric percentages, gravity, mass, and pressure [closed]
What would changing these qualities do to an earth-like world?
Would humans and other earth-like life be able to survive, and what effects would this have on them?
And what modifications would need to ...
12
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4answers
1k views
The Sword in the Stone
I am trying to recreate King Arthur's the Sword in the Stone using chemistry.
I have a couple ideas how this could be done Would any of these work or how it might work?
Arthur removes the sword from ...
5
votes
0answers
73 views
Relationship between Ocean Gases and Atmospheric Gases [closed]
A version of this question is posted in Chemistry SE but doesn't seem to be getting traction there. Perhaps this SE is a bette place for this question? If you think it belongs on a different SE please ...
10
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1answer
266 views
Would A Biological “Cold Haber” Process Deplete an H2/N2 World of its H2 or N2?
Based on my reading on some science papers, large, wet terrestrial planets likely exist that are swathed in a thin atmosphere of nitrogen/hydrogen ($H_2$ & $N_2$). If life evolved on such worlds, ...
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4answers
360 views
Helping the Roman Empire with chemistry and metallurgy [closed]
You are a modern chemist and metallurgist and unexpectedly get sent back in time to the era of Caesar Octavius Augustus. After spending a couple years learning ancient Latin, what changes or ...
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1answer
70 views
The ability to reduce the movement of particles [closed]
Let's say that there is someone with the ability to reduce the speed of particles' movement (or vibration), he can reduce the movement of molecules, atoms and electrons. I want to know what will this ...
5
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3answers
246 views
Realistic melange - Part 1: Formation
Melange, also known as "the spice", is a fictional drug in Frank Herbert's famous Dune series, which has many benefits (and some drawbacks). In this series of questions, I'll try to see how many of ...
6
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4answers
280 views
How dangerous are sodium salts?
I am in the early stages of planning a story called The Four Flamingos of the Apocalypse. The premise is that the Four Horsemen have manifested on the surface of the earth and are tasked with bringing ...
3
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3answers
172 views
What would be the chemical composition of the crust and core of a planet comprised primarily of diamond?
I’m creating a world for a webcomic and I’m running into some difficulties – namely, my own limitations. I’m not a scientist, and I don’t even know how to start asking the questions I want answered. ...
2
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1answer
176 views
Could there possibly be any alternative biomolecules that could store genetic information like DNA and RNA? [closed]
I study quite a lot of chemistry, biology, and other branches of those fields, alongside some forms of astronomy. As part of a large-scale project I have been working on for a few years and continue ...
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11answers
4k views
What is a writing material that persists nearly forever or for a long time? [closed]
I'm designing an alien society with a low population density. I intend for them to have 1 book per topic per place; books update annually as new information arises. I call them books, but they can ...
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8answers
5k views
Why did the “Orks” never develop better firearms than Firelances and Handcannons?
The Orks of my world are actually the technologically most advanced civilization. They are bigger and stronger than humans, have bone plates on their heads, greenish skin, and are more akin to the ...
10
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6answers
314 views
What type of chemical catastrophic event might reduce the bioavailability of iron?
I am imagining a world where an astronomical event occurs, like Earth collides with a comet, and humanity is all but wiped out. In their desperate attempt to recover, humans enter a form of stone age. ...
6
votes
1answer
246 views
What are the effects of a nearby supernova on a young solar system?
I'm building a S-Type binary system where the primary star is a black hole. Yet the system formed as a O + K-Spectral class binary and the 20 solar-mass O giant went nova 2,7 myr after both the stars ...
4
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4answers
344 views
A weapon to rapidly change the Earth's atmosphere
I am seeking information and ideas from all you clever people.
What I am trying to imagine is a chemical reaction that would change Earths atmosphere rapidly into something else which would be more ...
5
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4answers
237 views
Nanobots that search and destroy cells with damaged mitochondrion [closed]
I read somewhere that scientists are trying to create nanobots carrying functional mitochondria to search out cancer cells and restart apoptosis. Instead of trying to create nanobots with a fully ...
4
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2answers
131 views
If oxygen is extracted from blood, would the process cause any hormones within it to be extracted as well? [closed]
Let's say oxygen is continuously being extracted from the blood of a Giant Pacific, 1-and-a-third years old octopus and will be injected into a human using a process similar to this: https://www....
1
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2answers
165 views
How could the hormones of an octopus affect an adult man? [closed]
Let's say the hormones of a Giant Pacific Octopus, 1-and-a-third years old, enter the bloodstream of an adult male. How would or could that affect him?
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20answers
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What could a self-sustaining lunar colony slowly lose that would ultimately prove fatal?
I've got a lunar colony that was set up to be self-sustaining before a collapse of life on Earth. The colony has survived on its own for several thousand years through a period of technological ...
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3answers
249 views
Are these atmosphere compositions for habitation in space plausible/do they cause problems I don´t see?
On Earth, our atmosphere contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, on average around 1% water vapor at sea level, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Looking through ...
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4answers
357 views
Membrane impermeable to $N_2$ but permeable to $CO_2$ and $O_2$?
I'm looking for a way to bypass the bidirectional diffusive gas exchange that happens in human alveoli, to allow aquanauts to breathe a standard Nitrogen-Oxygen air mix at very high pressures (up to ...
21
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11answers
5k views
Could there be a material that inverts the colours seen through it?
I had a vision of a creature that touched things, and wherever it touched, it left a mark opposite to the original colour.
For example when it walked across the grass the grass had red footprints, ...
