Questions tagged [communication]
For questions relating to the exchange of ideas and information between beings.
355
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What might block satellite communications (or make them very hard to use)
Imagine a world with two allied nations (countries, kingdoms...) that are separated by a large geographical distance. Those two nations would be at about the same level of development as our (real ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
How can an advanced civilization help another to overcome the first challenges of the space age?
An advanced civilization, like ours could be in a couple of hundred years, realized that the most challenging time in their history was when they had the knowledge to make global changes, but not the ...
0
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1answer
89 views
What would rotating ears look like on a humanoid species?
I'm trying to make a biologically accurate, human looking species. Since they can't make many sounds, they also use their ears' positions and rotation to have an advanced vocabulary. So the same sound ...
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vote
2answers
61 views
Long range communication on a rogue Earth?
Imagine that, for unknown reasons, the Earth has left the solar system. It has been a while now since the event. It's so cold outside that the polar caps met at the equator and the atmosphere froze ...
3
votes
2answers
211 views
What if the speed of light was based off wavelength?
Im making a sci fi story (first part here) and I needed a cool and interesting way to make ftl communication possible, at first I thought, make the speed of light infinite but thats kinda boring so I ...
3
votes
3answers
239 views
An alphabet with alternating reading order
I am in the middle of designing a con-lang that features, among other things a letter reading order that alternates by line from left-to-right to right-to-left and back again. My justification for ...
34
votes
14answers
5k views
Moon base internet functionality
It's 2020 and I've decided the perfect location for my next villainous lair is on the Moon (Earth has too many pesky heroes after all). Fortunately, construction and transit shouldn't be too difficult,...
10
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4answers
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What is the nature of the interstellar message to be accepted by a civilization comparable to humanity at the end of the nineteenth century (19th)?
In a sense, humanity has long been capable of transmitting interstellar messages (METI (messages to extraterrestrial civilizations) - attempts to transmit interstellar messages from humanity to ...
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7answers
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How do I announce us to the entire galaxy?
The main problem with sending interstellar messages is that with the distance traveled, their power gradually decreases due to gradual scattering ( diffraction). Imagine that you threw a stone into ...
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5answers
591 views
Could aliens communicate by excreting slime?
Bear with me :) The aliens in my story are gastropod-like entities and I would really like them to communicate through the mucus they excrete. What could such communication look like?
Preliminary ...
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votes
3answers
166 views
Could two smart phones work as an intercom on an alien planet?
This question is a follow up to a previous question asked by @AvengingEarth
Would a smart phone work on an alien planet?
I'm interested in taking a step further.
All conditions are as in the previous ...
asked Sep 16 '20 at 20:18
chasly - supports Monica
39.7k12 gold badges120 silver badges248 bronze badges
14
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9answers
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Telex more popular than telephones
This question is inspired by the answer for another question.
What changes in technological development after the World War 2 could have led the telex machines to be more popular than telephones, ...
6
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2answers
169 views
Communication between City States in Giant Monster World
I'm building a world, which takes place about 300 years in the future after an event in the near future, in which giant elemental monsters started to roam around the earth. These creatures are an ...
12
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16answers
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What movies would you show aliens to show we are friendly? [closed]
Here is an idea that I wanted to play around with but unfortunately hit a brick wall with. Human explorers have found a less advanced intelligent technological species on a faraway planet. For the ...
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15answers
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A Truly Universal Listening Device?
The CGI (Cosmic Gateway Interface) System is a set of commands which (nearly?) anyone anywhere can intone in order to trigger some kind of alien tech (which exists somewhere far away), which opens a ...
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9answers
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how could an alien species with modern technology communicate at long distances when their language is made up of sign language?
Let's say that these aliens have recently sent up a manned satellite into their orbit. Let's say these aliens mainly speak through sign language. How will these alien astronauts communicate with those ...
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9answers
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A plausible explanation for the “ansible?” - FTL communications
I need FTL interstellar communication in my story. Ursula K. Le Guin first used the idea of the "ansible" as a fictional device or technology capable of near-instantaneous or superluminal ...
9
votes
3answers
330 views
Most effective form of biological communication for long distance?
I have got a idea of a eusocial species that creates huge And wide colonies that can go through different environments from underground tunnels, to a island a few miles offshore, to miles away farther ...
3
votes
8answers
254 views
How would an alien civilization transmit an SOS signal for other sentient beings to pick up on?
This question describes the kinds of signals sentient beings would transmit to let others know of their existence. The methods described are geared towards communicating the mere existence of ...
4
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6answers
632 views
Is it feasible to use light as a transmission vehicle?
Let's just say I'm no scientist, so my understanding of these things is all surface. Having said that, I don't write hard science fiction. But I'm not quite as "magic-like" as Star Wars.
My ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
How would caste system benefits population of hive mind?
Unlike bee population whereby the worker bee or scout bee feedback news through a complex domino style network to inform the rest of their community and then the queen bee(s) will still be busy ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
A light tower based communication system
I'm building a world with cities of extremely different technological capabilities. One has a monopoly on gunpowder and one has complete understanding of the magic system in the world.
The only ...
4
votes
4answers
437 views
Secure communications for the modern terrorist
This is my first post in this seemingly awesome forum.
I need some suggestions for mobile communications in my detective novel.
My story features a US police detective who is pitted against a group ...
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10answers
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Is there any advantage to using a centralized hivemind?
Basically, there are 2 types of hiveminds: the common centralized and the uncommon distributed.
Centralized means that all units are extensions of the master entity (the badguy alien/robot stereotypes)...
4
votes
2answers
129 views
Would sound shifts be severe enough for two dialects to be mutually unintelligible after 400 years of no verbal contact?
A group of English-speaking settlers travel to the Earth-like exoplanet of Rataan, which is 5 light years away. They board the generation ship Genesis that will reach Rataan in 200 years (0.25% of the ...
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votes
1answer
72 views
How could the connections of a hivemind work to ensure it can't be jammed or tapped?
So, Armchair Chem is an evil corporation that has access to technology some consider unnaturally ahead of its time (the correct term is anachronistic, but whatever).
One such is the Replica Forces. A ...
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vote
3answers
303 views
Intercontinental radio broadcasting in a post-apocalyptic world
I'm in the process of planning a post-apocalyptic novel. The gist of it is that the vast majority (99.9%+) of all humans simply disappeared from the face of the earth, or so it seems. The story ...
2
votes
2answers
184 views
I want my gryphons and birdfolk to have facial expressions. How?
So, Both birdfolk and gryphons have a head structure, similar to that of birds of prey, i.e: forward facing eyes. Sure, the color of the plumage and the beak-type can vary, but one problem is still ...
6
votes
2answers
100 views
A dragon, a gryphon and a tengu are flying toghether. How can they actually communicate?
One problem, I think writers often overlook, is the problem of flying creatures communicating with each other. I call this the "I can't hear you over the sound of the f@cking headwind!"
For my world, ...
0
votes
3answers
157 views
Semi-FTL quantum communications
I'm trying to come up with idea's that have some plausibility of sending information FTL.
So we can entangle particles together. When you measure them you influence them. If you measure one up the ...
5
votes
2answers
263 views
How to build a wormhole for FTL communication? [more Engineering than Physics question]
I came to SE WB while I was researching about space radiators for my sci-fi. I don't remember where exactly I found an answer to my question (Maybe? Idr) but I stunned with this site. You all looks ...
3
votes
3answers
247 views
Facial expressions for dragons?
Though this applies to lizardfolk and most creatures with a snout as well, I'm having trouble giving more facial expressions to dragons. Sure, they can wink, bare their fangs and laugh out loud and ...
13
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9answers
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How do you send out SOS in space if there is no absolute coordinate?
Imagine your spaceship encountered a gravitational anomaly and discovered that you are lost in space, your computer tells you that you are still inside the Milky Way galaxy but it cannot find the ...
6
votes
7answers
727 views
An effective way for interstellar communication?
Radio waves travel at the speed of light. Communication across vast interstellar distances is difficult due to weak signals and slow multi-year duration. I honestly imagine it to be like old times ...
2
votes
5answers
264 views
Are (near) instant data transfers feasible on an intergalactic scale?
Inspired partially by this comment on one of my answers, I got to thinking on what the quickest way to communicate would be on an intergalactic scale.
Say humans have colonised the galaxy, and use ...
3
votes
6answers
420 views
“Dragon amongst the sheep” How could a dragon avoid other animals registering him as a threat?
So, one of the less know abilities of dragons here is anivoice.
Anivoice allows dragons to communicate with birds, mammals, reptiles, dinosaurs and pterosaurs.
Of course, the information, relayed by ...
0
votes
6answers
446 views
Designing a safe way to share location of a secret ship
There is a secret ship and it is used by pirates as a recharging point. It has a nuclear reactor as a power source and other ships are using electricity. Let's assume in this world stealth technology ...
19
votes
13answers
4k views
Communicating the idea of danger to an unknown alien civilization
An alien automatic "beacon" tries to warn us about some imminent danger. It does so with launching a succession of large "veils" in front of their star so we can detect them via the transit method. ...
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votes
2answers
100 views
Inter-Planetary Communication [closed]
In my universe humans have colonized Phobos, Deimos, the moon, and Mars. However, they have no fast way to communicate with each other. I'm looking for a fast and possible way for humans to ...
6
votes
2answers
281 views
So, magic is based on swarm robotics and nanotechnology. How can I have Anti-magic fields?
So, at its core, magic is using a swarm of tiny (50-100 micrometers), naturally occuring robots to deliver substances to a given location and initiate chemical reactions that lead towards the desired ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
What factors affect how easy it is to understand a foreign language?
I'm making a homebrew D&D world where, among other things, there is no "common" tongue. I've always found that concept frustratingly unrealistic. Yes, it prevents a lot of problems for adventurers,...
5
votes
3answers
212 views
Ways for advanced civilizations to mask communications on an interstellar / intergalactic scale
Say we have a civilization on the verge of becoming Type II, and are in the process of building a Dyson Sphere. They are aware that in the process, and especially after completion, there will be ...
4
votes
5answers
258 views
Could a language based on absolute pitch develop music?
For those that are arguing that without vocabularly, it isn't considered a language:
From Wikipedia: Language is a system that consists of the development, acquisition, maintenance and use of complex ...
4
votes
7answers
2k views
Why don't military spaceships use blockchain technology for ship log? [closed]
Straight to the point, cut out the backstory:
If blockchain is so secure and difficult to hack why don't the military spaceship use it for logging important and also non essential events, navigation, ...
2
votes
2answers
326 views
How to get attention when being shrunk to size of a flea? [closed]
One evening a group of teenagers got arrested for taunting a queen's guard and was brought to a temporary holding cell, all of a sudden a radioactive mosquito seemingly escaped from a nearby lab bites ...
11
votes
6answers
1k views
Could echolocated images be used for a language?
So I have this underwater echolocation using species. I'm wondering if they could have a language partly based on recreating sounds from returning echolocation waves to 'talk' images at each other. (I ...
4
votes
5answers
188 views
Is it realistic to have a sound-based naval identification system?
I have a number of sea-faring races in my fantasy story. The world is relatively mundane i.e. no magic and the races are somewhere the Graeco-Roman classical period in terms of their technology, give ...
2
votes
3answers
136 views
How would black market stock exchange in a communist country work?
I have an oppressive communist country which doesn't have any free speech, secret police, a new supreme leader every few decades and obviously, a planned economy.
But somehow, the country is still ...
4
votes
6answers
2k views
Is elastic wiring feasable?
Since wireless does not seem to be the ultra-high-broadband solution of the future (according to recent 5G cellular network results), wires seem the only way to go for a data-intensive future.
The ...
34
votes
18answers
5k views
Lighthouse Alternatives
In my pre-electricity world, fast communication is achieved by means of lighthouses, each being able to direct strong and precise beams of light towards distantly visible lighthouses.
However a ...
