Questions tagged [hard-science]
REVIEW THE WIKI BEFORE USING THIS TAG! For questions that require unequivocal proof that answers are correct through the use of equations, empirical evidence, scientific papers, etc. Compare to: science-fiction, science-based and internal-consistency. This tag may not be used alone. This tag may not be used with the science-fiction, science-based, or internal-consistency tags. Flag your question for moderator attention once posted.
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Does this alternate Universe with easier-to-understand physics behave the same as ours?
I realize the following question is non-trivial, but I would greatly appreciate any all help.
I'm interested in creating a SciFi story that takes place in an alternate universe I'm calling Universe X. ...
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What would be the different climates of an island six time the size of Madagascar in longitude and latitude near the west of the Drake passage? [closed]
I have 4 geographic peculiarities to take into account that could influence the climate :
The island is surrounded by a chain of mountains(oceanic ridges) that can protect the coastline from ...
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3
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Alt. Biochemistry - Which of these is a suitable alternative/mirror to DNA?
This question is tied to the “Glass Trees” question I asked earlier which everyone seemed to like. Since y’all had such good opinions on that, I figured I’d bring this particular quandary to y’all in ...
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Glass Trees - how feasible is it?
Edit: For clarification, this question is in regards to silicate use in carbon-based biochemistry, not silica-based biochemistries.
The microorganisms you see above are called diatoms; they are a ...
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Need counters for a near perfect Anti Thermal and Kinetic armor system in a near future setting
So I have an armor that is virtually impervious to small arms fire, and am looking for inspiration and suggestions on an unconventional way to defeat said armor.
The armor is called Anti Thermal And ...
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Would compound-like eyes that gave a "pixelated" image be possible/practical
The title is horribly worded, but I have no idea how to otherwise title it.
Basically, the idea behind these special eyes is that they would be structured much like real-life compound eyes, but the ...
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A person in the air being struck by lightning
In the climax of a story I'm writing, the antagonist is flying high in the sky(she has wings) during a thunderstorm, while wearing a full suit of armor. She is struck, and nearly killed. But lightning ...
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How far away can (non-dusty) rocket exhaust be detected?
There are several questions around regarding stealth in space, where the general conclusion is that stealth is not really feasible because (among other things) heat radiation from a spaceship doing ...
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Can a gunsafe survive a nuclear blast level attack?
For reference, here is a type of safe I am talking about: Gun safes are extremely strong, they are on the more expensive end made with solid steel plates. But I am unsure whether something like that ...
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Suppose an array of mirrors 50 km above the surface reflect light straight down. How long before the sun rise are they illuminated?
Suppose at a point in the earth’s future, a superstructure has been built at the northern 45 parallel. 50 kilometers above sea level, a large array of mirrors has been built. The mirrors are ...
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What should be the dimensions and pressure used in the 5 ton Hydraulic McKibben artificial muscles in my 2,55 meter mechs?
Context:
"Human-sized mechs" are a common thing on in society right now, these are an "interesting" alternative to exoskeletons that can snap the spine of its users in half.
They ...
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2
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Minimal-Hydrogen Carbon-Based Biochemistry in a Hydrogen-Free, Non-Oxygen-Reactive, Non-Oxidising solvent (Such as Liquid CO2)
Over the course of my worldbuilding, I have looked into many alternative substances from which oceans could be composed that would serve as a viable solvent for biochemistry, and I often run into the ...
- 1,495
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What would happen if your body had more capillaries?
I'm working on a character who can emit fire from her arms and forearms. I read in a previous question that an increased amount of capillaries can increase the body's ability to carry heat away. If ...
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What chemical agent can cause both nervous and reproductive effects?
In a realistic dystopia, warring religious sects turn on each other using chemical warfare, resulting in mass destruction. Because of the nature of their beliefs, these sects avoid technology; thus, a ...
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How do I Make the "Anime Girl Warrior Physique" Realistic?
In some Anime, Women look nothing at all like men, yet are capable of nearly the same exact feats of physical strength:
Image from Dragon Ball Super
Is there a way to manipulate biology and ...
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Does it make biological sense for primates to come in every possible hair, skin, and eye color? [closed]
There are a lot of Japanese shows and games where people have many different hair colors and eye colors. There are even cartoons and games where people come in every skin color in the rainbow and ...
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Can Dusty Plasma radiators protect against lasers?
From Project Rho:
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/heatrad.php#:~:text=Dusty%20Plasma%C2%A0radiator%3A
Example Image: https://twitter.com/toughsf/status/1154692082478526465
A dusty plasma ...
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1
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What planetary orbit and geology would speed up an ice age?
I have a first-contact scenario where I would like an ice age to be occurring rapidly. All the things that could change to make a fast ice age more credible: orbital period (403.42 local days), length ...
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Is there a way to find the dates that a solar eclipse happens while Ceres is in alignment with Earth? [closed]
In the game i'm working on the Earth was hit by a Coronal Mass Ejection during a solar eclipse. I'm looking for dates between 2100 and 2300 where a base on Ceres would be protected by being in the ...
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How big a telescope would we need to see the light distortion effects of a black hole the mass of the Moon, at the distance of the Moon?
Fairly straightforward. I suspect that we'd notice the gravitational effects of it long before we'd be able to see it, but at what point in history would people start noticing that stars jitter around ...
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Are 60000 RPM electric motors enough to a tennis launcher-like weapon to launch a bullet at same speeds as conventional rifles?
Well, I've made this question before, but it wasn't well written, so I deleted it. I think this time is good enough?
Context:
Semi-futuristic scenario where instead of gunpowder, they use weapons ...
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How many gigatons of CO2 will my "cyanobacteria bioreactor" pull out of the atmosphere per year?
So, as CO2 levels continue to rocket in the atmosphere, its effects prove to be devastating for the world. Ice caps melt, sea levels rise, hurricane intensity increases, and lots of unpleasant things ...
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6
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What are the most compact batteries to store energy from my quazar power plant?
In my previous question, I dealt with the possibility of harvesting the energy of the accretion disk and jets of a quasar Milky Way, by the use of multiple mirrors and panels that are orbiting around ...
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1
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How much energy would a Type III civilisation get from a Quasar Milky Way per day?
Let's say, (in the far future), that humans have become really advanced beings and are at the verge of becoming a Type III civilisation. Now, they need a gargantuan energy source for various purposes, ...
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2
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What composition would a white atmosphere have?
I am playing Kerbal Space Program with the Precursors Planet Pack, which starts you on the planet Frontier with a white atmosphere, as viewed both from the surface and from space.
What kind of ...
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Would two people standing on opposite sides of a flat world be able to see the same constellations?
Quick drawing illustrating what I mean:
Two people (humanoids, between 1 and 2 metres tall) are standing on the ends (less than 1km from the edge) of opposite faces of a flat world (approximately ...
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What is the most space-efficient propellant for a rocket ship?
What propellant would give the best total impulse to volume ratio? The rocket engine can be anything that could realistically work. The propellant volume should include the tanks that store the ...
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Could any photosynthesis occur at 5.5 AU on a warm planet?
I'm designing a habitable planet orbiting an M-dwarf, which is orbiting a G star at 5.5 AU. The orbit around the G star keeps the "night-side" (not technically an accurate term in this ...
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Virtual reality via neural stimulation [closed]
I just learned that scientists are able to stimulate certain regions of a person's brain to make them feel certain emotions or move parts of their body.
I was wondering if it would be possible to ...
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2
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How to keep magic from nuking everything while preserving the first law of thermodynamics
Let's say I'm a transdimensional or quasi-divine being whose pastime is acting as the patron for some mortal sorcerer who would very much like to turn lead into gold to impress their fellow corporeal ...
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Coilguns as spaceship thrusters second attempt
This is a second attempt for this question, the first time i put in too many different things that ended up derailing the question.
I'm in the early stages of designing a scifi game and want to use as ...
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1
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Would a T-type Brown Dwarf just glow magenta in a world's sky (airless or otherwise) or would it actually be a lightsource?
Imagine a brown dwarf of the T-type. Current knowledge is that these bodies appear magenta. Would such a body produce enough visible light that it would be a source of daylight for any worlds ...
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1
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How thick would a mattress made of flower heads need to be to stop a child falling down a 200-ft deep hole from getting seriously hurt? [closed]
How thick would a mattress made of flower heads need to be to stop a child falling down a 200-ft deep hole from getting seriously hurt?
The child is 5 years old and of an average weight, the flowers ...
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1
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How much do tunnels extend blast waves from explosives?
Someone recommended this SE for this question, since I'm asking it to help a friend's setting, where dwarves and goblins fight underground with explosives. After asking if it was OK, I cross-posted ...
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19th century British moon landing [closed]
In the aftermath of the Monroe doctrine, the British empire decided to expand heavenward. As the nobles, captains, empiricists, electricians, and mechanics explained to the Majesty, technological ...
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Could vacuum armour protect vehicles and people from explosions? [closed]
If you have a <1mm thick layer of vacuum inside an armour plate, be it for vehicles or body armour, wouldn't it stop explosive shockwaves from penetrating through the armour? This is, of course, ...
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What is the best ways of cleaning/bathing inside an astronaut suit?
Context:
In this sci-fi scenario/story, they don't use an space walk Astronaut suit (because of costs), but a crappier version of an astronaut suit, cheaper and mass produced.
Due to the ...
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Antiballast for flying ship
Your miners find some strange stones - they float to the ceiling of mines.
With those stones you can easily build an airship - just fill a sleek wooden hull with them and give the rowers some wing-...
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Could we create an artificial metamorphosis on humans with genetic engineering? [duplicate]
I'm writting a hard-science book where adult humans with the help of genetic engineering can undergo metamorphosis, could it be possible?
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Would would an undiscovered element show up as on a light spectrum analysis? [closed]
All elements, when hit by light, reflect it at varying frequencies and by looking at the frequency of the reflected light it is possible to find out the elemental composition of an object, even from ...
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Relativistic Droplet Accelerator
In this blogpost, Matter Beam discuss a potential weapon that based of a concept meant for interstellar travel. The concept is that the particles in a particle beam are allowed to cool and condense, ...
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What's the fastest a medieval projectile could go, if it was powered by human muscles?
How fast could a human-powered medieval projectile go?
Rules:
The weapon must be made of materials available in medieval times: wood, steel, catgut, bone, rope, etc. No modern composites or plastics.
...
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The "Exciting" Drilling company dug an underground canal connecting Death Valley to the Pacific. How does it change the Mojave climate?
Badwater Basin, part of Death Valley, is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level at its lowest point.
The "Exciting" drilling company, based in Nevada (they are exciting and not at all like their b**...
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3
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How would increasing or decreasing atmospheric pressure affect the amount of precipitation over a planet?
I'm designing planets of varying atmospheric pressures. How would increasing (or decreasing) global atmospheric pressure affect the amount/frequency of precipitation over a planet?
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Possible deltaV savings by usage of Lagrange points in intra-solar transit
The question here is actually pretty straightforward (not),
So I'm going to expound upon it. Lagrange points are areas within a gravitational system which experience near null gravity. At least, that'...
2
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How rapidly would air be drawn into space?
Whenever it is swung, the "sword of the abyss" cuts open a 1 ft diameter portal to outer space. The portal will close by itself after two seconds. The portal shrieks as air rushes into it. ...
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Anatomically Correct Telepath [closed]
I know that in the real world there is nothing similar to telepathy, so there is very little to compare with. That being said, how can a telepathic being be anatomically designed to allow for ...
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Would the Clarktech form of magic overlap with X-Men style Mutants, if both coexisting in the same world? [closed]
"any advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" Arthur Clarke.
In many fictional worlds, magic can be explained by science. You can call this form of magic Alchemy, Thaumaturgy, ...
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Ideal materials for the outer layer of a whipple shield
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipple_shield
What I'm looking for is the best possible materials for the outer layer of a whipple shield. From what I understand, the outer layer turns a hypervelocity ...
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6
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Performance of a Modern Carbonic Acid Gun
Air rifles have come a long way. Starting with crude devices that can barely launch a projectile to the Girardoni air rifle to modern examples like the Air Force Texan or the Air Venturi Dragon.
...
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