Questions tagged [science-based]

For questions that require plausible (better than suspension-of-disbelief) answers based on Real World science that are not necessarily constrained to the known limits of Real World science. Contrast with the hard-science, science-fiction and internal-consistency tags. This tag may not be used alone. This tag may not be used with the science-fiction, hard-science, or internal-consistency tags.

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So, I was thinking a biological kinda ozone layer?

So, in my work, there is this terraformed Venus in the future. Venus is a sunny, warm tropical world with oceans, islands, and small continents, and is basically the Caribbean/Hawaii/Polynesia of the ...
JJ2161's user avatar
  • 1
6 votes
6 answers
265 views

Can we hit the spaceship

Setting: close to present day. Aliens in ships about the size of the Pentagon are detected at about 10 AU, moving at about 100km/s, and will therefore take about 6 months to arrive. Realistically at ...
BenRW's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
49 views

How to find the region where gas giants can exist?

I am looking at making a system and it leaves me wondering, at what distance would ice giants start forming from their star compared to gas giants. Like, lets give our sun as an example, would ...
DanceroftheStars's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
83 views

Question about speculative human biology

What kind of evolutions would humanity have to undergo to be able to live comfortably on the moon or any other sufficently low-mass body? As I am aware that it can be bad for bones and the ...
DanceroftheStars's user avatar
11 votes
6 answers
2k views

Possibility of anachronistic fossils due to time travel

In my story, I have a character who travels back in time to Africa just after the Youngest Toba supereruption, about 74,000 years ago in order to collect genetic samples from the human survivors at ...
Monty Wild's user avatar
  • 56k
-1 votes
0 answers
40 views

How would you justify technological advancement both digital and cybernetic without the risks of orwellian controls? [closed]

Let's just say these past few years, I've been reading SciFi Dystopia fiction in which simply put. All computers and phones and anything digital, makes it so that the users are easily tracked, hacked ...
GreatReset2030HopefullyNot's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
736 views

How to survive a helicopter crash using alien biotechnology?

In the near-future, in a war between aliens and humans, the aliens hatch a plan to seemingly assassinate a human leader (on Earth), but make it look like it was done by other humans. They have it ...
mer-mech's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
66 views

What would flora and fauna look in a world with a denser atmosphere? [closed]

Update - Ok to be more specific how would a denser atmosphere affect the terrestrial vegetation in this planet? For starters in Earth we can very broadly say we have 4 types vegetation Grasses - ...
DUB's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
1 answer
375 views

Could alkaline digestive system work?

So a human digestive system is generally acidic, especially at the stomach part, when it goes down to even 1.5 pH. Similar things must be happening in other mammals and to an extent, probably in all ...
Yulian's user avatar
  • 432
3 votes
8 answers
5k views

Is a world laser possible?

Right now, I am developing a weapon of mass destruction dubbed 'The World Laser'. Basically, the antagonist is trying to destroy the world completely by cutting it in half in a singular motion using a ...
TempzApex's user avatar
  • 373
-2 votes
0 answers
61 views

What would Julius Caesar think about the development of AI? [closed]

Would the triumvirate use it to his advantage? Would've it be used in Rome for example counting the census? I've been looking for sources around this topic and I've found nothing thus far. Thank you.
DonW16's user avatar
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7 votes
6 answers
2k views

What types of materials would be generated by a lava monster that has been cooled down rapidly?

I want to create a magma slime, which has a magical vulnerability to being cooled down and turns to rock easily (like when hit by a water or an ice spell). This rock can then be shattered to gather ...
Leticia's user avatar
  • 81
2 votes
2 answers
149 views

What parts of the human brain can a truth serum modify to prevent lying?

As I mentioned in a previous question, I am writing an alternate history story with many different countries by the time 2023 rolls around. Vitruvia is one such country that runs many experiments and ...
Rhymehouse's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
68 views

How many planets can fit inside a Habitable Zone? [duplicate]

I have this idea of putting dozens of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. We know from the TRAPPIST-system that it's possible for two terrestrial, Earth-sized planets to come ...
Sussus Amogus's user avatar
7 votes
6 answers
955 views

Are Liquid Brains Possible or Viable?

I'm designing an alien species roughly based on starfish. Starfish in the real world don't have brains or blood, they just let seawater run their nervous and circulatory systems, but I figure a ...
Julia Lang's user avatar
-1 votes
0 answers
59 views

What kind of environment would lead to the development of traits typical of fantasy races? [closed]

I'm not actively working on my world, but I'm currently thinking about races for it. I want this world to seem like a typical fantasy world at first glance, but have scientific reasons behind it. So, ...
Alexander Herman's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
226 views

How could entropy control go wrong? [closed]

The magic system of my story works by either increasing or decreasing entropy with the decrease requiring a specific spot ex. dust collecting into a concentrated point or the increase requiring an ...
Novus Pendragon's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
2k views

How much clothing could one cut through with a chainsaw before it stalled, the chain broke, or some other disastrous thing happened? [closed]

The worldbuilding context is that I have a character who is in a terrible urban-fantasy situation, and is led somewhere where there is something he could use to defend himself with. It's unfortunately ...
Wiskersthefif's user avatar
10 votes
6 answers
1k views

How might heat management in a large hab dome work?

I hope this is more focused D: Setup; Hela is a exoplanet in the fictional Eurydice system, about 4 Ly from Earth. The exoplanet is significantly younger than Earth, and life on her is in a late ...
ErikHall's user avatar
  • 1,822
2 votes
1 answer
114 views

What's the maximum mass for an Iron Planet to have a magnetosphere like Mercury's?

I'm designing an iron planet which migrated into its habitable zone. Basic research told me iron planets cool off too quickly to have a magnetic field, so initially I was looking for ways native life ...
Thoth's user avatar
  • 317
3 votes
3 answers
226 views

How would you get a ship out of a gravity well?

Context I'm helping a friend with a hard sci-fi story and we ran into an issue. In this setting the technology for absurdly powerful and efficient fusion drives which seem not to have heat managment ...
Shift_register's user avatar
7 votes
9 answers
3k views

Can a device that causes memory loss be created with near-modern technology?

I am creating an alternate history world that leads to modern Earth having many different nations & cultures than it has in real life. One country is big on funding many extreme experiments to ...
Rhymehouse's user avatar
  • 3,290
-3 votes
0 answers
52 views

How would future humans be able to evolve large heads? [duplicate]

In my story there are future humans that managed to build a time machine and for research purposes decided to travel back in time to change past events from taking place. These future humans have a ...
Blue Shark's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
402 views

Thermal Superconductors vs Pulse Lasers...in atmosphere

Based of a conversation with @Starfish Prime regarding the answers from this question here. In short, while the question itself had a satisfactory answer with it being that pulse lasers would ...
Seraphim's user avatar
  • 4,373
10 votes
5 answers
3k views

How heavy does a "city" for two thousand people need to be?

This question is inspired by Mortal Engines, but I imagine something more feasible. The original question I wanted to ask was "How to keep a city in the air?", but I figured out there is ...
Mołot's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
620 views

Moving Arrows to Supersonic Speeds

In a sci-fi world that I am making, an infantry held launcher is one of the many weapons developed to counter increasingly tough armor protection, brought on by the advent of advanced materials and ...
Seraphim's user avatar
  • 4,373
3 votes
1 answer
208 views

What would a rough estimate of the global climate of an earth be like if lit by a geosynchronous ring instead of a point source?

Welcome to fantasy earth: like Earth in all the same ways, with the exception that the sun you know has been replaced with a ring you don't. What would the climate of Earth be if the sun was replaced ...
MegatheriumMegafauna's user avatar
14 votes
4 answers
3k views

What considerations would have to be made for a spacecraft with minimal-to-no digital computers on board?

I'm writing a sci-fi book where the main method of travel involves collapsing a star into a black hole by putting a satellite equipped with some sort of handwaving mechanism into orbit around the star....
FlightDeck0112's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
373 views

How would a planet's surface be younger than the planet itself? [closed]

Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, is 4.5 billion years old (like Earth.) However, its surface is only 20-180 million years old. What could lead to a planet/moon's surface being younger than the planet/...
Sky-and-Clouds's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
211 views

Landscape of Indefinitely Old Earth

If we somehow fix the Sun's luminosity indefinitely at current levels, stabilize the Moon's orbit so that it no longer drifts away, and match the solar tides precisely with lunar tides so Earth's ...
Meatball Princess's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
150 views

Formula for determining maximum flight speed of superpowered individuals

I would like to be able to roughly determine the maximum horizontal flight speed of any superpowered individual using only the maximum acceleration that person can produce. To do this, I will need a ...
M S's user avatar
  • 1,842
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Thermal Superconductors vs Pulse Lasers

How well can a thermal superconductor protect against pulse lasers? First off, what is a thermal superconductor? It is a material that has a theoretical infinite thermal conductivity, similar to what ...
Seraphim's user avatar
  • 4,373
8 votes
5 answers
4k views

Is There a Lower Limit on the Size of Fusion Reactor?

It would be really cool if you could build cybernetic arms with incredible strength, power coil guns with a man portable unit, or use power armor for extended combat. One of the ways this is ...
Englishman Bob's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
245 views

What Could You Learn From Someone Else's Persperation and Exhalation Using Nanites and Smart Sensors?

Several sources suggest that "smart dust" could be used to make observations about someone's health and the environment around you. Here are some sources that suggest you could make ...
Englishman Bob's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

How bullet resistant would a person be who is 80 times more durable than a regular human?

The tensile, shear and compressive strength of all their tissues, including bone, skin, muscle, etc., is multiplied by a factor of 80. They are also very buff and so have a large body volume. How ...
Daniel Mazdak Honar's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
145 views

How to increase the structural integrity of comets (for the purpose of moving them)?

Suppose there is a comet of radius 500m made of mostly ice, with the rest being rock, dust, and other frozen gases. The comet is being hollowed out in order to use the water as reaction mass (giving ...
theogonzalles's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
129 views

How would a balloon-like plant function?

I've been thinking about a floating and photosynthesizing plant, which would either float due to trapped light gasses, or something else that has a very low density. I'm thinking of a plant roughly in ...
Jakav's user avatar
  • 412
4 votes
1 answer
93 views

How reasonable is my hypothesis regarding ring-tailed orthostatic bipeds?

So, in my process of designing humanoid/humanesque sapient aliens, I often find myself wanting to have a species which are orthostatic (upright) bipeds like humans but which nonetheless have long ...
Choroflorocarbon's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
1k views

How many miles of subterranean caverns could exist unknown to science?

In a setting I'm working on, a creepy fungus-based ecosystem exists in a cave network below the Earth's surface. I don't know how/if this is an answerable question, but -- how many miles (I don't need ...
BZawhi's user avatar
  • 99
-2 votes
1 answer
74 views

What composition of atmosphere would work with CO2 best? [closed]

I'm working on a solar system where there is a planet with a red-ish atmosphere, due to it mainly being composed of CO2. I know CO2 doesn't react with many chemicals and is pretty dull, molecule-wise. ...
Silvermidnight's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
105 views

What industrial facilities are needed to support a largely self sufficient interstellar mining operation? [closed]

Setup A while ago I asked a question concerning a plausible Room Temperature Superconductor. This question is about the on site industry needed to support a significant extraction and logistics afford....
ErikHall's user avatar
  • 1,822
5 votes
1 answer
152 views

Is my alien foot design viable for a compromise between arboreality and cursoriality?

I keep trying to design humanoid and humanesque sapient aliens, but I often run into issues with the feet; In an orthostatic biped, an enlarged first toe (big toe) is probably essential to maintain ...
Choroflorocarbon's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
835 views

Internal Mass Driver Engines in Cislunar Space

An internal mass driver engine uses electrical power to accelerate reaction mass in a mass driver and to accelerate a spacecraft that way. Some designs assume relatively large exhaust particles (dust ...
o.m.'s user avatar
  • 112k
17 votes
5 answers
7k views

Are stainless steel railway tracks worth it?

In How long would it take unused railroad rails to corrode below usability?, we are asked how long railway tracks would last, and in my answer, I show that while ordinary steel railway tracks are ...
Monty Wild's user avatar
  • 56k
3 votes
1 answer
194 views

Are My Ocean Currents Realistic for a Supercontinent?

I followed tutorials online and drew out my ocean currents. However I don’t have a strong grasp on the concept. My world is primarily Earth-like with a retrograde spin and an axial tilt of 174 degrees....
Anubia-Bastet's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
435 views

Solar Flux required to boil oceans?

What amount of stellar flux that a planet receives is required to boil away all oceans on said planet? We're thinking of Q🜨 (Earth = 1.00 Q🜨). For comparison: Venus ~ 1.93 Q🜨, Mercury ~ 6.57 Q🜨, ...
Sussus Amogus's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
184 views

How long would someone last in excruciating pain while assisted by chemicals?

My setting is just like the real world, except for a twisted Excess God. Who demands rituals to exacerbate its Worshipers feelings, which he in turn feeds on. There's just a problem, these rituals are ...
Or4ng3h4t's user avatar
  • 341
5 votes
2 answers
213 views

Very large orbit binary/trinary star systems

In my universe, Ancient Aliens once visited Earth with consequences.1 At that time they left instructions2 that 5,000 years3 in the future something would happen.4 The instructions left behind a ...
JBH's user avatar
  • 117k
3 votes
4 answers
392 views

Is it feasible to kiln-dry timber in the same kiln that is used to fire ceramics?

In the story I'm writing, my modern-day characters have the need to produce a great quantity of bricks in a relatively primitive setting and society, equivalent to ancient Sumeria. They have access ...
Monty Wild's user avatar
  • 56k
11 votes
10 answers
2k views

Definite pitch designs only, what musical instrument and class of musical instruments would be easiest to design if the world reset?

I saw a couple other threads with slightly similar questions. But I want to stress with this one, that the focus is what instrument and instrument family would be the easiest to build anywhere in the ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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