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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I designed a Maglev space propulsion tube on Mt. Everest. Do you see any issues with it?
So, I designed a mass driver on Mt. Everest.
The mass driver is powered by "PERMANENT" magnet rings with a strength of 5 teslas each (the black lines in the tube). The mass driver then ...
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How soon after first contact could an advanced civilization make large financial transactions on Earth?
One day, a portal, several hundred meters across, appears without warning above the Atlantic, roughly around the Bermuda triangle region. It hovers in mid air, immobile, 200 meters above the surface ...
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How efficient would meat plants be?
Eating meat is inefficient. With each step in the foodchain you lose anywhere between 50 to 90% of the energy. So as a human trying to be efficient you want to have the least steps between you and the ...
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What changes would be expected of Earth plants on a low-light planet?
I've read about plants on worlds orbiting red dwarfs potentially having black leaves due to the higher infrared radiation, but what kind of changes would be expected of plants on a planet like Mars ...
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What color should my planet's skies be?
Assuming the skies are clear of suspended particles, what color should they be at mid-day if viewed with human eyes?
The planet is larger and twice as massive as Earth, with a nearly identical ...
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Geological activity and of superearth - cannonball moon system
I understand that this situation is hypothetical -- I just need a piece of advice to make it more realistic.
In my story, there is a superearth of 4,5 Earth masses and 1,35 Earth's radius, rotating ...
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How feasible would it be if cockroaches no bigger than an inch (2.5 centimetres) took fall damage from around 6-7 feet in the air or less?
Ok, so I have an unfinished/W.I.P world (may turn it into story) about a sapient civilization of cockroaches called Roachins that are pretty much German Cockroachs, but most/many can fly and can stand ...
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Will the Anatomical Differences in These Humanoids Affect Baby Development? [duplicate]
Okay, here are two hypothetical species of the genus Homo. One averages 67 to 84 inches (170-213 cm) in height and 99 to 110 pounds (45-50 kg) in weight and gives birth to twins. The other averages ...
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What's stopping other rock layers from creating a karst-like landscape?
Context
I've reread a part of a book about geochemistry and it reminded me that just about any element can dissolve in water if the pH is right. Later an examples of aluminium or iron dissolving en ...
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What is the most important objective for survival in a post-apocalyptic society?
Let's say the world as we know it has been brought to an end by a nuclear apocalypse.
Our perspective centers on a small group of survivors in one area, benefiting from a shelter of some kind. These ...
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What engineering complications would come from a species being giant?
In a project I'm currently working on, the primary species stands at roughly 19 feet tall on average. While there are advantages and disadvantages to such a size, this scaling would present a number ...
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Antimatter planet on normal matter star
Consideration
For the sake of argument, please assume the following:
The planet in question is around the size of Earth
The planet may contain native intelligent life, artificially engineered
The ...
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Boron-based life
Body:
Boron-based lifeforms that use ammonia as a solvent and respires methane & hydrogen, with an atmosphere of mostly methane, hydrogen, nitrogen and in smaller percentages, acetylene & ...
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Can the mass of a rocky Super Giant be artificially reduced?
THE PREMISE:
Let's imagine a solar system with at least two rocky planets.
One is Earth sized "A" (or smaller) and the second is a Super Giant "B".
Both are in the habitable zone ...
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Interception of missiles in space combat
How to approach this problem!
Numerically. Trying to find some closed form equation to spit things out is extremely difficult, especially in the face of how well this lends itself to numeric methods. ...
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Alternatives to a sapling for a small game snare trap
I'm working on a story where the main character is going to reap the majority of his income from "inventing" things that a semi-medieval alternate world doesn't have yet. Cooking oil, soap, ...
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Visibility in a ringworld atmosphere?
So I am proposing a ring-world of approximately 1600 km diameter. The ring spins for earth like gravity. The ring itself would be several kilometers thick with Earth like variations in elevation (i....
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Could gene therapy become the new plastic surgery?
In an EXTREMELY near future (the story is set in June 2028 of the Gregorian calendar), there are some people that use the gene therapy because they want to change their physical appearance.
For ...
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Mapping the far side of the galaxy
Humans got a one time ticket to the other side of the galaxy, traveling $2r$ in just a few days (where $r$ is the distance from earth to the super massive black hole: 28,000 lightyears)
The stars we ...
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What to do so the sun (light source) appears to be following a daily cycle on a McKendree cylinder?
In my setting, a McKendree cylinder (a rotating habitat so large it holds its own atmosphere) is orbiting the sun, with the top of the cylinder pointing at the sun.
How do we make the sun appear to ...
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Carbon planet gardens [closed]
This is a restart of my previous question: let's say there was a carbon planet with life. That means it would use hydrocarbons as a solvent and since the molecules are more complicated, all reactions ...
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Plausible evolutionary path from modern birds to "dragons"
I'm interested in how you could get a creature that is broadly "dragon-like" to evolve from modern-day birds. Considering that some extinct early birds or proto-birds looked pretty reptilian,...
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What would this superEarth look like? [closed]
I have a superearth with the following characteristics:
Mass: 6.386 Earth Masses (.020082 Jupiter masses)
Radius: 11397 km
Mean Density: 5.3 g/cm^3
Distance from Star: .257 AU (Orbits a .97 Solar ...
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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 ...
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How fast does a pineapple need to fly to kill?
Basically, spud guns use air pressure to shoot spuds. More air pressure, faster spud. How fast would a pineapple gun (ignore making it, say it just works) have to shoot the pineapple to be lethal?
...
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How fast can a cylinder spin, with a human on its inner wall, to NOT experience motion sickness?
Context
I'm working on an interstellar Ark made of a few (probably 3 to be more specific) layers of cylinders (modified O'Neil's concept), while trying to get the station to be as compact as possible. ...
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Conditions for my tower to be above the clouds
I want to build a tower on top of which I should see clouds below.
Example: View from top to be right above clouds (even temporary low clouds are fine)
Question : What conditions are required to get ...
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How can I have normal density matter in higher dimensions?
Background
The problem of sphere packing in higher dimensions is well known. In summary, the volume that equal-sized spheres (or hyperspheres) can fill inside a cube (or hypercube) decreases with ...
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How feasible are my Gauss weapons?
Now, in my world, Gauss weapons are in common use for use in armor piercing where LP (low-powered) lasers and plasma fail. Using solid steel needles, slugs, or bolts, depending on the size, shape, ...
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What would be the major effects of heating wood in particular and other common materials anaerobically?
I'm essentially working on a book in which the magical system involves people converting an energy source into a mimicry of an "element", complete with most of the properties but not ...
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Could fire use chemicals other than oxygen as fuel?
Could "fire" exist on a planet that has no oxygen in its atmosphere? If it was using some other chemical as fuel, how would that effect its physical properties, color/appearance, temperature,...
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Aerial Combat in a High-Pressure Atmosphere
The world I've been working on has a higher gravity (1.4g) and a denser, more oxygen-rich atmosphere (33% O2, 4 bar). While this has a plethora of effects, this question primarily discusses the ...
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Bidirectional engineered rivers for long distance non-self-propelled boats
Building on my previous thread and taking into account suggestions Long distance travel by non-motorised rolling vehicles
I wish to consider two-way rivers that flow in opposite directions at the same ...
CommunityBot
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Urban Planning on a Tidally Locked World
I'm in the early stages of a project involving a habitable tidally locked world, this one a fairly Earth-like (large ocean) around a K-class orange dwarf. And using this study for reference, where the ...
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Are there any ways to allow some form of FTL travel without allowing time travel?
Faster than light travel is a really cool thing to have in sci-fi settings. It allows humans, in relatable time scales, to travel the galaxy and see a variety of worlds. It allows for conflicts ...
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Is there enough nitrogen in nitrates on Mars to create a thick atmosphere? [duplicate]
One idea concerning the terraforming Mars involves breaking down nitrates in the regolith, (which the curiosity rover confirms exist) into nitrogen and oxygen/ozone. These gases are key in creating a ...
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Is it possible to date this object?
I am writting a science fiction novel. In my novel, some scientists find an important object in an Earth-like planet: a bunch of spherical synthetic quartzites.
These quartizes are approximately 200 ...
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Is there a scientifically plausible faster-than-light communication system?
In series such as the Hyperion Cantos and Ender's Game, there exist fictional faster-than-light communication systems allowing either instantaneous, or near-instantaneous transmission of information.
...
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Could a sub-race of humans survive at 2 feet tall and live underground (occasionally going to the surface)
The faeren are an extremely short sub-race of humans that live underground in secret mounds called "barrows." Their males are chubby, but muscular, and are all capable of growing vast beards,...
CommunityBot
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Long distance travel by non-motorised rolling vehicles
Background
I have lush fertile mountains separated by miles of flat, barren desert. Each mountain is home to a community. The distances between mountains vary from 2 - 20 miles.
Every occupied ...
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Could a 1-2 foot tall (30-60 cm tall) human fly with giant artificial insect wings attached to their back?
I'm creating a sub-race of extremely short and technologically advanced humans in my book. These humans, which are dubbed 'faeren' or 'faeries' have created backpacks that have insect wings attached ...
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Seasons increasing and decreasing in length in a predictable cycle?
Could an Earth-like planet have a cycle of seasons changing length without changing the length of the year? Having long summers and short winters at the start of the cycle and shifting towards long ...
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Is there a scientific explanation as to why aliens should look similar to us?
In almost all science-fiction stories that include alien races, said aliens are similar to humans in many ways: bipedal (and often humanoid), communicate with sounds coming out of a mouth, orient in ...
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What feature of Earth would be most likely attract the interest of aliens?
What feature of Earth would be most likely to attract the interest of a curious alien intelligence searching the Milky Way marking the Earth as an unusual world and how close would they have to be to ...
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Would a rogue planet experience more asteroid collisions?
I'm working on a novel where the characters inhabit a rogue planet. Would that planet get hit by more asteroids due to the fact that it isn't orbiting a star? I have a feeling that the distance is ...
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Designing a low technology flamethrower with limited resources
This is an extention of these question: Using dead bodies for material 4: ammunition and Arming all untrained people with firearms, which weapon would do?
The world is suffering from the creatures of ...
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How deep underground could a city plausably be?
So I'm working on a planet for a Sci-fi RPG setting. The basic idea is 'an earth-sized planet, far from the sun, too cold to live on, but with very earth-like gravity, so people live in underground ...
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How can an object pass through a building without taking significant damage?
A kaiju swinging its arm through a building, a superhero that, locked in battle with a villain, flies through several buildings, a huge mecha that uses its ax on a skyscraper, like a lumberjack would ...
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Can a species with the ZW sex determination system be viviparous?
I imagined a hypothetical species of squamate from the Anguimorpha clade. They are my dragons. They are a rare example of viviparous nonmammalian tetrapod. However, like all anguimorphan squamates, ...
CommunityBot
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What vampires get from blood [duplicate]
My vampires eat normal food too, but if they don’t drink blood they get really hungry for it. If their hunger goes on for too long they become unhealthy and weak.
I figure that blood of mammals ...
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