Questions tagged [science-fiction]
For questions that allow fanciful, creative or imaginative solutions based on or rationalized by real world science, but not necessary limited by real world science. Entirely magical solutions must use the magic tag instead. This tag should not be used with the science-based, hard-science, or internal-consistency tags. This tag should never be the only tag on a question, because this tag frames how a question should be answered, not the topic.
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Can a spaceship "hitchhike" on an explosion to escape a gravity well?
Common in sci-fi tropes but absolutely climactic nonetheless, a spaceship faces impending doom after encountering a gravity well such as a stellar black hole. The spaceship's captain gives the order ...
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2
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How could I redesign my dragons to have 6 limbs and still be able to fly?
In a previous post, I asked about dragons in my stories and how I could make it plausible for them to fly while also meeting the criteria of having 6 limbs and being 15 to 20 feet long when fully ...
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27
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Would intelligent life evolve any other body plan than humanoid?
Disclaimer: This question uses some liberal wording to get key ideas across. It's not meant to be academically rigorous, so please try to focus on the ideas and not the exact definitions of the terms ...
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Necessity of army and navy in a space warfare setting
I'm writing a realistic sci fi story involving interstellar conflict , where space warships (assume something like star destroyers from star wars) are the norm, These warships are capable of orbital ...
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What makes small-scale private star-harvesting profitable?
In a distant future where FTL interstellar travel is commonplace, there is a stable large-scale market for a commodity called photonic negentropy ("PhoNE" for short, though nobody remembers ...
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Would you read about a universe that has no shadow? [closed]
I'm devising a story that, due to some physical/mythical/"spiritual" reasons, has an entire universe that exhibits NO SHADOW at all.
The explanation to this phenomena I'm thinking about is ...
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Iron drive: does this fusion superengine require clarketech? [closed]
For context: this is a very far future sci-fi setting, dozens of millenia from now, where dyson swarms and interstellar travel are commonplace, bioengineering and tech are so advanced they merge ...
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What if a planet has one half that always faces the sun? [closed]
Imagine we have a planet that rotates with the same angular velocity as it circles its sun. That means, one half is always facing the sun, while the other half is always facing... well, nothing.
I'm ...
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Advantages of locations in the solar system for a space station [closed]
In my story, a hostile alien force has arrived in our solar system and parked a station to keep us in line. They've mined the near-sun planets to build a Dyson Swarm, something they do fairly ...
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How to recreate a "land" harp that can work in the deep sea?
Once again, I am asking questions based on my as of yet defined highly-evolved, human-derived "merfolk". But this time, I'm going towards deeper waters-- let's say about 5000 meters below ...
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Is it possible to use rail guns or mass drivers as some kind of anti orbital weapon?
I know it is possible to use missiles to shoot down satellites in orbit but what about using rail guns or mass drivers as some sort of anti orbit weapon. I know the idea of a "space gun" ...
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How long would it take humans to notice a civilization on Venus?
Now I know this is a very weird and impossible question, there is clearly no civilization on Venus. But for the sake of the story I'm cooking up in my head, Venus remains habitable and develops life ...
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Avoiding time travel or causality stuff
How to avoid blatantly time traveling or breaking causality in a big way when getting my characters to places quickly (Faster than light)?
The method used is a tunnel in some sort of different space ...
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3
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What would a medical condition that makes people believe they are a machine be called? [closed]
I have been thinking about a world where there have been incredible advancements in biotechnology. Genetic engineering, advanced bionics and, of course, the long-time human tradition of finding new ...
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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 ...
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How would future humans be able to evolve large heads? [closed]
In my story there are future humans that managed to build a time machine and for research purposes and decided to travel back in time to change past events from taking place. These future humans have ...
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14
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How might a science-fiction world's technology advance faster than our own? [closed]
I'm wondering what techniques exist to make the technology change quicker in my story. I want to be able to change the setting quickly, like progressing from a computer mechanic where space travel is ...
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19
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Why have non-magic technology when there is already a magic solution?
In my world, magic and technology have a weird relationship. While they do combine and help advance growing civilizations, they can also inhibit each other. For example, if there are healing spells, ...
CommunityBot
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Would Artificial Gravity With Short Range Be Possible?
Assuming a spaceship with artificial gravity was possible, would it be possible for it to have an extremely short range, like a few feet. So you'd be able to have a ship with 1g but not have it ...
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Could a super cannon be viable for transportation of human beings?
Afternoon everyone,
In my setting, humans live in isolated "burrows" with an immense and dangerous forest separating them. Rather than planes or helicopters, trains and super cannons are ...
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4
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How can I determine the radius of turn a 4.6m diameter Tunnel Boring Machine could have? (im building fictional underground labs in the desert)
I have chosen this kind of Tunnel Boring Machine to make the tunnels (4.6m diameter). The curvature of the tunnels depends on the radius of turn the machine has.
The idea is to build underground ...
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Non absurd way to lay a cable over light years of distance [closed]
This isn't entirely hard science but bear with me.
(Prologue) In the near future, a series of increasing heavy elements are synthesized building on the theory of islands of stability, incredibly ...
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The Frozen Star - Can U-238 reactors be used as a energy source for 10,000 years?
I was watching this Minecraft Animation video based on a scientific concept about what would happen if we froze the Sun - What happens if we Freeze The Sun- Portrayed by Minecraft.
In this video, ...
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23
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Why would cyborgs, assuming they are rare, be found in the lower classes rather than the elite?
In my world, advanced technological body modification exists. Those with any sort of modifications are rare, and those with extensive modifications are even rarer. These rare and uncommon cyborgs are ...
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12
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What would justify the use of homing pigeons in a world where sending digital messages is a viable option? [duplicate]
The setting is a post-scarcity civilization, where a galactic government exists, but due to the limitations on faster-than-light travel, each world is relatively self-governed.
I want a city on one of ...
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2
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Collectible energy resources in sci-fi world [closed]
I am exploring a post-apo sci-fi world TTRPG game where the PCs need to collect some kind of treasure. Unlike fantasy games, gold doesn't seem adequate. I thought collecting energy sources would be ...
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2
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How would weather work on a planet with no rotation and constant sun on all sides?
A while ago I had an idea of a man made planet that consist of a thick, incredibly strong, outer crust, and at the core there is an antigravity/antimatter device that also produces consistent heat and ...
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3
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Office Superpowers: which augmented soft skills help with happiness? [closed]
Office Universe:
In my fictional universe, superpowers exist, but they manifest in a peculiar manner. Individuals are granted abilities that are strictly related to enhancing their office work and ...
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How are custom organs controlled by the brain?
In various sci fi settings you'll often see soldiers that have been modified beyond their baseline human level. Sometimes they are genetically grown this way, but other times they're modified as ...
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Black Hole Containment
Black holes are often featured in advanced sci-fi technology. A significant challenge for such technology is the safe containment of a black hole. Some stories have electrically charged black holes. I'...
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4
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Would the "Rods from God" satellite actually create an explosion?
The "rods from God" satellite. Its a satellite that contains these long darts, presumably made of a very heavy material like tungsten, that are dropped into the atmosphere. By the time they ...
0
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1
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What would be the fastest concoction of natural poisons to kill a person?
I am coming up with a character that is able to produce poisons from his own body. He does this by analyzing the DNA of various poisonous animals and plants, and being able to 'manufacture' whatever ...
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Could Aluminum-Based Placoderm-like Tooth Structure Break a Human Skull?
I have a monster in mind, but a major part of its introduction to the story is that I want to have it bite a human soldier's skull clean off. Its teeth are similar in structure to a Placoderm's, but ...
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What would be an appropriate size for an interplanetary bulk cargo ship?
I've been working with a friend to design a sci-fi setting for a TTRPG campaign and one of the issues I've run into is the scale of food production and transportation within the setting. In the ...
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How plausible might planimals be, and what would they be like?
This question is in relation to speculative biology/evolution: A genre of science fiction and hypothetical branch of science which seeks to explore "what if" questions about life using ...
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3
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What would a planet where giant creatures live be like? (gravity, weather, etc.)
I am thinking about a planet on which gorilla-like people live in. Gorilla-shaped, walking on their knuckles, but with the capability of complex speech and a slightly more humanoid face (possessing a ...
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6
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How to keep a city floating beneath the surface of an exoplanet's ocean in place?
How would I be able to explain a city that is underwater, floating in place and such. Without it constantly moving. Basically, how can I explain how it stays in place and doesn't get pushed all across ...
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3
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Frozen Stars - Alternate sources of electricity
As in my previous question, I was talking about survival, when the parent star of a planet, Eridanus, froze due to some unknown cause. So the residents of this planet Taurus, the Villagers, have done ...
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How would law-enforcement authorities tell a clone from the original? [duplicate]
Something I've been pondering- in a future where it's possible to create a clone of a specific person at the age that person is now (instead of as a baby) and, for various reasons government and law ...
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15
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How do I keep my futuristic racing hovercraft from becoming airplanes?
I'm working on a science fiction racing game that is centered around hovercraft that will race through various environments, both natural and man-made. I'm trying to establish a design language for ...
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What would realistic racing hovercraft look like in terms of aerodynamics?
This is a follow up to a previous question of mine: How do I keep my futuristic racing hovercraft from becoming airplanes?
I'm in planning stages for a futuristic racing game and I'm trying to figure ...
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Eyes that aren’t spheres: possibilities? [duplicate]
I have a sci-fi-like universe and one of the species has long, vertical eyes.
But would this be anatomically possible without a sphere-like structure? I know that compound eyes are a thing, but how &...
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Motivations for creating "brainstar" bioplanets [closed]
I define a "bioplanet" as any single organism that completely covers the surface of a planet. In my scenario, humans pass Kardashev Type I status and build a Matrioshka brain around the core ...
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2
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Can an advanced android interface with nature to repair themselves? [closed]
Context: This takes place in a soft science, post apocalyptic world. The actual time is a WIP, but technology would be advanced, post nuclear age but not quite interstellar travel. The world itself ...
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1
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Symbiotic brain [closed]
I like to take mythological humanoid creatures and reimagine them in multiple species of primates. For instance, wendigos are just skinny-but-strong gigantopithecus that wear bones/skull of their prey....
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6
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Is it possible to store the gravitational energy between planets somewhere in space? [closed]
Say I have a space station operating between Mars and earth. Can it somehow steal energy from
Mars- Earth
Earth - Sun
Sun - Mars
Combinations of gravitational pulls?
Would it distort he orbits?
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What long term effects would an eruption of the ring of fire have on Earth? [closed]
We all know about the ring of fire, and we all know what happens when a volcano erupts.
For context: this is set in the near future, with humans living in high-tech protective domes during/following ...
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3
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Could a planet much larger than earth have the same gravity if it were hollow?
Now- this is probably a stupid question but hear me out.
If the planet I want to imagine were much larger than earth, would it have to have a massive difference in gravity?
It sounds extremely ...
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Is there such there frequency reasonance that could through entanglement be used to exchange all the atoms in a field from the frequency here/there [closed]
I am a science fiction writer. In my world there is this space ship that has a drive that has a real time mapper that can map the atomic particle frequency in this space, map the frequency of a far ...
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2
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How do robots gain independence? [closed]
Something I'm working on- in a spacefaring human society, while most robots are still considered property of a specific human being or institution, a slowly growing number have managed to gain an ...
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