Worldbuilding

Questions tagged [scientific-development]

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For questions about the process of developing scientific discoveries and what prerequisites are needed for different types of discoveries.

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5
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3answers
150 views

How do you make scientific progress happen in the presence of superpowers?

With superpowers, people would lose the desire to build machinery as superpowers can perform most purposes, and people would be less interested in studying the environment than wielding superpowers (...
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5answers
242 views

How to incorporate scientific development into fantasy/sci-fi?

In the Avatar the Last Airbender manga/comic and Avatar The Legend of Korra, scientific advancement took over industrial work replacing bending. Eventually nuclear weapons would be found (as well as ...
6
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3answers
123 views

Could a pre-modern civilization make a gas canister with rough valves and pressure regulation?

I wanted to have a gas cylinder that would hold up to about 10 litres of gas (oxygen, mainly) at 20 atmospheres of pressure. Or, if that's impossible, 7 atmospheres would suffice. The setting is pre-...
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2answers
102 views

Could you develop Electrolysis with Pre-Modern technology?

Electrolysis was a popular idea for how mermaids would generate oxygen for their guests. This leads to another question: Is it possible to perform electrolysis with pre-modern technology? Electrolysis ...
17
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6answers
2k views

What technology would mermaids excel at?

I regularly see people speaking about the difficulties of technology underwater, and see questions about whether underwater civilizations could produce fire, electricity, etc.. But I haven't seen any ...
8
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3answers
239 views

Complete graph (DAG) of prerequisite relationships of human technology

There are a bunch of questions here that require knowledge on ''which technology is a prerequisite for which'' (for example here, here or here). I was wondering if there was ever any attempt to ...
5
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4answers
243 views

In an alternate universe in which humans can live, how to encourage emphasis upon the life sciences

Let us presuppose a universe adjacent to our own, that has collided non-catastrophically with our own on a number of occasions, causing an exchange of matter including humans in the most recent ...
2
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1answer
122 views

Evolution of biotech [closed]

So, I want to write a realistic alternate timeline where people switch to biotechnology in the 21st century, assuming that the technology to make it it already there. I have postulated several reasons ...
3
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4answers
141 views

Putting together a research expedition to an alien planet - what kind of scientists am I taking with me?

It's the 22nd century and we have discovered a derelict alien craft somewhere in the Oort cloud. The craft contains a star chart showing its origin on an alien planet some 30 light years away. Let's ...
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4answers
175 views

How can early people prove that their planet is a cuboid?

Imagine a cuboid planet with a thick atmosphere orbiting a star similar to our Sun. The inhabitants are as intelligent as humans and recently discovered the universal laws of gravitation and motion ...
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5answers
380 views

What problem in classical physics can a computer solve that a human doing calculus cannot?

So in my setting there is a small and exclusive group of people that have access to devices that work like computers (but which are not the same as computers. They do not use semiconductors and ...
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1answer
127 views

Building a formula 1 car within one month?

! One of my characters wants to participate in a medieval chariot race. The catch is, they use magical chariots that can go at significant speeds, similar to today’s street cars. So he and his ...
2
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2answers
196 views

How to evacuate an entire planet?

Setting: An Earth-like planet except all the continents are joined together like Pangea. The locals are in the medieval era and have the ability to use magic. Magic can level buildings at best, ...
10
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9answers
5k views

Which is easier to develop: a piston prop engine or a jet engine?

I’m writing a novel where people from our universe move to another. The other universe is a fantasy one with medieval technology. These people have the help of an advanced AI that contains the ...
1
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1answer
186 views

How a character from the future, reincarnated in the medieval times, could use their knowledge without being accused of witchcraft? [closed]

The setting: more or less our regular medieval times, no magic or magical creatures, but religion is big and most people believe in folklore and superstition. The plot: character from the far future ...
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2answers
165 views

Did people have an idea of DNA in the 17th century? [closed]

I know that DNA was discovered later in time but during the 17th century, specifically around 1620 and onwards, would people have known anything about the idea of DNA? If so then how much would they ...
2
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1answer
113 views

The solar system is open for exploration. What fundamental research will we do first? [closed]

In the near future, technology and budgets for space flight have advanced considerably, with lots of uncrewed probes around and crewed missions as far as Mars. Notably, there's a significant ...
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5answers
245 views

Advance human society by time-transporting a book. Which to choose? [closed]

Humanity has done it - the first time-machine was built! However, the machine's capabilities are very limited as it is very costly and fragile, which means we only have one shot. Building another one ...
2
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4answers
142 views

What are some difficulties in synthesizing desirable substances produced in nature?

Suppose that there is a substance that is produced in nature by an organism. This substance is rather desirable. The reason this substance is desirable can be anything: Whether it is because it is a ...
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1answer
203 views

What is left in physics for a scientist in the Star Wars galaxy to study? [closed]

I know this question may be considered too broad, but I legitimately wonder what physics science; scientists are working on in Star Wars. Many many people have said that there is no scientific ...
2
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1answer
132 views

Quaternionic electro-magnetism, world that it can exist in, and the appropriate equation system [closed]

The thing could not exist in real world; it is imaginary concept, expressed in a equations in a paper, that could run as a simulation on a PC. That could be interesting for people with some ...
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5answers
2k views

Efficient way to transport a Stargate [closed]

In the future Earth, scientists have successfully created Stargate. And because of the greedy nature of human being, they wish to colonize as many planets as possible! And they sure can NOT wait ...
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5answers
270 views

How can ruler support the invention of useful things?

Good rulers support invention of useful things. But this question has two sides. Support of invention Prevention of fake inventing Basis: Many inventions arise as side-effects of searching for ...
14
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6answers
546 views

Could just a brilliant idea advance science by decades, or even centuries?

Inspired by this story, I started thinking. Let's say we have a person, from the modern day, who miraculously gets a superpower: He can rewind time, but retain his own memories. He can rewind all the ...
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4answers
117 views

which problem can be solved by virtual world technology [closed]

can we use this technology to do scientific experiments(example : making The Large Hadron Collider, New medicines's reactions against virus and bacteria.) maybe you can make the argument that the ...
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2answers
521 views

What kind of science could be done in a station orbiting black hole [closed]

I am writing a script for science fiction RPG where everything takes place in a science station orbiting a black hole just outside the Schwarzschild radius. But it occurred to me I have no idea what ...
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1answer
141 views

How fast can directed evolution make the leap from unicellular to fishlike ability level? [closed]

Premise target: A few thousands of intelligent machine-scientists have been tasked on the creation of an organism with the abilities of an animal. The exact requirements that they are given are: Can ...
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8answers
2k views

How to make variable super-soldier size the norm versus a single size

Imagine you can build your soldiers in a lab somewhere. You can control everything, and you've found a the ideal humanoid form (ignoring potentially better forms here). You could build them in all ...
2
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0answers
136 views

Implications of phlogiston theory? [closed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlogiston_theory Assuming experiments in the 1770s had proven phlogiston theory correct instead of invalidating it, what would the implications be for the development ...
3
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0answers
135 views

How much longer would it take to reach technological parity without access to energy dense resources like fossil fuels to bootstrap development? [closed]

If the only difference in our hypothetical world is where fossil fuels like coal and crude oil are nonexistent, the advent of an analogous Renaissance Era, subsequent Age of Enlightenment, and ...
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3answers
255 views

The muscles of these humanoids stay the same size as they get stronger: what false theories would they have about strength?

The muscles: They have muscle tissue that can grow stronger with exercise and can atrophy with neglect just like our muscle tissue. But their muscles don't grow larger when they get stronger, and ...
2
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2answers
271 views

Earth evacuated - what advancements would an early civilization gain from what they left behind?

Here's the scenario: living deep underground, far from any influence of modern humans, is a civilization of what can essentially be considered early Sumerians (from 3000 BC). Disregard how they got ...
14
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15answers
5k views

How might a Professor of Mathematics Change History?

A professor of mathematics is sent back in time to a post-Neolithic farming village. They accept him as their wise man, and he spends 30 years teaching them all he knows about mathematics until he ...
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3answers
631 views

Oligarchy as a form of government

Can a country with an oligarchy as an offical form of government be successful and have prosperous citizens?
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2answers
403 views

Could a species develop the tech necessary to land on their own moon without comprehending light?

Inspired by a brief comment converstaion found here. I would like to investigate the design and development of an alien species whose technological development did not include an understanding of ...
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0answers
102 views

What consensual human experiments would provide the most geopolitical value? [closed]

In the world I envision here, some countries take a much less fundamentalist stance on human rights (maybe a more extreme version of China) than we generally take for granted. For the purpose of ...
2
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4answers
279 views

Reasons why AI/mind-uploaded humans would run long-term anthropological experiments on biological humans?

I’m having a bit of trouble with this one. I’m trying to justify why a once scientifically advanced human outpost on an alien planet went the way of the Planet of the Apes and became a schizophrenic ...
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2answers
109 views

How would the lack of nukes/fission technology affect warfare and conflicts between 'great powers'? [closed]

(First time poster, but I don't shy away from receiving criticism :) ) Let's assume that there are two great powers that are vying for dominance over the planet, but neither of them has discovered ...
8
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3answers
774 views

Deriving a system of scientific units

The dominant society on my conworld is at a level of technological and scientific development not unlike our own, with minor differences here and there. Scientific standards are decided by Academy of ...
1
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0answers
226 views

Is it possible to build a Science-based medieval fantasy world? [closed]

For instance, I'm currently building a fantasy world set in medieval times in a fictional world. I'm very keen on Science and I would like to combine the two. I thought that the characters could ...
17
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6answers
4k views

What scientists would go on an research expedition to an alien world?

In my story, a team of scientists are sent to an alien world similar to Earth to conduct general research on its environment, ecosystem (that is: its animal- and plant-life), and weather. It is the ...
9
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3answers
404 views

Might a ritually cannibalistic society gain a head start or have an advantage in the study and development of the sciences?

This is largely inspired by two questions that @dsollen has asked over the past year or two. The first: Would ritual cannibalism of the dead lead to issues with disease? The second: Cultural beliefs, ...
6
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2answers
717 views

Is a habitable desert planet with large fossil fuel deposits possible?

I'm working on a sci-fi Western scenario on a habitable desert planet along the lines of Tatooine from Star Wars and Arrakis from Dune. For it to be habitable there has to be water below the surface ...
5
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6answers
677 views

How to explain why a human society's state of technology on another planet might be locked?

I've become interested in sci-fi / science-fantasy / weird Westerns. Building upon what I asked here I would like to be more specific and ask if there's scientifically sound ways to explain why a ...
11
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2answers
783 views

How far would science advance if we lived in a cave? [closed]

In the book The Quantum Universe, the author suggests that: If the human race evolved in an underground cave system, never to see the sky, it is possible that they could have imagined a ball of ...
0
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2answers
160 views

Is a nanocomputer something a civilization would strive to create? [closed]

I've recently been very interested in the concept of a nanocomputer for my future sci-fi world; as of now it's purely hypothetical/sci-fi esque. It seems cool, but I still have trepidations with it a ...
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2answers
249 views

Can haptic holograms be used to make something akin to a holodeck?

If the holograms are really advanced like the hologram of Snoke in The Force Awakens and they are haptic, which means you can feel them, can they be used to make an immersive virtual reality ...
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7answers
1k views

Pumping blood turned into power

How could we use our own heart which pumps our blood, to potentially charge devices such as a cell phone?
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2answers
219 views

How can one convince someone from the past that one really can transmute elements at-will? [closed]

The alchemists of legend and yore sought to transmute elements, among other things -- the classical "lead into gold", for one. Nowadays, we've figured out the nuclear physics required for ...
0
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1answer
635 views

What primitive and gun-based weapons would non-human species develop? [closed]

Pretty much the title, but I'll explain more below. I am currently working on creating a plethora of alien species for my universe. However, I am also unsure as to what kinds of weapons some of these ...

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