Questions tagged [stealth]
For questions about the prevention of detection of objects, whether artificial or natural.
37
questions
-2
votes
2
answers
136
views
Would foot weapons be viable in a street fight? [closed]
There are several weapons that are used to enhance a person's punches. These include brass knuckles, caestus, boxing tape, etc. These weapons are often used in disorganized conflict like bar brawls ...
- 3,078
2
votes
2
answers
696
views
Would an aircraft covered in radiation-absorbent sponges be invisible to radar?
Context:
In this semi-futuristic war history, some militaries looked at the ultra-high performance concrete used in bunkers and thought: "hum, the only problem with bunkers is that they can't ...
- 189
4
votes
3
answers
199
views
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 ...
- 1,394
5
votes
4
answers
204
views
How to make stealthier armor?
In my setting a colonial power at a late medieval level of technology has gifted its native allies with mail armor. The natives are quite happy to receive it, but are simultaneously frustrated. The ...
user71781
9
votes
15
answers
7k
views
Is it possible to make a concealable firearm that is undetectable to metal detectors? [closed]
In Die Hard 2, there is an infamous scene where the protagonist talks about the fictional Glock 7 that was used against him. Apparently, it was a porcelain gun made in Austria Germany that didn't ...
11
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Could superhuman pre-Industrial Orcs wage effective guerilla warfare against a modern military?
In my story, a portal links the modern world to a medieval fantasy world. This is sort of similar to Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There. The North Korean military decides to go through their portal and ...
- 3,078
2
votes
2
answers
114
views
Possible alternatives to nebulas as a celestial smokescreen
I've been trying to find celestial phenomena that could act like nebula often do in Sci fi shows, i.e.,
A phenomena where a ship can hide from other ships
A phenomena which is difficult but possible ...
- 697
10
votes
7
answers
3k
views
What would an alien spaceship need to have to be undetectable to us with our current technology
This alien spacecraft would be orbiting around earth at 300-400 km, it has a similar size to the ISS, and it has to be undetectable with our current technology. I assume that it would prevent emitting ...
- 697
5
votes
3
answers
214
views
How can a Middle-Age spy traveller hide as many ropes and gags as possible on themselves?
As I recalled about some Mermaids being tied up, I remembered some stealth game moments where the heroes, in order to have free moments wandering around without those annoying guards and honest ...
- 7,468
-2
votes
2
answers
112
views
Does microwaves (or other types of wave) be able to disrupt radar signals? [closed]
The idea is that this next generation fighter jet would have some microwave or electromagnetic emitters to disrupt the travel path of the waves radars emits and "disappear" from the map, but ...
- 189
5
votes
9
answers
5k
views
Would coating a space ship in liquid nitrogen mask its thermal signature?
One of the biggest problems with stealth in space is heat.
My idea was to have a gap between hulls filled with a liquid similar to liquid nitrogen which would chill the outer hull and electric ...
- 2,082
9
votes
11
answers
4k
views
Will this stealthy ship work?
My idea is a corvette is dipped in radar reflecting paint that makes it look like a 50x50x70 foot asteroid. It shuts down its reactor and the crew all huddle in the ops deck with minimal heating and ...
- 2,082
19
votes
10
answers
4k
views
Can a rogue radio signal from the moon or near orbit realistically go unnoticed?
I'd like some fact-checking for a somewhat lively discussion going on over here. Feel free to wander over for details, though they aren't necessarily relevant. (Also, I hope this can serve as a useful ...
- 14.4k
2
votes
3
answers
203
views
Shadow People - where would they go in cloudy weather? (not the movie)
Shadow people (not the movie)
Shadow people move around by pretending to be someone's shadow. They fix themselves to the soles of your feet. If you already have a shadow they will overlay it. They ...
- 49.3k
4
votes
3
answers
145
views
Do I Have to Radically Change Plate to House Gems?
In a world there is a king and that king has knights.
These knights make use of magic amulets to protect them from supernatural threats: witch spells, manticore venom, werewolf curses, et cetera ad ...
- 1,943
5
votes
3
answers
277
views
Ways for advanced civilizations to mask communications on an interstellar / intergalactic scale
Say we have a civilization on the verge of becoming Type II, and are in the process of building a Dyson Sphere. They are aware that in the process, and especially after completion, there will be ...
- 108
5
votes
4
answers
304
views
Could one use Air Pressure as a form of stealth Propulsion in Space?
This is my first question here so I would like to apologize if this is sloppy or in the wrong place or the like. I have searched and found nothing that answers the exact question I think, so thought ...
- 53
24
votes
12
answers
7k
views
Can an escape pod land on Earth from orbit and not be immediately detected?
I'm writing a soft scifi novel that has its fair share "fi" but every now and then I feel it important to acknowledge some "sci."
In this scenario, a spaceship is in orbit and about to land on ...
- 1,123
2
votes
6
answers
514
views
Stealthy and hard to sink marine drone made out of... fiberglass and styrofoam
OK, the weapon idea is the following:
general shape similar to the drone on this picture
modular armament, in default configuration with anti-ship missiles (but goes with torpedos, gun, mines, etc.) ...
- 10.1k
7
votes
8
answers
988
views
Self-charging PCP Airgun
In my story idea the main character is given a PCP airgun with a sort of self-charging mechanism in order to commit certain covert operations by assassinating certain individuals. (Don't ask, he was ...
- 3,216
2
votes
4
answers
264
views
How could gods/deities have been on earth controlling natural phenomenon, and have remained nameless? [closed]
To extrapolate, these gods/deities can be seen and are in some kind of physical form or another (perhaps they possess living creatures or just create bodies of their own). They are essentially ...
- 317
8
votes
7
answers
860
views
A possible solution to stealth in space
I'm sure most worldbuilders will have heard the aphorism that in space "Everyone sees Everything", or that "There Ain't No Stealth In Space". I'd like to propose a possible solution to this.
The ...
- 10.9k
2
votes
4
answers
337
views
Why would anyone light campfires in The Zone of Alienation
The game The Zone in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is set in modern day Ukraine and Belarus. In the story, a power surge at a research facility causes the explosion of a reactor.
The area around the site is ...
- 131
0
votes
3
answers
305
views
Help my Assassin Kill His Target [closed]
This normal looking man here is called Sam, and he’s about to kill a VERY important person whose death will bring about a great war. This would-be assassin is posing as an Alliance guard, face lift ...
- 3,592
9
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How could an alien mine exist under a planet's surface without humans detecting it from above?
Imagine a human observation and research facility being built on a planet in a distant solar system.
How could an alien colony exist beneath the planet's surface, staying completely invisible to ...
- 199
40
votes
15
answers
16k
views
The gun which makes no sound
Is a gun which produces no sounds within the human range of hearing possible? I know of a couple issues:
Most bullets move quick enough to make a whistling sound, but I may be incorrect in that ...
- 3,092
1
vote
2
answers
180
views
Would combining thermoelectric cells and electronic warfare reduce chances of a ship being detected?
In the science fiction setting I'm working on, I had a thought on how to reduce the detection ranges in space. On a previous question, I suggested the idea of capital ships and other support ships ...
- 3,034
6
votes
3
answers
215
views
Any stealthy methods of tracking vessels at sea before advent of RADAR?
Clearly, I don't mean simply keeping eyes on a target ship -- unless of course there was some method by which one ship could remain within visual range of another without being seen by the target. I ...
1
vote
3
answers
213
views
Room-Temperature Animal
Remember the Xenomorphs from aliens, how they didn't show up in heat vision? I was wondering how you could recreate that effect biologically... a creature which doesn't pop-up on IR (at least, not ...
- 4,168
12
votes
13
answers
3k
views
High Speed High Tech Stealth Transportation in a Medieval Setting [closed]
In a medieval technology level Earth like world, a small widely dispersed group of individuals have access to technology at a level comparable to our near future (mid 21st century, hard science). For ...
- 24.4k
0
votes
3
answers
205
views
Ninja versus the Alien Invasion! [closed]
What would make ninja valuable in defending humanity from an alien invasion?
Imagine a scenario like that of XCOM (old or new), Xenonauts, Phoenix Point, or other various Alien Invasion stories: the ...
- 1,286
4
votes
4
answers
17k
views
What's the stealthiest way to knock someone out? [closed]
A sneaky character needs to incapacitate someone. It's a sensitive situation, so this must be done quickly, quietly, and reliably.
The target is a healthy human adult. Killing the target is highly ...
- 1,871
1
vote
3
answers
288
views
Can a group of people be trained to look and act identically so that a computer could not tell them apart?
Modern day image recognition is getting pretty sophisticated, such that people can be easily identified by cameras and automated systems. If I recall correctly, even the way a person walks can help ID ...
- 91
0
votes
5
answers
320
views
Would a tank with a cloaking device be pointless? [closed]
I know it could probably fire the first shot without the enemy seeing them but after it starts firing, would it matter that it's invisible? Would it be harder to hit or would it be easy to just figure ...
- 869
22
votes
10
answers
6k
views
Moving stealthily in a hostile enviroment
I'm in the middle of sketching out a new story, settled on a post-apocalyptic version of our present. The main feature of this environment would be blind, mindless, aggressive and contagious versions ...
- 3,806
70
votes
14
answers
10k
views
How can I hide my island?
I'm a supervillain. I have no name, but you can rest assured my intentions are dubious and always result in general harm.
My biggest problem these days are these pesky superheroes keep finding my ...
- 4,571
23
votes
13
answers
5k
views
Ways to hide an elven city
How could a large (10,000-20,000 people) elven city hide itself from a person wandering through? These elves can bend plants to their will and stimulate plant growth by singing, so they could live in ...
- 10.9k