Questions tagged [stealth]

For questions about the prevention of detection of objects, whether artificial or natural.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
-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 ...
Rhymehouse's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Fulano's user avatar
  • 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 ...
JanKanis's user avatar
  • 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 ...
user avatar
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 ...
ITM_Coder's user avatar
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 ...
Rhymehouse's user avatar
  • 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 ...
spaceamoeba1010's user avatar
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 ...
spaceamoeba1010's user avatar
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 ...
Tortliena's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Fulano's user avatar
  • 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 ...
11Bravo's user avatar
  • 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 ...
11Bravo's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 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 ...
chasly - supports Monica's user avatar
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 ...
Friendlysociopath's user avatar
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 ...
SapphireFlame's user avatar
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 ...
Shadowwell's user avatar
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 ...
cal's user avatar
  • 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.) ...
Shadow1024's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Efialtes's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Kaitlin Jenkins's user avatar
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 ...
Gryphon's user avatar
  • 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 ...
user's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Creed Arcon's user avatar
  • 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 ...
unfa's user avatar
  • 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 ...
OneSurvivor's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Arvex's user avatar
  • 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 ...
ColonelXander's user avatar
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 ...
Johnny's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Josh King's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Southpaw Hare's user avatar
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 ...
spraff's user avatar
  • 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 ...
mrfolkblues's user avatar
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 ...
user73829's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Liquid's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Anoplexian's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Gryphon's user avatar
  • 10.9k