Questions tagged [technological-development]
For questions about the progress of a society's technological state.
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7answers
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How long can a nation maintain a technological edge over the rest of the world?
My question was raised by this post.
Aliens crash-land at the Boston Airport (ie, in the United States). [...] The potential benefits of being able to reverse-engineer their tech alone is enough ...
5
votes
2answers
247 views
Crash-landed aliens - political repercussions? [closed]
Spinning off of the question "Can humans save crash-landed aliens?", I immediately wondered what the real-world political effect such a landing would cause.
To summarize - Aliens crash-land at the ...
11
votes
10answers
2k views
Why is old stuff good? [closed]
It's a common pattern in nearly any imaginary world that "ancient items are powerful artifacts" and stuff.
But for what plausible reason? I'm trying to come up with some realistic explanation on why ...
8
votes
1answer
130 views
Minimum tech level to invent core memory
Magnetic core memory was a critical innovation in the development of computers. Per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic-core_memory it was the most advanced form of memory from about the mid-...
4
votes
4answers
401 views
Having a Castle before they are invented?
Amid a Sword and Sandal era, my protagonist comes from an ancient and powerful family who has lived in a castle for many generations. The problem is that castles shouldn't exist yet, at least not for ...
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vote
2answers
148 views
What would happen if a modern model city was found in a fantasy world?
Now to clarify, when I say a modern model city, I don't mean simply getting New York and plonking it somewhere on fantasy land #27544. I mean a city specifically designed for the purpose of being ...
2
votes
1answer
144 views
Post-Apocalypse Technology? [closed]
I’m currently writing a book where there is a large explosion in Mid-USA, in the year 2025. Following this, there is a world war that diminishes the US population to ~70 million people. There is a ...
2
votes
0answers
76 views
What is the minimum tech level for manned flight? [closed]
For instance, a hot air balloon is really pretty simple; I suspect that even thousands of years ago, it would have been possible to make - steam engines existed in 1AD, after all.
So, just how far ...
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votes
6answers
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Humanity loses the vast majority of its technology, information, and population in the year 2122. How long does it take to rebuild itself? [closed]
The year is 2122. An AI created in the year 2115 with complete, unfettered access to control of the entirety of Earth's electronic equipment has caused a mass extinction event of humanity after ...
-1
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1answer
129 views
What would the implications be if all terrestrial lead was gold? [closed]
At some point before life crawled out of the ocean, some alien alchemist managed to turn all of the lead on the earth into gold. Galena becomes some sort of Electrum, and any existing Anglesite and ...
3
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2answers
125 views
Transparent Materials for Creating Martian Dome Ceilings
What options exist it any, for a radiation resistant, transparent, and durable material that could theoretically be used for a ceiling of a martian dome?
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15answers
2k views
Highly technological aliens land nuclear fusion powered ships in medieval city and slaughter everyone, using swords? [closed]
I want to create a scenario where highly technological aliens invade a medieval earth, the kind with magic and dragons and such. But I don't want the aliens to be completely overpowered. I want them ...
4
votes
5answers
690 views
How can I ensure that advanced technology remains in the hands of the superhero community?
There is a brilliant scientist who regularly tangoes with external threats to the planet Earth, where a race referred to as "humaniti" reside. He, along with a team of scientists, operate out of a ...
9
votes
3answers
218 views
How could a hive-mind without true individuals create technology?
Imagine a species in which the ego never developed. There is no self-direction. This species is always making noise, however, and it is through this noise that the society itself experiences the ...
35
votes
17answers
12k views
Can the number of letters in alphabet suggest how advanced civilization is?
Let's suppose we intercepted a message in an unknown language. We were not able to decipher it, but we were able to decode it. Meaning we know the letters but not the meaning of the words in the text. ...
1
vote
3answers
203 views
Must Make a Major Modification of Medieval Metallurgy
The scene: Earth, but with a single major modification, the addition of a HUGE quantity of a single element to the Earth's crust (bringing it up to the same abundance as Iron in the crust).
The ...
14
votes
21answers
4k views
Is there a way to keep science from ruining tribute magic?
This magic is done by offering a tribute to god. The tribute is mana, the magical power source. You offer it up in return for a wish granted by god. The benefit of the magic is that the only ...
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25answers
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What could prevent us from making alien technology if we had the schematics?
This question is inspired by Could medieval people produce automatic firearms if they had access to the schematics?
I have simply moved it forwards in time as follows:
In 2019 we receive an alien ...
6
votes
3answers
139 views
Forging with geothermal heat: Possible alternative to fire in alien species' technological progression?
A world idea I'm playing with for a sci-fi idea I'm working on has an atmosphere similar to the composition of Earth's atmosphere during the Carboniferous Period: Lots of oxygen, so while a human or a ...
21
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10answers
3k views
First innovation for time traveler to low-tech society [closed]
A time traveler goes back in time (one-way trip, and he does not get to choose the exact destination) to a low-tech society, similar to medieval Europe. His objective is to kickstart an industrial ...
2
votes
4answers
141 views
How to make non-tradable sector unattractive for ambitious entrepreneurs?
I'm writing a story about a government of a former colony who wants to industrialize the country and build its manufacturing base. However too many entrepreneurs prefer to invest into non-tradable ...
2
votes
0answers
68 views
How would fierce competition affect the adoption of alternative energy sources? [closed]
This is a continuation of the question asked here: How long would it take for nuclear energy to become adopted in a world on the brink of collapse?
So, with my current timeline, nuclear energy (and ...
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13answers
1k views
Preventing Technological Progression
Normally, technology in numerous fields will advance due to breakthroughs driven by a need for something like more efficient weapons or farming. How can I explain a civilization being "technologically ...
5
votes
1answer
170 views
How long would it take for nuclear energy to become adopted in a world on the brink of collapse?
For reference, I'm going with the accepted answer given here: How would technology adoption of Lithium Air battery work?. In my world, it makes sense that governments would be very interested in ...
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votes
3answers
174 views
Plausible futuristic infrastructure for an underwater micronation built 300-500 feet below the surface
My story takes place hundreds of years in the future after global warming has made life at the surface uninhabitable for most life forms. What’s left of mankind survived because it became popular to ...
3
votes
2answers
184 views
How would ships develop in a world without Gunpowder/Cannons
So i was thinking about the world i set my story in:
Set in an age equivalent to the 17th century
Magic exists, but is not very powerful though very versatile
Gunpowder was never discovered
naval ...
4
votes
7answers
2k views
Microscopic LEDs
In my world, extremely small LEDs are vital.
My question is, with today's technology—or any reasonable improvement of, i.e., “we don't have the machine to build it but we have the sciences and ...
3
votes
2answers
114 views
Plausibility of another extremely intelligent species evolving who finds the remains of our existence and emulates our society
I've been thinking on the concept of the human race dying off (the reason doesn't matter), but most of the other living species on the planet survive. Although we die off, the remains of books, the ...
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votes
8answers
442 views
How advanced can a stagnant civilization on a dying planet be?
Background
The concept of an old and dying red planet is common in pulp novels, comics, and gaming. What I am interested in is a world dying under a sun that has turned red and is expanding. The ...
6
votes
9answers
310 views
The reason a cyclical world's lifespan diminishes over eons
I'm brainstorming ideas for a fantasy videogame and have been trying to list possible reasons why a fantasy world would have a lifespan diminish exponentially through countless cycles of death and ...
10
votes
5answers
367 views
Reality Check: Discovery of Iron Bloomery without a preceding Bronze Age?
The setting that I am working on has a population of humans living in a place that does not have abundant copper or tin resources, so it is unlikely that they'd discover Bronze. However, bog iron is ...
26
votes
13answers
9k views
Could a species with a lifespan of 20 years achieve enough technological progress to reach space?
I'm current planning a story which includes a race of diminutive humanoid aliens, one of whom crash-lands on Earth. They're fully sentient, and have the same average intelligence level as humans. The ...
6
votes
1answer
204 views
A kingdom brainwashing its aristocracy but not its citizens [closed]
So just for a quick "historical" context.
This is a continent where numerous races other than humans exist as does somewhat weak magic. In the medieval era the humans attempted to genocide/enslave ...
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vote
3answers
217 views
Freezing Technology at a Civil War Level for 200 Years
Is there a way to "freeze" weapons, transportation, and communications technology at an American Civil War era level for at least 200 years?
Basically, in the year 1867, two years after the end of ...
9
votes
4answers
508 views
How to not let magic advance the technology too fast?
So lets say that the level of the non-magic wielding species i.e. humans technology is at around the level it was in the early medieval times.
I would then introduce magic to the rest of the world in ...
7
votes
6answers
323 views
How to hinder the development of sea travel until the industrial age?
Instead of Earth as we know it, humans evolved on a slightly smaller, habitable earthlike planet with different geography. Due to the plot reasons, I would like to keep them confined to one (large) ...
1
vote
2answers
88 views
Alternatives to using iron and iron-based products [closed]
So I'm homebrewing a race and one of their things is that they're averse to iron (I'm basing this off of how in a lot of folklore supernatural creatures are warded off by iron) and I just want to know ...
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votes
1answer
82 views
World with 2 billion people [closed]
How much would fertility rate need to drop for the world to stabilise at 2 billion people in 200 years time?
Would the world with this amount of people be vastly more peaceful and prosperous?
9
votes
3answers
203 views
On an Earth regularly ravaged by solar storms as strong as as the Carrington Event, how would technology advance?
The world I'm thinking of is a large moon of a gas giant. It's fairly Earth-like, perhaps a bit smaller, might be a bit magical, but sits about where we sit around a star very similar to ours, except ...
2
votes
2answers
224 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 ...
6
votes
8answers
374 views
Is it possible to keep secret such a technological discovery?
Welcome to my fantasy, late-medieval world. For the sake of the question, we can divide it up in two major continents:
Continent A is considered the birthplace of my humans and features a solid ...
5
votes
5answers
288 views
Looking for a way to power a locomotive in a pseudo-1600s fantasy world
Assuming a world where there were no steam engines available, would it be possible for large passenger or cargo trains to exist?
Would it be possible to use horse-engines to power a locomotive?
If ...
1
vote
1answer
221 views
How can I slow technological advancement? [closed]
The Scenario
I am the last survivor of a race of technologically advanced humanoids.
My civilization annihilated itself and devastated our home planet.
My Capabilities
I have sole (obviously) ...
7
votes
4answers
240 views
How Advanced can Societies of Hooved Animals be?
Humans have come and gone. Their aggressiveness and pride have caused their own end. War has torn apart all society, engineered diseases pick them off one by one. The last remaining people have fled ...
1
vote
1answer
90 views
How do I measure the stages of futuristic genetic engineering development? [closed]
Please note this question was originally asked and deleted by the user Era. I've chosen to resurrect the question with slight modifications because I think it is deserving of and will foster ...
2
votes
7answers
266 views
How to justify the coexistence of countries with different levels of development? [closed]
Note: The word "culture" refers to a collective of peoples and countries using the mentioned technologies.
So I'm running into the problem that I want multiple technological environments in my world ...
15
votes
31answers
6k views
What is a good excuse for why an early 1900's-like fantasy world has not yet invented rifles / guns of any sort?
I am writing a book where the world is split into multiple kingdoms, with each kingdom using a similar magic system to the rest, but using different powers. IE one can control the elements, another ...
3
votes
3answers
199 views
Life and technology in magnetically-floating islands [closed]
I'm designing a world that has a series of layered floating islands, that are kept aloft due to magnetism.
What sort of secondary effects might occur with a planetary magnetic field strong enough to ...
15
votes
11answers
4k views
Restricting antimatter - practical rather than legal measures
Antimatter is relatively easy, but heinously expensive, to make using modern technology. I have two universes with the same problem; energy is free and for all practical purposes infinite, this should ...
2
votes
3answers
217 views
Can blind people build a spaceship and land on the Moon?
This question is inspired by Could a species develop the tech necessary to land on their own moon without comprehending light?
Consider following scenario: a civilization of alien tricksters abducts ...
