Questions tagged [technology]
For questions about the creation, use, and application of all types of technology.
1,759
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How can space-mines be improved as a viable weapons in interplanetary space warefare?
Set in the distant future two fractions are engaged in bitter conflict spread across the solar system, the Earth Federation wants to deprive the rebels hiding among the moons of the gas giants of ...
2
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0answers
50 views
Going from the apocalypse to X-years post-apocalypse in a logical and realistic way [closed]
I'm currently developing a post-apocalypse story idea, where a virus caused the death of a lot of humans and in advanced phases spread to animals and made them insane (don't want to have zombies nor ...
4
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5answers
624 views
Detection systems and trigger mechanism in a pre-electronic world?
I am building a setting that is essentially steampunk,being exact it would be pneumatic punk. What electronics and electronic equivalent exists, are primitive and extremely expensive. Thus the ...
11
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2answers
365 views
Are medieval flamethrower chariots viable?
Historically, the Byzantine Empire used ship-mounted Greek Fire throwers to defend Constantinople. These weapons were pretty advanced and horrifying for the enemy.
The existence of these historic ...
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2answers
101 views
How to introduce fictional technology without creating plot holes [duplicate]
Many books, shows, and videogames have technologies in them that often lead to plot holes emerging as the author tries adapt thier fictional technology to a variety of different scenarios over time.
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asked May 26 at 22:09
Nosajimiki - Reinstate Monica
21.8k2 gold badges29 silver badges98 bronze badges
5
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7answers
603 views
What sci-fi discovery creates the most new technology with minimal explanation? [closed]
I had a hard time figuring out exactly how to word this question so I'm going to explain a bit.
I'm thinking of an idea for a videogame where the game mechanics are heavily focused on the logistics ...
4
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5answers
157 views
Optimum shape for a Space Dreadnought [duplicate]
So, for an RPG I am developing, I need to design the perfect Space Dreadnought, in the Star Destroyer style. My concept of the end product involves a More Dakka approach, with the combined firepower ...
5
votes
2answers
190 views
Could we build a roof over the Grand Canyon?
(or some other Lesser Canyon)
I'm playing with story ideas for a videogame that takes place in the post-post-apocalyptic US. Everything is overrun with monsters and ocean horrors and whatnot, you've ...
4
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6answers
160 views
Could there be a situation where a plane would be certain to be destroyed by dropping an atomic bomb?
Well obviously, if a plane is flying 100 feet or meters off the ground and and flying at only 50 miles per hour, the bomb would hit the ground and explode before the plane could get far enough away to ...
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6answers
744 views
How feasible would gliders or the like be on a flat plain, with no cliffs to launch from?
How effective or possible would flying machines that are not powered by a machine be on a flat plain?
I have a setting where much of the world is a relatively flat grassland, and the people have no ...
4
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2answers
102 views
Would a collective mass of nanobots function properly as a single robot?
In my story, I want to explore a concept similar to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator genisys, with a robot that is in fact composed of millions of nanobots, which thus grants it the ability ...
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18answers
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Why would witches be incapable of using wands?
Witches are born with various levels of mana, with some having larger pools than others. This determines the strength of their magic and the power of their spells. However, magic is complicated, ...
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3answers
215 views
What would it take to make watching movies in the apocalypse an actual possibility?
For a story I'm writing set in the post-apocalypse, I have a character whose only real reminder of their dead family are the movies they used to watch together, since everything else that belonged to ...
10
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16answers
2k views
how can large reserves of mana not be made irrelevant by technology?
All individuals contain mana, the life force of a human that can also be used to power spells. People are born with various levels of mana, with some having larger pools than others. This determines ...
2
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4answers
222 views
Disney buys all the rights on sex bots [closed]
Year 2030, and sex bots have now been around since the early 2018 and existed as a concept for more than half a century.
But during the last years they became more and more common, they are not in ...
4
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3answers
189 views
Would it be possible for humans to fly with mechanical wings?
This is something I’m thinking about. Now, these would be wings that are not powered by the person themself, since we do not have the strength for it (and I don’t want to use legs). They’d be powered ...
7
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4answers
263 views
In a general sense, would it be better to equip troops with plate carriers, body armor, etc. if they’re fighting against zombies?
In a general sense, would it be better to equip troops with plate carriers, body armor, etc. if they’re fighting against zombies?
Right now, my Troopers (what someone in the US Garrison is called) ...
7
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1answer
71 views
Lightsaber + Pogostick: How would deceleration work on an extendable “arm” of pure handwavium-energy?
In my setting, I'm trying to develop interesting movement/combat mechanics. I asked a related question about ways of slowing free-fall descents in an effort to develop exoskeleton-enhanced parkour. ...
2
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1answer
95 views
Possibility of Using Quantum Teleportation Technology To Give People Telepathy
After reading about physicists achieving 'teleportation'of subatomic particles using quantum teleportation. It made me consider having a story where a technology advanced, futuristic society using ...
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9answers
5k views
Is a modern dark age possible?
For context, I'm considering a story similar to the Netfilx TV show The 100 in which humanity has to recolonize the Earth following a major extinction-level event. I'm aiming for the society they ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Countries are suddenly isolated, can they maintain/recover the current technology level? [closed]
Let's say suddenly, today, transparent and invisible barriers appeared along the borders of all countries. Here are the mechanics of those barriers :
They let air, light and animals pass, however, ...
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23answers
3k views
A clothing material or other method to slow free-fall descent down walls
I'm working on a military sci-fi piece that involves a lot of exo-skeleton enhanced, well, parkour -- for lack of a better term -- and was wondering how to deal with descents from great heights.
The ...
2
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4answers
84 views
How to protect against an orbital strike? [duplicate]
How can I protect a country against an unguided orbital strike/"rods from god" style weapon?
I was thinking maybe stopping the launch would be easier than stopping/blowing up the actual rods in mid-...
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0answers
32 views
What system would I build for the human brain to be able to experience 400 years of earth time events in only 4 hours? [closed]
preferably need knowledge about
brain-computer interfaces
brain neural enhancement
brain in a vat
the novel SHADOWS by John Saul
perspective in which you see the computer as the thing which allows ...
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votes
9answers
233 views
how to siege a small island nation that is the most powerful country in the world [closed]
this question is linked to this question
The governments of the world have come together and decided to attack the small island nation after many failed attempts at stealing their technology.
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3
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6answers
2k views
What would happen if a small island nation became the strongest country in the world? [closed]
What could happen if, say, a small island off of the coast of Africa became overnight the most powerful country in the world? Can we predict what would happen? Would the world's superpowers be nice ...
2
votes
4answers
117 views
How would someone actively search for titanium ores or other minerals?
I'm working on a story where the main character has to search for titanium (or rather ores containing titanium) in order to repair the hull of a ship. She's on a habitable world that's essentially a ...
5
votes
7answers
872 views
detecting a cloaked alien ship [closed]
Let's say an alien mothership is cloaked high in the earth's atmosphere. It's not detectable by means such as radar or any usual means of detection aside from crashing into it which is highly unlikely....
2
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2answers
104 views
What is the force of impact for a failing space elevator given the following conditions?
The local sapient species on a relatively Earthlike planet has constructed a space elevator. It is anchored along the equator. Due to unfortunate circumstances (and potentially divine intervention) ...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
Is a water-to-plasma gun feasible?
Would it be possible to turn water into plasma via hydrogen all in a compact gun like design, if not would it be possible at all? I know hydrogen plasma is a thing, so could it be weaponized?
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3
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2answers
97 views
How can humans actively tidal lock a planet? [duplicate]
How can humans (like that that are on Earth now) stop planet from rotating (tidaly lock it, to make an eyeball planet)? Is that technologicaly possible? Can moons of that planet help them? They want ...
4
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7answers
908 views
What should I consider when making walls or fortifications that can stand against zombies, bandits, and enemy militaries?
So recently I’ve decided to add a wall to Washington, DC and this is where the wall (named Federal Wall) would end up encircling, with the area being within the Wall being known as the Federal Defense ...
2
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1answer
140 views
How can I get people to put their money where their mouth is? [closed]
When individuals cede their power for effective choice to involuntary institutions, as soon as there's an uncoupling between what the institutions are aiming at and the interests of people, which do ...
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2answers
143 views
toilet for mermaid?
I want to know what kind of toilet design for mermaid is, considering they live surrounded by water and they poop through the anus (or whatever the organs name is) that located in the front rather ...
5
votes
1answer
78 views
What is a reasonable level of technology within an late medieval, early Renaissance-ish society? cameras versus saxophones [closed]
I must immediately confess that my co-writer and I have never settled on an official time period to base our world off of; it's a fantasy setting (with magic), and though there's fairly intricate ...
6
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5answers
379 views
How practical are walls and other tall fixed fortifications when it comes to the defense of a city in a post-apocalyptic setting?
I want to have Washington, DC have a militarized defensive wall (called the Federal Wall) somewhat similar to the Hoover Dam but with artillery, air, and infantry support stationed on its (imagine ...
7
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12answers
4k views
Despite almost zero energy consumption why does my spaceship scheduled cryostasis in shifts?
In the distant future a breakthrough in cryostasis technology can put healthy people into frozen state so that all metabolism halts and cells never age a bit, the spaceship is carrying them across ...
7
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4answers
592 views
Human labor required to setup automated mining outpost on faraway planet?
Glossing over the technological implications of interstellar travel, what sort of human labor might still be required in a future where we are capable of setting up nigh-fully automated endeavors on ...
2
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3answers
108 views
Could it be possible to quantum entangle particles on a mass scale?
So in the world I'm building, I'm considering to give one of my characters the ability to quantum entangle specific particles on demand. Now although for many years we thought quantum entanglement was ...
4
votes
7answers
1k views
Powertrain for mid-19th century mecha
I’m writing a steampunk/weird west story set in 1867 and I want to incorporate some form of armored battle “walkers” (aka mechs). Looking for ideas for powertrains that could conceivably run such a ...
5
votes
1answer
141 views
Would Alcubierre Drive Technology Allow for Artificial Event Horizons?
So, my understanding of how Alcubierre drives would theoretically work is not particularly complete. I know it involves compressing and expanding space, but I don't really have an intuitive grasp on ...
2
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4answers
758 views
Could yet unobserved baryons constitute useful building materials?
The setting is a science fiction story set roughly 500 years in the future.
Looking at Wikipedia, I see a number of baryons that have so far never been observed. I'm interested in exploring this ...
7
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2answers
174 views
How would underwater weaponry and technology look under high pressure?
Suppose we have a fictional water planet. Humans have discovered interstellar travel and have colonized the planet. They live in large underwater cities. Its oceans are under high pressure, say ...
5
votes
1answer
93 views
What can merfolk use to see in the abyss?
A particular species of merfolk inhabit the abyss of the pacific ocean, they belonged to the secret clan which was tasked by the Atlantean emperor to seek immortality elixir. The emperor ordered their ...
2
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1answer
99 views
How can antibodies induce a demigod transformation?
The Greek gods were sufficiently advanced aliens with access to powerful technology. In the begining of our worlds formation, Zeus created mankind from his own flesh. These mortals were made in their ...
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1answer
62 views
Technological “dungeon” designed to last for millennia
You are Alien McGee. For some reason ( don't ask why ) you need to hide an artifact in our solar system for roughly 20,000 years before coming back and taking it.
Said artifact is a magical vase ...
2
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1answer
78 views
What key technologies in today's world would not exist if flight was never discovered? [closed]
For an alternate world sci-fi novel, I'm trying to figure out which technologies they have.
I would prefer for flight not to exist. Would this interfere with things like computer technology? I ...
1
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2answers
69 views
What technology could I use to manipulate gravity (for locomotion among other things) [closed]
The story takes place in our future, during the 25th century. I'm looking for a scalable technology that could allow something as small as a cyborg or personal vehicle to fly, or something as big as a ...
0
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3answers
105 views
How can a “magic” mirror flash blind people?
My "magic" mirrors are purely technological and are only able to transmit light. More precisely, they can display the visible and infrared spectrums, and communicate via radio waves. They're basically ...
9
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3answers
266 views
What would be valuable and useable as currency for people traveling between multiple dimensions?
I have a cosmos where FTL travel is via an alternate dimension. The problem is when you return to our universe, you find yourself at the right destination, but a completely different parallel world ...
