Questions tagged [technology]
For questions about the creation, use, and application of all types of technology.
2,399
questions
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Will Cobalt still be available on Earth in the year 2100?
I would like to know the state of cobalt on the earth in the year 2100, but I hear that it might run out in 2025 or 2030. Cobalt is used to make electronic components. In a world where most of the ...
- 111
8
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Why does a hypersonic missile need to cruise Earth at low altitude before hitting its mark?
Imagine a certain nation tested a hypersonic nuclear-capable missile and it was designed to make a few trips around the Earth at low altitude before striking the surface. Don't they need to worry ...
- 46.4k
6
votes
1
answer
159
views
How could a magic casting device work?
In my story, mages are only able to cast spells through a technological device (I imagine it as something similar to a watch). The source of their magic is a region in the brain capable of producing ...
- 89
15
votes
8
answers
4k
views
How would a secret tunnel be kept entirely secret?
The world this is set in is located in a valley and doesn't allow anyone to leave.
They are very strict about this so there are many watchtowers along the top of the valley sides, and soldiers ...
- 527
3
votes
3
answers
165
views
What kind of technology would a dragon-like species have during the golden age of piracy?
The world I'm working on contains multiple "sub-species" of sentient, European style dragons. When standing on all fours, a human comes up to your typical dragon's shoulders, and they are ...
- 1,477
4
votes
4
answers
553
views
Reality Check: Are these aliens feasible?
I'm working on a Space Opera novel featuring a group of aliens that call themselves Species 0001. Here's what you need to know about them:
They are a species of squid-like aliens that evolved on a ...
- 1,477
6
votes
2
answers
170
views
Is it radio silence between 2 Alcubierre drives?
Suppose we grant a 1 time scientific miracle for exotic matter to power Alcubierra wrap drive, then could two such drives communicate with each other? The drive discharges exotic matter particles ...
- 46.4k
15
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Are jumping ships feasible? (Not jump drives, but ships that jump)
As mentioned above this is not about jump drives, this is about ships that physically jump.
Writing science fiction, trying not to handwave too much, so I want to check if this is a feasible tech.
...
- 153
2
votes
4
answers
442
views
How to explain magic scientifically? [closed]
I'm writing a story and I'm having trouble finding credible explanations for certain elements of it.
Basically, in the late 2090s, technology has advanced to the point that it is possible to ...
- 89
4
votes
3
answers
170
views
How to maintain large ships in hostile atmosphere?
The simplest effective method for maintaining large flying vessels is needed
My society is a pirate haven which has low technology and resources. They have jury-rigged some system to keep the fleet ...
- 7,035
7
votes
3
answers
357
views
How do I create a secret steampunk navigation scheme?
I need a hidden outpost to have signs that only a certain real-world technology can see and comprehend. These are basically road markers, or navigation aids, that won't be understandable by normal ...
- 7,035
9
votes
6
answers
924
views
A variable-ammo post-apocalyptic projectile-weapon
Needlessly long names aside, how would this weapon work?
Made from scratch with junk scavenged from a 21st century world, post nuclear apocalypse. Assume nothing was specifically preserved, only the ...
- 472
9
votes
10
answers
927
views
How would a community of people living in densely packed treehouses receive food to their treehouse?
In my novel, the characters live in treehouses that are practically piled on top of one another, so there is little room to climb down to pick up food, and it would be a challenge trying to take it ...
- 527
8
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Could my Anti-Regeneration spear technology work against this creature?
My story (set in the far future) has a bear-sized monster with a tough shell. The human settlers fighting it realize their ballistic firearms are not effective in killing it; though they may pierce ...
- 2,264
5
votes
3
answers
696
views
Psychic/Telepathic Piloting System
Comic artist. I'm looking to mess around with the 'floating islands' trope to see just how 'hard' a magic system I can make it. The idea is to finally explain "what keeps the islands up" and ...
- 667
0
votes
2
answers
147
views
What would need to change to make living comfortable in a world with limited cars?
My world is a futuristic soft sci fi with humans but not set on Earth (though planet is earthlike). In it, the world has been ravaged by a monster driven apocalypse multiple times. It has been 400 ...
- 964
5
votes
5
answers
381
views
What would it have taken for the world to skip fossil fuels?
I'm looking for a plausible way that humanity could have discovered, developed and then adopted renewable energy + storage instead of fossil fuels as the catalyst for industrialisation.
To be clear ...
- 388
13
votes
2
answers
633
views
How much binary data could reliably be stored on a wax phonographic cylinder?
Wax cylinders were used at the dawn of the phonograph to store audio recordings. This was long before the codec or compression, and they only had space for approximately two minutes of sound.
I'm ...
- 1,334
0
votes
2
answers
86
views
Ideas from the future changing the past [closed]
There is a thesis that I rather support, claiming that most inventions where done when done not because of lack of creativity, but because the technology or society were not ready for them. But I ...
- 3,330
17
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Jumping Spherical Robots
I have a robot. It's a perfectly spherical bot, sort of like the bottom of BB-8. It's around a foot and a half tall and weighs about 15 pounds. I need it to be able to jump on command, no matter which ...
- 1,331
15
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Playing cards in zero-g
Suppose there is a wandering starship that travels between the stars, bringing blackjack and hookers to every wormhole it crosses. This casino is like any other on a planet or station, except it ...
- 1,347
6
votes
6
answers
3k
views
How to defeat a pyrokinesis user using tech and science
The user can manipulate fire in many ways, and to a certain extent, he can also manipulate electricity. The fire he uses is special and can reach temperatures above sun, but the average temperature ...
- 85
4
votes
2
answers
97
views
Is there any reason that justify or make seem more optimal to make sky observations for astronomical purposes on equinox and solstice?
In the setting I'm working on a giant mechanism opens on every equinox and solstice to record the sky and use the data for calculations that are required for the story plot.
For astronomical reasons, ...
- 1,560
10
votes
6
answers
600
views
Is a "biotechnology-only" civilization actually possible?
Countless times in science fiction I have seen civilizations that rely exclusively on biotechnology; These societies, often due to environmental factors, never invented certain basic technologies ...
- 1,295
10
votes
9
answers
2k
views
Why would Mermaids develop ships?
The Context
My mermaids are amphibians that have legs that allow them to walk on land. They live in a lagoon similar to the barrier reef. The reef is roughly 1,000 square miles, and its average depth ...
4
votes
3
answers
160
views
What sort of explosive detonators could be made without modern technology?
This is a very society in the style of the 1730's Europe long before the advent of modern electronics.
While I expect wick-style fuses to still easily be made (as they were then), could anything like ...
- 949
0
votes
1
answer
135
views
Power Crystals for a more primitive time
A recent coment on my Bloodless Sword question got me thinking: Could you make a "power crystal" out of radioactive particles suspended in crystal formations?
In counless Sci-Fi sieres, like ...
- 3,659
8
votes
4
answers
896
views
What is the most advanced form of torch?
In a pre-electrical age, anyone who needs a mobile source of illumination must rely on a lantern, lamp, candle or torch. Torches seem to be the cheapest, most primitive option, yet surely they have ...
- 325
1
vote
2
answers
298
views
Would A Gravity Blade Be Possible To Create?
I am wanting to use gravity based weaponry in my plot. One of my ideas was to have some sort of blade that could focus extreme gravitational forces at the edge of the blade to slice through matter (...
- 1,607
0
votes
2
answers
105
views
Protection for pilots in instantaneous high G/ high jerk racing
Normally people give consideration to surviving a high amount of Gs for a long time for things such as space travel or turn and burn dogfights. But what about when we scale the impulse/duration of ...
- 2,765
6
votes
6
answers
321
views
Is it Possible to Manage a Police State Prior to the Invention of Widespread and Reliable Communication Technology?
By “Police State” I mean a despotic sort of government in which the state is actively trying to spy on its citizens for political ends. Something like the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) or ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
4
answers
284
views
How quickly can a world industrialize?
I'm working on a project right now, and in this world I was hoping for a rapid industrialization and technological development. In the span of 70-80 years I plan to have this world go from the (...
- 381
7
votes
4
answers
356
views
What Bronze Age Jobs Couldn't be Replaced by Extremely Well Trained Animals?
In this setting magpies and mammoths have been domesticated for hundreds of millennia, allowing them to become far more diligent and trainable than dogs by a wide margin.
The mammoths come in full ...
- 2,389
2
votes
5
answers
477
views
How could a shrink ray work?
I'm working on a novel, which involves a shrink ray. Kind of like the one in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and involves a small Laser-esque (or Laser) beam that shrinks the thing it hits.
Problem is, it ...
- 1,331
11
votes
9
answers
801
views
What could feyfolk use for lighting?
In my setting diminutive races like fairies, gnomes, and gremlins exist and to handle of the cooler climates such as in Europe and protect themselves for their many predators many of them live ...
- 6,507
3
votes
3
answers
88
views
Could ectotherms keep warm in winter?
While ectotherms are generally able to operate at a wide array of temperatures, there are still limits
This would present a problem to any ectotherms wishing to visit (or even live in) colder regions. ...
- 14.6k
7
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How can enormous giants hide their existence in a modern city?
Meet the Artarons, a group of giants of unknown origin. This troop consists of 15 humongous human-like giants, they have been living isolated in the woods to keep themselves secluded from the modern ...
4
votes
4
answers
169
views
data crystal ready, please insert the crystal inside your brain to continue. Wait! but where?
How to get smarter? easy! poke 2 holes in your brain and build a computer around the holes, the computer reads data from some usbs and sends the information to your brain, remove the usb and you also ...
- 384
11
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How many workers are required for a medieval civilization to have metals?
The setting of my story is a medieval refugee community that has found a protected place to settle. They end up remaining in isolation for a few hundred years. The protection is a boost for life, in ...
- 131
27
votes
12
answers
5k
views
Why can humanoid robots designed solely for social purposes lift a 30 ton fire truck?
Set in the near future after there is a breakthrough in A.I. research, these robots are able to engage in a conversation with us and even provide consultation in many different areas ranging from ...
- 46.4k
13
votes
4
answers
354
views
How Big Can An Ancient Bird Powered Glider Get?
What are the practical limitations of a glider made of bronze age materials and pulled by well trained birds?
Due to psychics able to control animals, and a cultural fixation with domestication, ...
- 2,389
2
votes
2
answers
111
views
Transit for an advanced aquatic species?
I'm designing an aquatic, fish-like species for a sci-fi setting and I've had trouble deciding on methods of transit, particularly mass transit, that would be viable for them. I've considered a few ...
- 23
15
votes
4
answers
240
views
Feasibility of cylindrical rasterization? (Alien GPUs)
Background / Rationale
Many fictional worlds feature sapient herbivores, but rarely spend much time considering how their tools and technology would differ. In the course of writing my story, however, ...
- 14.3k
2
votes
1
answer
66
views
Solar harvesting with cycles of star lifting
I was wondering if it would be possible to take an O type star and lift material from it reducing its mass in cycles near the time the star reaches the end of its main-sequence age for each reducing ...
- 820
4
votes
3
answers
76
views
How to power and animate origami soldiers?
Set in near future, a sheet of metal can fold itself into a soldier with the height of a full grown men and can pick up ranged weapon. This is inspired by the folding of solar sail technology of ...
- 46.4k
15
votes
18
answers
4k
views
Why would a more technologically advanced society continue to build many buildings out of stone rather than glass and metal?
Architecture in the Western world used stone as the primary building material until the late 19th century.
Modern architecture uses much more glass and metal in construction compared to the ...
- 4,282
6
votes
3
answers
164
views
How large can an oceangoing vessel be made within the constraints of Neolithic technology?
Long story short, I have a bunch of folks with Neolithic technology, and they want to build a big ship - preferably, a ship that's as large as they can make it.
How big can these Neolithic folks make ...
- 11k
3
votes
4
answers
200
views
What benefits would make humans want to use organic technology? [closed]
I’ve been developing an idea for a human civilization that exists thousands of years in the future, and uses purely organic technology.
My question is this. Is there any real benefits or advantages ...
- 1,127
12
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How would one design a helmet for antlered humanoids?
There have been many questions on this site about helmets with antlers, but I am going out and asking about antlers with helmets. Specifically, I am asking in the context of creatures that are ...
3
votes
8
answers
277
views
How can siphoning power from a god fail to increase Mana reserves?
Through magical rituals, entities can be summoned into our worlds and placed into avatars, humanoid shells serving as a container for their souls. A corporation has used this method to summon a god in ...
- 38.5k