All Questions
7,411
questions
8
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4
answers
354
views
How best to use wormholes for spaceflight?
The goal is to get from Earth to the Outer Solar System, preferably the Kuiper Belt, as quickly as practical, with a crew of about 12, and a not-set-in-stone dry mass around 30 tons.
The characters ...
- 2,031
8
votes
5
answers
1k
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Modern technology during WW2, can it be powered safely?
Imagine someone from the modern day somehow gets transported back in time around the same time of WW2 without warning ahead of time. He has with him a laptop, graphing calculator (and a hand full of ...
- 33.5k
8
votes
2
answers
405
views
How might digital intellectual disability be dealt with by society?
In the question asked by Jim2B regarding the legal personhood of uploaded personalities, my answer came to the conclusion that uploaded personalities of people would be regarded as children of the ...
- 48.5k
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votes
5
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4k
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Creatures with weaponized tails
Note: This is for a game. However, players can't directly control the creatures I'm talking about. They have their own AIs that fight, and I'd like to make it look realistic.
I've seen the idea in ...
- 1,001
8
votes
2
answers
789
views
Methods to ensure gene flow in species with separate sapient and non-sapient lifecycle
I'm retouching the idea discussed in detail here Evolution of species with separate sapient and non-sapient forms?. I like the discussion had there, but want to focus in on one specific question, the ...
- 33.5k
8
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5
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2k
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What single change would have given the best chance for Iraq to win the Iraq War?
Inspired by the similar questions about The Cold War and World War 2,
As worldbuilders the most common question asked is; What if? These what if question usually focus on factors leading up to, ...
- 56.2k
8
votes
2
answers
316
views
Could a disease make a creature begin to 'sprout' new eyes around its body?
So I created this thing called 'eye clusters', which makes a human or animal start to develop eyes on random parts of its body. The eyes can't see or blink. Would something like this be possible(maybe ...
- 81
8
votes
5
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2k
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Is there dense, non flammable gas that I can cover the Earth in?
This question is related to Deadly, Heavier than Air Gas, and Is a world with two different types of air possible? but has several different criteria. I've also looked at https://chemistry....
- 3,529
8
votes
1
answer
237
views
Greenhouse Effect Strength- Ammonia World
I've been working on designing how an ammonia-ocean world might work and I've settled basically everything except one. I cannot for the life of me find any sources that actually provide a decent way ...
- 951
8
votes
2
answers
719
views
The Biology behind a slime that uses hydrofluoric acid to disable and digest prey.
So I've been working on a low magic world where magic is actually just another form of energy that can be actualized, similar to alchemy in Full Metal Alchemist. Although development has taken a ...
- 4,262
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votes
3
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1k
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Evolution of a feline humanoid, specifically upright walking and fingers
I would like a realistic evolutionary path for non-hominid humanoids, but evolution is extremely complex and varied, so I will narrow the question to examining how evolution might occur in felines to ...
- 867
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How plausible is this form of government; where you get votes depending on the amount of income tax paid
There are a few other similar questions. The answers mostly point out downfalls as to why this wouldn't work. In this question I try to address these downfalls, hoping to patch (not necessarily ...
- 91
8
votes
13
answers
821
views
Massive Murderous Destruction (also Manportable)
I want a weapon that can:
Chew through reinforced concrete like it were popcorn,
Blast through 4-inch frontal armor plating of tanks like it were papier-mâché in the wind
Has a high (or continuous)...
- 60.2k
8
votes
2
answers
332
views
Would a food chain based on bacteria in hot springs be able to support a human population?
I'm designing a city built to take advantage of valuable mineral deposits in a large polar desert. The city is built around a Yellowstone-esque region of hot springs and geysers, where underground ice ...
- 15k
8
votes
8
answers
842
views
How can I change my Luck?
The Gerontocracy of the Favored has ruled essentially the entirety of the Known World for countless generations.
The Old Favored might be men, might be machines, or some strange combination thereof. ...
- 60.2k
8
votes
5
answers
950
views
How humanly survivable is my world?
Please note that I have had some incredibly helpful and useful suggestions here that I have decided to make some major revisions as a result.
I will reduce the overall atmospheric pressure and partial ...
8
votes
20
answers
2k
views
How could mages regard fast magic as a form of evil? [closed]
There are 2 forms of magic in this world, the first of which is performed through a series of steps. A mage sits in the center of a drawn invocation circle, surrounded by the various ingredients ...
- 38.5k
8
votes
6
answers
2k
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How useful would small, domesticated, omnivorous bears be?
I have a native tribe in pre-Columbus America that has successfully domesticated small, omnivorous bears. They are similar in size to Sun Bears [120–150 cm (47–59 in) / 27–80 kg (60–176 lb)]. I want ...
- 175
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3
answers
2k
views
The Frozen Star - Can U-238 reactors be used as a energy source for 10,000 years?
I was watching this Minecraft Animation video based on a scientific concept about what would happen if we froze the Sun - What happens if we Freeze The Sun- Portrayed by Minecraft.
In this video, ...
- 3,402
8
votes
5
answers
692
views
How would the economy of a city whose parent nation was destroyed support itself?
A group of people secede from a country, form their own, and gain many allies. Their allies and their original country's allies start fighting a worldwide war. (Fantasy setting, by the way.) A small ...
- 675
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votes
4
answers
937
views
What are some biochemical alternatives to carbon?
I am making a universe and I thought that it would be unrealistic for all life forms in my entire universe to be based upon carbon.
I am aware of silicon as a possible replacement, but I'm looking ...
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8
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4
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Could you create a travelling planet?
Assuming fission thrusters as described here:
Would a nuclear fission thruster with continuous fuel injection be possible?, and assuming drilling for the planet's molten mettle core as discussed here:
...
- 3,298
8
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8
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Why can’t the everyman get housing without the Lords of America?
I am continuing to evolve my neo-feudal America after it falls from superpower status, basing this evolution on political science research which links such an evolution to the privatization of ...
- 8,179
8
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6
answers
5k
views
A Planet Where The Four Seasons Occur Multiple Times In One Year?
Earthlings,
I live on a world where most places on my planet has four seasons, just like yours does. We also have one sun and one moon, presumably. It's been not even a year since I came of age (20), ...
- 2,565
8
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6
answers
1k
views
What is the most biological energy-dense fuel for a giant unicellular organism?
Jimmy Hopkins (yes, that's his name) is a extremely weird organism. For one thing he is extremely large, but on the other hand, he is extremely weird, because of one thing- He is an unicellular ...
- 3,402
8
votes
6
answers
502
views
Damaging a near future spacecraft by hand
It's the near future, and Bob goes for a spacewalk outside the International Space Station or Space Shuttle or some similar type of realistic space craft. Suddenly, and unfortunately, Bob goes space-...
- 4,579
8
votes
3
answers
712
views
Sentient colonial organisms?
Question: Could colonial organisms form into a sentient being, something like a human, for example? Could they evolve into beings with thoughts and feelings? A race of colonial organisms taking the ...
- 746
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8
answers
2k
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How would angels maintain their wings, would they even need to?
I'm writing a story about an angel, demon hybrid, and I wanted to know about the required maintenance of Angel wings, or in this case Dangel wings (what I call demon/angel hybrids). Since his wings ...
- 175
8
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3
answers
4k
views
How would a Lunar Calendar be set up with 2 moons?
So I have a super-Earth that has 2 moons. Moon 1 is a bit smaller than our moon, and has an orbital period of 19.25 earth days. Moon 2 is larger than our moon and has an orbital period of 147.15 days. ...
- 81
8
votes
6
answers
743
views
Cons of Antimatter Weaponry
In the story I'm creating, a major weapon type of humanity will be Antimatter based weaponry. This is a fairly new technology, as antimatter production facilities have just reached the size and ...
- 1,116
8
votes
3
answers
598
views
The plausibility of a mind-controlling and genome-altering pentastomid
CONTEXT/EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY
A book that I'm currently writing called Surge features an enemy faction called the Degenerates that are heavily inspired by the Scythians (Indo-Iranian horse nomads that ...
user48508
8
votes
2
answers
1k
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What would a medieval steam locomotive look like?
My question is pretty simple, if the steam locomotive were invented during the middle to late medieval period, what would it look like? We are just going to ignore how it was invented.
My guess is ...
- 157
8
votes
6
answers
656
views
How to protect human colonists from Red Dwarf flares?
I'm trying to envision a human colony on a planet called Imot, which orbits in the habitable zone of a Red Dwarf star. Imot is similar to Earth though somewhat larger, and has strong magnetic field to ...
- 367
8
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1
answer
1k
views
Maximum size for an ant?
The Worlds largest ant is around 1 inch long give or take. I wanted to know how large an ant could grow assuming conditions are perfect. Below are the conditions of their environment;
1: The ...
- 56.2k
8
votes
5
answers
868
views
Evolution of a predatory antlered cat?
I am developing an antlered cat, and looking for some help determining the evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of certain physical characteristics.
The world is earth-like, and this particular ...
- 123
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votes
4
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417
views
What point in a society does a royal mint become important?
So, this one's probably for those ones with a bit of knowledge of economic history. I'm wondering what events tend to trigger the formation of a royal mint in a society so that a country might start ...
- 387
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11
answers
2k
views
Natural environment to force evolution to Immortality
Which natural conditions are needed to force the evolution to immortality? I've read on a page (I don't remember the page) that if the environment is safe, the animal would evolve to have a shorter ...
- 8,863
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6
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1k
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Spaceship orbiting a black hole under the event horizon - a prison where no one escapes
The relationship between the distance, $d$, of the event horizon from a black hole's center and the tidal acceleration, $a$, experienced by an object near a black hole allows for scenarios in which a ...
- 1,098
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votes
4
answers
771
views
The right size for dragons
Note: size here denotes the physical dimension(s) taken up by the creature in a natural, idling posture
One of the many fantasy tropes that make me want to Fahrenheit 451 contemporary fantasy ...
- 19.4k
8
votes
1
answer
902
views
How plausible is my monster?
I'm currently working on a story treatment for a monster story. The story is sort of a love letter to many different genres and classic tropes employed and made famous by, John Carpenter, Ridley Scott,...
- 81
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votes
4
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441
views
Which modern organisms would survive a new K-Pg level impact?
EDIT: As many have pointed out, the whole Lunar Collision aspect I originally envisioned is probably more extreme than I predicted. I don't know where to start as far as the math goes, although my gut ...
- 1,560
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votes
6
answers
568
views
How to figure out that you traveled 570 million years into the future while in space on a small shuttle craft?
I want a character to get sucked into what she thinks is an FTL-wormhole-gate. While it turns out that the gate is indeed a traversable wormhole, it does not allow for FTL travel. The gate transports ...
- 17k
8
votes
7
answers
906
views
What would be the physique of a damage immune teenager?
I have this protagonist who has has the ability to magically nullify newtons of force when they would harm him. Functionally speaking, this makes the character immune from most forms of damage, both ...
- 5,859
8
votes
2
answers
327
views
Is it possible for a temperate forest/freshwater area to form within a desert?
I am imagining a temperate forested area with freshwater lakes, rivers, small mountains, and rolling grassy hills. This environment is situated within a very large explosion crater. Outside this ...
- 251
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1
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views
How far could you see the Andes from the Pacific on a flat Earth?
Several questions on related subtopics of vision distance on a flat world have been asked before, but this one remains unaddressed. Specifically:
The answer from Euclidean geometry would be infinite (...
- 4,907
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votes
8
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2k
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Can a person covered in mud survive an ordeal with fire breathing dragon?
In my upcoming novel, my protagonist decided to paint every part of his body in mud before engaging with the fire breathing dragon which dwells at the bottom of a dormant volcano. The flame from the ...
- 47.9k
8
votes
3
answers
758
views
How can a dragon utilize antimatter in combat?
Frankly speaking, I haven't come up with a design for my dragon; however, I want to design a dragon that can feast on the energy released from the constant bombardment of cosmic rays (either solar or ...
- 47.9k
8
votes
4
answers
364
views
Ballistic armor for mammoths/ general potential carrying capacity
First question so go easy! I've been looking around for the carrying capacity of Elephants, hoping to extrapolate that to a Woolly or Columbian Mammoth. I know logging Indian elephants can lift half a ...
8
votes
1
answer
477
views
Gravity differences on asteroid with an O'Neill cylinder
In my story there is something akin to an Island Three O'Neill cylinder buried vertically into the side of the asteroid Vesta. It is 5 miles across and 20 miles long. The station is buried but is ...
- 2,118
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3
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What effects would moving between areas of different gravity have on a human?
Basically, this is a setting in which artificial gravity generation is possible and can be confined to certain areas with different settings. There are maybe five human colonies on planets with near-...
- 283