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[Question] [ I have seen many science fiction movies that depict traveling in space through wormholes. The appearance though, and the time it takes to cross a wormhole, tends to vary: • On one hand, we have the spherical, black hole-looking, wormholes that can be crossed instantaneously. [![enter image description ...
[Question] [ In a previous question - [How might kinetosynthesizing "plants" look?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/122867/how-might-kinetosynthesizing-plants-look) - I introduced a worldbuilding thought experiment of mine centered around a habitable moon, heated by tidal forces, which orbits a rogu...
[Question] [ I'm considering writing a fantasy novel which takes place on a world with a ring. This ring is a very important part of the story, and I therefore want to be as accurate as possible in describing what it would look like from the surface, and how the light would interact with it at different locations and...
[Question] [ This is a water world with depths ranging from 2-3 kilometers deep up to vast shallows of only a few meters deep usually around volcanic islands, where there are coral islands not bigger than Hawaii's Big Island. The planet has a 23 hour day, gravity is just slightly lower than the Earth, the large moon...
[Question] [ *Inspired by this question: [Sexual reproduction without biological sex](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/44879/sexual-reproduction-without-biological-sex)* *And, to a lesser extent, this question: [Would a society of simultaneous hermaphrodites have gender roles?](https://worldbuilding....
[Question] [ It’s the mid–late 20th century, and NATO and the Soviet bloc wipe each other out in a nuclear war while the southern hemisphere [eats its popcorn](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/66/1d/c5/661dc54ac78e4b7e3342588cdcbb4db5.jpg). Dust fills the atmosphere and nuclear winter sets in; the ecosystem ...
[Question] [ In the award winning Studio Ghibli film, [Arrietty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrietty), there exists a creature known simply as the Borrower. Borrowers are a small version of human, no taller than a few inches, yet are otherwise the same in every way. We have asked before what the [maximum size of a...
[Question] [ Since we're dealing with cat-folk already with the question about the [Khajiit](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/48778/anatomically-correct-khajiit), I figured we'd toss a different evolutionary lineage for furry humanoids around, that of the [hyena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyena)....
[Question] [ In the popular [merfolk](/questions/tagged/merfolk "show questions tagged 'merfolk'") topic, I always use the model of marine mammals, not water-breathing fish-like animals. They breathe *air*, that turbo-charged 20% oxygen fluid that enables the scale of metabolism that we enjoy as warm-blooded animals....
[Question] [ **Closed**. This question needs to be more [focused](/help/closed-questions). It is not currently accepting answers. --- **Want to improve this question?** Update the question so it focuses on one problem only by [editing this post](/posts/23064/edit). Closed 4 years ago. [Improve this question](/pos...
[Question] [ This is the first question in my *Arctic Airships* series of questions. The second one is [Arctic Airships, Part 2 - Navigation](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/8682/arctic-airships-part-2-navigation). **The premise:** An Earth-like planet plunged into an ice age roughly 2,000 years pri...
[Question] [ Is it possible that a group of "elite" humans have highly advanced technology, but have kept it hidden? For example, is it possible that some people already had powerful computers and automobiles (like modern one) several decades ago (say, in the 1950s), but hid it from "common people" ? And maybe later ...
[Question] [ I am working on an earth-like empire (actually, an alternate-universe Earth with Belgium as the global powerhouse) which, instead of using fossil and nuclear fuels, uses light as their principal form of energy. The idea is that, apart from just the raw energy in light, they also use patterns of light and...
[Question] [ I want to be able to apply tools or methodologies to help ensure consistency in my world. For example: ### Burning world Imagine a planet with a land mass around the equator on which a great fire rages East to West at a rate allowing for regrowth by the time it gets back to it's starting point, so that i...
[Question] [ For context: I'm writing a story where the main antagonist is an empire that builds Dyson swarms around every star they can get their hands on. The protagonist lives on a planet around one such star, and over the course of several years, he watches as the planet's climate changes from one resembling Eart...
[Question] [ So... I'm fiddling with Yet Another Bipedal Digitigrade Species. There is tons of material on the *legs*, but seemingly not so much on the *hands*. ### Short Version So... I'm wondering; is it possible to design a "hand" that can function as both a digitigrade 'foot' *and* be useful to a civilized tool-u...
[Question] [ I'm running a mysterious, shadowy, acronym-lettered agency which deploys agents all across the world (and beyond) to deal with supernatural and paranormal events. What they encounter is often completely random, and includes everything from cursed vending machines to shape-shifting man-eating dogs (think ...
[Question] [ Assuming power can be provided, what would be the more practical primary armament for a tank using an electromagnetic cannon? I am looking for a good compromise between accuracy, cost and durability of the cannon. Assume that high temperature superconductors are common place in this universe. [Answer]...
[Question] [ **Question: Would a modern-day teen, trained in using the north star for directions when camping/hiking, notice a difference in how the "north star" (Polaris) works when transported suddenly to 1350 BCE?** My novel has children (up to age 14) from the Southwestern United States in 1995 time travel to Anc...
[Question] [ In [haplodiploid sex-determination system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplodiploidy), female/diploid individuals are developed from fertilized eggs by means of sexual reproduction, while male/haploid individuals are developed from unfertilized eggs by means of parthenogenesis. So assume there is a hig...
[Question] [ A newly-built base on the moon has the first two compartments of a pressurized greenhouse farm. An airlock system automatically seals one compartment off the others when pressure sensors indicate a pressure drop is caused by failure, including that of meteor impact. The airlocks allow the settlers to mo...
[Question] [ I'm currently playing with a geographical setting that's flat rather than round and thus doesn't follow a lot of the same rules as one modeled as a planet. I've found resources concerning climate in Earth-like or planetary environments, such as: [Creating a realistic world map - Currents, Precipitation a...
[Question] [ How would a four-legged bird's flight differ from a regular two-legged one? Would it be slower in flight but have more power taking off? The bird in question is modeled on a bird of prey. (four legs of equal size and two wings) [Answer] Any flying bird is aerodynamic. We designed planes from looki...
[Question] [ I'm creating a fantasy-world generator. So far I've got it generating a reasonably good surface map, complete with terrain, cities, and borders. Here's a link for anybody who wants to try it: <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxgb9V1OuYfpUFdmOWRxb2VrOGM>. This is a *super* early build, but still feedbac...
[Question] [ Well, the strongest barrier that might prevent life from appearing might be described by that analogy : it’s like hoping to cook an apple pie by mixing the ingredients with random quantities and at a random orders. That is even with the right conditions and with the correct amino acids, no self replica...
[Question] [ Yellowstone National Park is the site of a large supervolcano that is somewhat due for an eruption in the geological near term. I have seen slides and discussions to the effect that large portions of the American central highlands and Midwest would be inundated by several dozen millimeters of ash in the ...
[Question] [ Based on [this](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/28659/killing-off-indiana-jones) question however, instead of killing off normal humans, I wish to kill off magical humans. I wish to prevent others from entering in my dungeon, so I have set up a multitude of magical traps. However, over ...
[Question] [ Suppose you were an astronaut on a space ship in the near future. Or an on an asteroid mission where little to no gravity is available. In such a situation it would be difficult to justify taking a large supply of blank paper. Perhaps you might have a few blank notebooks in your personal allowance but th...
[Question] [ **Closed**. This question is [opinion-based](/help/closed-questions). It is not currently accepting answers. --- **Want to improve this question?** Update the question so it can be answered with facts and citations by [editing this post](/posts/35156/edit). Closed 2 years ago. [Improve this question]...
[Question] [ How big can an underwater animal really get before physics get in the way? (I'm sure feeding would likely get in the way first, but ignore that!). The [Blue Whale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale) is currently the largest animal on planet earth the record holder 108 ft. long. The [Megalodon](ht...
[Question] [ This is for a novel I'm writing. The basic premise is that massive networks of mycelium running under the soil combine to form a decentralised intelligence that has been managing life and conditions on the planet for hundreds of millions of years. Think Gaia theory, but way weirder. Humans occasionally m...
[Question] [ I know that someone has asked how chemistry would be in four dimensions but I was wondering what would chemistry be like in two dimensions? From what I understand, in two dimensions, particles, instead of being either fermions or bosons, would be [anyons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anyon). Anyons can o...
[Question] [ A necromancer decided to raise an army of zombies to attack the neighbouring kingdom. It's a relatively small and decentralized kingdom, about the size of Denmark. In this world, zombies cannot infect zombism to living beings. But getting bitten can still inflict other diseases like rage. The only way to...
[Question] [ My world contains a race of creature that does not speak to communicate, they sing. They are humanoids, living in similar conditions as humans. They are intelligent, they have a complex langage, they can cast magic with their voice. The song have to be a very particular sound that can be sweet or pretty...
[Question] [ I was trying to create a world that has extensive massive rain-forests unlike anything on earth where the trees interlock with thick branches to allow them to rise much higher into the air (several hundred meters) and provide stable support. This is heavily inspired by a hypothetical alien planet I saw o...
[Question] [ This is a question about the same magic explained in [this one](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/12859/magic-that-alters-living-cells-how-to-efficiently-battle-with-it). I also explain the magic below. **Explanation:** > > In my fantasy novel, magic is a natural part of the world. It is...
[Question] [ Let's say in an alternate world, Homo Sapiens died out but another Homo species evolved. Homo Carnivorous is very similar to Homo Sapiens with one big difference. Homo Carnivorous can only digest meat and cannot digest plant matter. Because they are evolved to be carnivores, Homo Carnivorous can get far ...
[Question] [ The most common answer is "tidal forces" "wind" since all of these are by-products of the planet's [Coriolis force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_force). Or there are rnd into generating energy from the earth's magnetic field, but that falls flat since allegedly nonuniform magnetic fields aren't...
[Question] [ So on real-life Earth, tetrapods have either plantigrade or digitigrade legs. In both cases, the knee bends forward, but in digitgrades the ankle joint can give the illusion of a "backwards knee". I am curious about how leg with a true backwards knee would compare performance-wise to digitigrade (and pla...
[Question] [ I had an idea to have a character that could control cobras, mainly for the visual idea of a character wearing cobras, with them slithering around parts of the body, hidden under clothes or showing. The images of Hindu gods with 5 or 7 cobras behind them with their hoods out in a fan shape similar to lar...
[Question] [ I am creating a carbon planet with seas of methanol on its surface, but I am not sure that this is possible. It is predicted that carbon planets are depleted of water, since the available oxygen would be depleted by reacting with carbon to mainly form simple compounds such as carbon monoxide, carbon diox...
[Question] [ I am in the early stages of developing an alien species and one of their defining traits is that they are empathic upon physical touch. They can only sense feelings/emotions/intent, not read minds, and do not have this ability unless they are in physical contact with the other person (the sole exception ...
[Question] [ I'm currently contemplating ways to make dragons have a sustainable energy source in a medieval world, while still acting like the traditional soaring, adventurer grabbing, gold hoarding dragons (not necessarily with fire breath). One of those ways I thought of was Gold. Is there a biological way to use ...
[Question] [ Explanations for fire setting are easier to come by than explanations for fire resistance. Being able to set fires with nothing more than their hands, my 'fire-setters' need protection from the flames. So far, traits such as bony/keratinous plates or lots of protective skin would change the physique to s...
[Question] [ So, I was reading this [article](https://www.space.com/40375-super-earth-exoplanets-hard-aliens-launch.html?utm_source=notification) about how difficult it would be for any alien race to escape an exoplanet with about 10 times the mass of Earth. It states they probably would even lack satellites. Taking ...
[Question] [ I'm trying to layout a scientifically correct evolution path for the octopus to develop intelligence on the post-human Earth. I'd like to know if it's possible for an octopus mom to choose, or use other environmental factors (temperature, oxygen level, etc) to impact its egg or hatchling's gender ratio? ...
[Question] [ **Closed**. This question is [opinion-based](/help/closed-questions). It is not currently accepting answers. --- **Want to improve this question?** Update the question so it can be answered with facts and citations by [editing this post](/posts/89326/edit). Closed 6 years ago. [Improve this question]...
[Question] [ Working with [this question](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/39064/how-and-when-could-a-dyson-sphere-civilization-figure-out-the-shape-and-size-of) but with more of a fantasy bent, I was wondering how long it would take a civilization to learn/realize that they lived on the inside of a ...
[Question] [ Or vice versa. Let's assume humanity or some equally advanced intelligent species discovers life, or even a plethora of life, out amongst the stars, and decides that they want to make contact to see how intelligent they are. But instead of sending them sensible things like mathematical proofs and other v...
[Question] [ So I was deciding on ways to end my world in a futuristic scenario, and I had an idea. As we all know, Earth has two poles, and these poles are moving constantly (Magnetic Poles are different from actual Poles). The recent average movement is about 10KM a year. In the past the poles have completely rever...
[Question] [ For my fantasy world, I have what I think is a really cool idea. The world is flat, and elliptical in shape. If you touch the silvery edge, well, let's just say bad things will happen. (Not relevant...) This edge is an impenetrable, indestructible wall. This world is like a coin, with two sides. Each sid...
[Question] [ Suppose humanity found a rocky planet outside the solar system. It is in the habitable zone of its star, has breathable air, clean water etc. A true paradise. Only problem is, its surface gravity double that of Earth. Let's forget for a while that this is going to be extremely taxing on whatever colonist...
[Question] [ **Because who needs a space craft?** *Picture this:* While performing a routine spacewalk, outside your small, 1-man space pod, a fault in the propulsion system controls causes the pod to explode, launching you into a *low orbit* of the Earth. Now with a limited air supply, and only your own space...
[Question] [ Imagine a creature that's a little bit like a human, but with much shorter legs and stronger arms long enough to reach down to the bottom of the torso/ top of the legs. It can easily stand upright and walk around on two legs, but when moving around prefers to do so in a "leaning forward" position, in ord...
[Question] [ I was trying to put together an idea for a Gas Giant like planet that could possibly support some kind of fairly complex life, and I hit upon a few ideas: -Located in a habitable zone roughly similar to Earth -Composition and Structure roughly similar to Neptune or Uranus The basic idea here is that Jupi...
[Question] [ Many sci-fi questions here are derailed by complaints that the proposed version of FTL breaks causality. However, [relativity-safe FTL concepts do exist](https://physics.stackexchange.com/search?tab=votes&q=alcubierre). What range of conditions allow FTL (movement, teleportation, or communication) but no...
[Question] [ So as a geographic feature and major historic event I have a meteor (and the resulting crater) idea in my head. The idea is that the meteor sort of resets civilization. Obviously I don't want it to kill off all life on the planet as no people = boring story. So the basic question is, could a meteor dest...
[Question] [ In prehistoric times, there used to be a [dwarf elephant species](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_elephant) in many Mediterranean islands. They were about 1.5-2 meters high, but probably became extinct before the arrival of the first human beings If these elephants were still alive at the arrival o...
[Question] [ A moon-sized asteroid approaches Earth in the near future, where space tourism has become normal. The Earth has a few satellite structures above Mars conducting research, as well as successful terraformed farmland on the surface. Going into a suborbital space to experience zero gravity for a few minutes ...
[Question] [ The [Lusca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusca) (its name meaning 'Octopus Shark') is a cryptid from the Bahamas, supposedly a 6-9 meter (or even 23 meter) long man-eating Octopus that lives within the blue holes, dragging victims down into the winding underwater cave system that connects all Blue Holes...
[Question] [ I'm working on a world where water acts as a high-temperature superfluid. Specifically, H2O's [lambda point](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_point) is above its boiling point. Thus, all liquid water on the planet behaves as a superfluid. It still boils and freezes normally, at 100$^{\circ}$C and 0$^...
[Question] [ Would it be possible to make ammunition for railguns and gauss rifles that would degrade over time either through a natural process or by the means of star radiation, so the missed shots don't endanger future space traffic? Hopefully turning into something less harmful after leaving the star system. I wa...
[Question] [ I fear the math involved is beyond my capabilities on this one. I have what I consider to be more than a Layman's understanding of the physics involved, and I believe I can follow the math well enough to spot glaring errors, but practical application, combined with the actual crunching of the numbers is ...
[Question] [ ### Background In case you haven't heard: there are places in the Amazonian Jungle called [*Devil's Gardens*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_garden). The gardens are large swaths of land composed of almost entirely one single tree the Duroia hirsuta. This tree's roots have the ability to secrete...
[Question] [ So, let's just say that the US Military has a tactic that involves setting forests alight and deploying troops there for combat. I don't know if this is plausible, or why they would do this, but I ask that you take these conditions as real when answering (Though, if you do think this would be an efficien...
[Question] [ ## Primary question If this world averages a *visible* light level of [civil twilight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight#Civil_twilight) (about 1000x dimmer than full daylight, or 500x brighter than full moonlight) during the day, what kind of plants can I get away with? ## Information The planet as...
[Question] [ Hybrid dirigible airplane with an extremely large surface area on the top and bottom. Talking at least 100 km2. It would likely be several modular pieces put together, given its size. It would need to stay aloft for months on end. Stay aloft above most of the weather, ie 40,000 to 50,000 feet, for more a...
[Question] [ All this discussion of discussion of life after death and rather the faithful should fear death : [Why doesn't the verified existence of heaven change characters' attitude toward death?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/67790/why-doesnt-the-verified-existence-of-heaven-change-characters-...
[Question] [ A lot of people are probably familiar with this sort of handwavium in fiction when it's asked where a shapeshifter's extra mass comes from. Most choose to ignore that question. In works that pretend to be slightly more credible, they simply state that no extra mass is being created at all and that the sh...
[Question] [ The setting is a generally nondescript mid-medieval vaguely European society. No magic is present, except what is explicitly discussed in this question. Twenty kingdoms, connected by trade routes but distant enough to have mostly segregated politics, are functioning as normal one day. The next, a giant ...
[Question] [ I came up with anthropoidal creature that has several subspecies, let's call them red, green & blue, that can interbreed with each other. My problem in this setting is that: 1. I don't want any ugly hybrids, 2. I don't want any of the subspecies to disappear due to interbreeding So this is what my propos...
[Question] [ Garm the Berserker wanders into the lonely homestead of Greenroot Farm. The mayor of the nearby Stonybrook Village directed Garm here, implying that Old Borgi would have some work for him. "Really, no wood to chop?" Garm rests his axe on the ground, the blade nearly half as tall as the old farmer. "Not t...
[Question] [ One premise of my current planet-in-progress is that certain locations in the universe are inherently tied to my PIP. For example, all the people and things that have vanished in the Bermuda Triangle were transported to my PIP (how/why is irrelevant to this question). However, acceleration due to gravity...
[Question] [ What would the most efficient way for a language to spread over a large area over a short period of time (about 600 years)? Imagine this is a medieval type world, and the goal is to spread the language from say, New York down to Florida (basically just the east coast). History has shown three major ways ...
[Question] [ [Inspired by this question](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/6747/a-small-group-recreating-modern-technology) Let's say a small group of people, 10-15 or so, were going to travel back in time to the mid-1970s, the time of the first personal computers. They can have experienced software d...
[Question] [ Say an alien species with the capabilities of space travel were to visit a planet like Earth. (or vice-versa) Given that the "invasion" is so big that any government or army would be able to cover it up, what cultural effects would this visit have on our society, and how would we adapt to the advanced te...
[Question] [ I was looking at these two questions: [Expanding Occupied Underground Habitations Safely](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/609/expanding-occupied-underground-habitations-safely) [Does Living without access to Sunlight have known Physical/Psychological effects?](https://worldbuilding.stac...
[Question] [ As the title suggests, what happens to a planet geologically and geographically over time? This question came to mind from the many sessions of Civilization I have played where when you set up a custom game, "World Age", measured in I want to say millions of years, is an option. But this got me thinking ...
[Question] [ **This question asks for hard science.** All answers to this question should be backed up by equations, empirical evidence, scientific papers, other citations, etc. Answers that do not satisfy this requirement might be removed. See [the tag description](/tags/hard-science/info) for more information. I am...
[Question] [ The Old Ones build continent-sized bunker complexes to protect themselves from the enemy, which followed through the cosmic ocean. The Hunter succeeded easily despite their efforts and their corpses were entombed in the deepest vaults by their corrupted servants, so their masters may continue to dream in...
[Question] [ Based on my reading on some science papers, large, wet terrestrial planets likely exist that are swathed in a thin atmosphere of nitrogen/hydrogen ($H\_2$ & $N\_2$). If life evolved on such worlds, they may very well develop a biological version of the "Haber Process" that is used to industrially manufac...
[Question] [ **This question asks for hard science.** All answers to this question should be backed up by equations, empirical evidence, scientific papers, other citations, etc. Answers that do not satisfy this requirement might be removed. See [the tag description](/tags/hard-science/info) for more information. How ...
[Question] [ # Introduction *For more backstory, see [here](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/100613/can-you-design-your-own-plants-without-a-computer) and [here](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/101519/how-high-def-can-my-tv-be-without-computers)* The 438th Harmonious Congress of the...
[Question] [ On Earth, land vertebrates generally have four limbs. Other creatures such as insects can have more limbs, but those creatures tend to be small. I'm thinking of creating an alien ecosystem with relatively large, vertebrate-like creatures (larger than insects and with some kind of endoskeleton). Is it rea...
[Question] [ I'm working on a sci-fi/fantasy story that involves a future earth that has become tidal locked with the sun. Part of the story has an advanced civilization that has built a ring (halo) that circles the planet and provided an artificial night cycle for the sun facing part of the planet. As far-fetched as...
[Question] [ Part of a series I'm starting since the recent *[What could make a star green?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/64344/what-could-make-a-star-green)* did quite well and others could use the information here in their worlds. --- ## There aren't any "violet" stars. [![enter image descripti...
[Question] [ **This sounds really stupid**, but I'm trying to think of a way to make [World Turtle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Turtle) work. And what I got after 5 minutes of careful deliberation, would be that the our earth would have to be 'flat' on the back of a giant turtle. And since I don't want mythic...
[Question] [ So I am proposing a ring-world of approximately 1600 km diameter. The ring spins for earth like gravity. The ring itself would be several kilometers thick with Earth like variations in elevation (i.e. mountains less than ~8 km above sea level, with ocean trenches of similar depth) The atmosphere would al...
[Question] [ Orbital construction facilities have a great many advantages over ground based ones: You can use materials from space without having to drag them up the gravity well, you can make vessels that don't have any atmospheric capability, and you can [cold weld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_welding) certa...
[Question] [ I have a group that's building a moon colony. The final end goal is a self-sufficient colony of at least 1 million humans. They have access to one million metric tons of lift per week at nominal cost. If it matters, this is being done by superheros (flyers, energy producers, etc). Most materials are lift...
[Question] [ I found this on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_winter). I'm aiming for **[the fastest climate change](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/1169/is-there-a-man-made-or-natural-event-that-can-cause-an-abrupt-climate-change-wit) possible** without that much advanced notice, e.g...
[Question] [ It can be really hard to distinguish between sounds and find the source of a sound underwater. How could an octopus musician play music with defined notes that are not blurred (significantly) or changed by disturbances in the water nearby? Which instruments (if any) could the octopus even play? Thanks! ...
[Question] [ **This question asks for hard science.** All answers to this question should be backed up by equations, empirical evidence, scientific papers, other citations, etc. Answers that do not satisfy this requirement might be removed. See [the tag description](/tags/hard-science/info) for more information. Very...
[Question] [ It's a common trope in the visual design of dragons, giant bats and other fictional flying beings to have wings that appear to be severely torn, cut, pierced, and otherwise worn down. It's also quite likely that the wing of a flying creature would be a prime target for its enemies in combat, so it might ...
[Question] [ As you know, mythical animals like the gryphon, dragon, wyvern, roc, etc can carry things as they fly. For a big creature to fly, it either needs to massively increase the spread of their wings or have hollow bones which makes them fragile and unable/unsuitable to support a human to ride them on the back...
[Question] [ **Story Premise** I am writing a short story in which the protagonist believes his android assistant is demonstrating signs of consciousness. The android's mind is based on deep-learning artificial general intelligence and has progressed well beyond human comprehension. My protagonist does not know how c...
[Question] [ If you search this site for "railgun", you'll find a lot of questions and answers. But none seem to talk about what the ammo wouls be made off. Considerations: * The small-arms have the energy storage and release to do what is necessary. * Metals going in excess of 3000m/s (or getting hit by something of...
[Question] [ Thanks in advance for any input you can provide! I have a moon called Vieneo <http://www.risetvp.com/Vieneo> which has some geological modelling of faults and epicenters over some range of time: [![Vieneo Faults and Earthquake Epicenters](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9k57x.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9k...
[Question] [ The planet orbits a supermassive gas giant, almost double the size of Jupiter. But the planet orbiting it is also supposed to have rather large rings in my story. **Question:** Is it possible for a moon of a gas giant to have stable rings? I expect the answer to be no, because of the gravity from the gas...
[Question] [ This is a follow up to [What would physics be like in a wrap-around universe?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/31184/what-would-physics-be-like-in-a-wrap-around-universe) PyRulez commented, “Will gravity still make sense? (Namely, will it converge or not)?” This was bantered about in th...