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[Question] [ I've been going back and forth on my modern setting's magic system for a while now, but I've settled on a power-set that's closer to psychic powers than traditional magic, because of a couple of reasons: * It's closer to my theme (the source of "magic" in this world is basically a psychic field generated...
[Question] [ The dominant religion on my world (created by a race of dragon-like humanoids) believes that their species originates from an ancient being that sacrificed itself to defeat a great evil at the center of the cosmos. Its body remained adrift in space until it was eventually captured by the gravity of the y...
[Question] [ The [Breakthrough Starshot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot) is a method of robotic interstellar exploration by launching thousands of small centimeter-sized probes, each equipped with a 4 x 4 meter light-sail. Thanks to their small weight, they can achieve speeds of up to 20% lightsp...
[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. My h...
[Question] [ In [this paper by Bains et al](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4284464/), an alternative to oxygenic photosynthesis is discussed. Apparently, 4 times the amount of biomass can be produced using hydrogenic over oxygenic photosynthesis. Oxygenic photosynthesis is described by the equation: $$n...
[Question] [ As you can probably guess from the title, I have some questions about the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, especially how to use it to make plausible stars. Some questions: * Can stars exist in the black areas? For example, take a star of 30,000 K and $10^2$ solar luminosities. * How likely is a star to be a...
[Question] [ Having looked for a few days I am pretty sure I do not have an answer on this question: My intended planet will have the same density but double the mass of earth. I know this will increase the surface area a good amount but not to such an extent that I won't have earth-like terrain and oceans. Assuming ...
[Question] [ So I'm writing a story about humans of the modern world being given various superhuman powers by an unknown entity, which eventually causes society to partially collapse and turn into a bizarre mash-up of post-semi-apocalypse and sword and sorcery adventure (various omnipresent powers render most of mode...
[Question] [ A submission for the [Anatomically Correct Series](https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2797/anatomically-correct-series/2798#2798). [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2J1aA.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2J1aA.jpg) The plant genus Mandragora as we know today ar...
[Question] [ My story is set in the 2100s. Everyone on Earth has a computer implanted in their brain that they use to interface with the technology of the era. A side effect of this is that most violent conflicts begin (and end) with a "psychic" conflict using the implants. This drives a lot of the concepts in my wor...
[Question] [ My question was inspired by that one on [robot police](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/42289/why-would-a-country-employ-a-robotic-police-force) Imagine a world where police is mostly operated by robots, at least for the simple operations that does not need high-level decisions. Of cours...
[Question] [ *Disclaimer*: This question is the second of a new series of questions of mine about *introducing hexapeds to the fauna of my conworld*. There are/will be other questions addressing i.a.: [characteristics](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/56329), ecosystems, [evolutionary factors](https:...
[Question] [ In a world I am working on, I have a wilderness-living, social, group-living species that for various reasons lacks access and ability to anything resembling modern medicine, including vaccinations. Yet, I want to keep it such that absent physical injuries, adults of this species very rarely become visib...
[Question] [ First type - Fluorosilicones in Fluorosilicones, 400° to 500° C Second type - Fluorocarbons in Molten Sulfur, 113° to 445° C Third type - Proteins in Water, 0° to 100° C Fourth type - Proteins in Liquid Ammonia, -77.7° C to -33.4° C Fifth type - Lipids in Liquid Methane, -183.6° C to -161.6° C Sixth typ...
[Question] [ I've heard a lot of people say that having two tidally locked planets close together would have adverse affects on both planets. I have two tidally locked planets at a distance of 16,550 miles apart. Or, about 26635 kilometers apart. Both planets are about earth's size, with a similar composition, but on...
[Question] [ The year is 2120, and the world is (depressingly/refreshingly) similar. Sure, technology has advanced and there are flying cars, trains run through voided tunnels at 1000 mph and scramjets take the rich from Canberra to New York in 2 hours, and our virtual personal assistants ("Jeeves") often appear smar...
[Question] [ Mycolaria is my working name for an alien planet featuring a much more visible role for fungi of all kinds, large and small. There are also animals and plants on this world. This is the second in a series of fungi-related worldbuilding questions. This particular mushroom related question is about radiotr...
[Question] [ In a future age of technology and machinery, humans no longer need to perform physical grunt work. The most menial of jobs are performed by very simplistic machines. These are not learning or intelligent AI, they are simply robots. The jobs which require problem-solving or other characteristics which can...
[Question] [ For a civilization like this, firstly, I would like to know what dangers there are, e.g: radiation, cave-ins, temperature. I also want to know about the sustainability of this colony, power I'd imagine isn't a issue (geothermal), but how would there be a sustainable source of food? What about mental affe...
[Question] [ # Linked [What would the flora on a methane world be like?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/14384/what-would-the-flora-on-a-methane-world-be-like) [What would animal life on a methane world look like and how would it evolve?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/14316/what-...
[Question] [ I'm working on a space-fantasy setting and one of the cosmological quirks is that the cosmos, instead of being a vacuum, is actually filled with a gaseous substance. As a result, the entire cosmos is essentially an infinitely large nebula. The ether, which is silvery in hue, in addition to being aestheti...
[Question] [ I define "Venusian world" to be high pressure, thick atmosphere, and high temperatures. Assume the atmosphere is similar to Venus, but whatever gets the same effect and supports life is fine. I'm envisioning a six-limbed sentient species that's nearly blind and uses sonar to "see", and a primarily fungal...
[Question] [ *Related:* * *[How would a completely urbanized city-planet support its population?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/810/how-would-a-completely-urbanized-city-planet-support-its-population)* * *[How a completely urbanized city-planet be maintained?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.c...
[Question] [ I have a species that have evolved from their world's equivalent of deep (~3 kilometres deep) sea snails, specifically from they resemble the [Scaly-Foot Gastrobpod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly-foot_gastropod). The Xeno-ocean is salty/has a significant concentration of conductors/electrolytes dis...
[Question] [ Pigeon post has a long tradition in human history. The first mentioned uses of pigeons as message carriers go back to ancient Egypt and proofs of their usage are found all over Europe, northern Africa and asia from ancient history till now. Pigeons are used because of their strong natural homing abilit...
[Question] [ Writing a werewolf story, and decided for a bit of flair, so I wanted two moons in orbit. Did a bit of digging, and I found out that to do that, I'd need to either have them in separate orbit (no thanks, I like calendar math, but that's the irritating kind, not the fun kind) or to have them in an L4/L5 p...
[Question] [ Follow up to [How can orientation-discriminating people keep their views when it turns out they live on a non-orientable surface?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/101804/how-can-orientation-discriminating-people-keep-their-views-when-it-turns-out-the) To quickly summarize the world, the...
[Question] [ I've been thinking of reviving an old Fantasy idea of mine, and I recently came across a description of a group of mythological beings that piqued my interest, and which would actually fill a niche I had been looking to fill in the World I'm working on: [the "Astomi", a tribe or race of Mouthless Humanoi...
[Question] [ "[Nightfall](http://escapepod.org/2007/04/05/ep100-nightfall/)" by Isaac Asimov (you can hear the story here on [escapepod](http://escapepod.org/2007/04/05/ep100-nightfall/), if you need it) postulates a planet in a multi-sun system. The orbital mechanics of the 6 suns result in all of the sides of the p...
[Question] [ I sometimes think about the arrogant dwarf starsmiths in the question. [How to blow up a star by accident?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/86245/how-to-blow-up-a-star-by-accident/86255#86255) I pose the question in the voice of the dwarf, probably because I am hungry for down votes. -...
[Question] [ What would be the effect on climate on an Earth-like moon of a gas giant, which experienced regular ("monthly") total solar eclipses (by its gas giant parent) lasting approx. 40 hours. I'm trying to recreate a realistic climate for this world. All things being equal, the moon is slightly warmer than Ear...
[Question] [ I've been working on an alien species, and I wanted it to have a blood colour other than red. I was going to go with Coboglobin until I found the sites I was looking at providing diametrically opposite info. The first one I looked at claimed that Coboglobin was best in warm, oxygen-rich environments, and...
[Question] [ I think of a world of islands floating in the sky. The planet basically is (was) our Earth. For some reason all that is left is a small ball covered nearly completely with water. Pieces of the shattered continents are floating in the sky, maybe at a level of 4,000 m height. The rest of the Earth system s...
[Question] [ Ever since grade school, we have been taught to visualize time in the form of a time-line. This model works particularly well considering the fact that, according to widely accepted scientific theory, *time exhibits the same dimensions as a line*, with movement across this dimension being constrained to ...
[Question] [ What problems would perpetual fog cause to a country roughly the size and environment of Ireland? The country has all modern infrastructure such as power plants, roads, factories, hospitals, etc. For just over half the year the fog is very thick and only allows for around 200 m of visibility. The rest of...
[Question] [ Imagine a large island, roughly the size of Australia. The sea around is is effectively endless: no-one from the island has found an edge to it, or any other land masses. This is a fantasy land, and the technology is roughly equivalent to dark ages Europe. So news travels relatively slowly. There are a w...
[Question] [ # Background: My evil 10,000 year old Nature Mage Erilius has escaped the desert and made it back to the furthest outpost in his Rainforest kingdom. Upon entering his makeshift Magic plant tower ,his large, Insectoid acolytes inform him that they discovered a powerful spell in his collection of magical s...
[Question] [ Consider a dual-star system, with the distances between S (larger star) and J (smaller star) similar to Sun–Jupiter. A planet P rotates around J on a 90-degree ecliptic and is Earth-like otherwise. Due to a tidal lock, one hemisphere of the planet permanently faces J. J is hot enough to sustain a comfort...
[Question] [ On a planet with no water or oxygen or anything to react with the sulfuric acid, what color would an ocean of it be? I know sulfuric acid is clear, but water is also clear, and oceans are blue, not clear, so what color would a sulfuric acid ocean be? [Answer] The information required is the visible li...
[Question] [ I'm designing a flat world setting for a fantasy RPG, and I'm trying to figure out out how the climates and weather patterns would play out realistically (or at least semi-realistically) in such a setting. This world is built on a shallow vessel, and has one large, roughly circular continent 7,700 KM in ...
[Question] [ For the purpose of a story, I'm having an additional island in the North Sea. The island is where the Doggerbank used to be, but a bit larger. The highest "mountaintops" are around 1000m, but a lot of the country is between 1-50 meters above sea level. The island has two mountain ranges. The land usage i...
[Question] [ ## Premise The task is to explain how a planet can possess cube-shaped mountain ranges and maintain them across geological time scales. I have tossed around several ideas, such as creating a vacuum around the mountains. While none of these ideas worked out, I was able to construct a list of some of the m...
[Question] [ I am building a science fiction world 100+ in the future with various human augmetics. One of the things I would like to do is speed up human thought. My preferred mechanism for embedding this material is nanites. From what I gather Increased myelinization increases signal speed within a neuron. The way ...
[Question] [ This is a submission for the [Anatomically Correct Series](https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2797/anatomically-correct-series/2798#2798) In the story I’m writing there is an island of mostly [Monotremes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotreme) which have diversified into a variety o...
[Question] [ So, once there was a war between the titans and the gods. In the end, the gods' leader, Anon, found a way to permanently remove the titans from the world, but the victory extracted a terrible price. Titans and gods were fundamentally the same creatures, and the source of their power was also the same. An...
[Question] [ ### After reading the [help sections for asking questions](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic), I am now confident that my question does in fact appear to be on-topic and in scope for this website. --- I currently use a page called [PlanetMaker](http://planetmaker.wthr.us/#) in order t...
[Question] [ Subarenaceous animals are those which can move long distances through dry sand - like sandfish lizards, or Dune's sandworms. The main problem they have to tackle is turning the sand immediately around them into a sort of fluid which they can move through. Real subarenaceous animals do this by undulating,...
[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’m ...
[Question] [ For your consideration, a star system inside a [dark nebula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_nebula) with a potentially habitable planet. Being a dark nebula, we Earthers can't see light shining behind the nebula. Further and therefore: * The nebula is large enough that the potential inhabitants won't...
[Question] [ Prompted by a question about the impact of dietary iron in elves ([How would Fair Folk-type elves deal with dietary iron?](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/91328/how-would-fair-folk-type-elves-deal-with-dietary-iron)), I wondered whether haemocyanin could be an alternative to haemoglobin...
[Question] [ ### Situation: * a large terrestrial planet (a 'super earth', around 9 earth masses with a surface gravity roughly double earth's) with a mostly hydrogen atmosphere and ammonia oceans (pressure is high enough that ammonia is liquid up to around 50°C) * life uses ammonia as a solvent * plants convert meth...
[Question] [ I am designing a mammal living in a warm environment (like a warm desert) which has developed a switchable metabolism, so that during the day it is cold blooded and during the night (when it is colder) it goes on warm blood mode. This switching roughly halves its energy demand (half of a day it doesn't ...
[Question] [ For a story I am writing, I need a planet covered in a shallow ocean. What I mean is that I want the majority of the planet's surface (=> 60%) to be in the photic zone of the ocean. This planet must sustain life, with the most intelligent being some smalamanders. Ideally this planet can remain habitable ...
[Question] [ The traditional description of the mermaid is half-girl and half-fish. That, both biologically and dramatically, is just ridiculous. If the mermaid were half-fish, then why does she move her tail up and down and not side-to-side as fish should? No, my first proposal is to make the mer (the whole race, no...
[Question] [ On Earth, the vast majority of the biosphere is ultimately dependent on a large number of autotrophic organisms that produce usable energy in the form of glucose by using photosynthesis. However, on worlds with thick, dense atmospheres or covered in massive sheets of ice, sunlight may not be available to...
[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. In [...
[Question] [ In the vein of this question [here](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/25899/anatomically-correct-gods), I was wondering about the practicality of the mythical Grecian concept of the [Hecatonchires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hekatonkheires). Forget, for a moment, that these monsters ar...
[Question] [ Ignoring, for the sake of this question, *how* exactly the gravitational fields required for this to work are generated: ## The question Our stalwart adventurers have a spaceship, perhaps a [gateship](http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Puddle_Jumper), fitted with inertial dampeners (for preventing their orga...
[Question] [ You may have heard of [pyrophites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrophyte) : They are plants which have a strong relationship to fire, whether they are extremely resilient to it, blossoming with it or simply as a way for their seeds to sprout. I am devising such a plant that has an aggressive way of exp...
[Question] [ My creature is a [B.O.W](https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/B.O.W.), designed to be especially good at ambushing and to use its Jaws as it's main weapon. It's basic hunting strategy is similar to the [spectral bat](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_bat)'s, immobilizing prey and delivering a bite to t...
[Question] [ I've been reading some of the excellent answers on [this question](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/23513/how-could-a-galactic-empire-work) about galactic empires and it led me to imagine a reasonably realistic multi-system 'empire' might keep most or all of its population within a singl...
[Question] [ For practical purposes I think about something in line of Cessna 172. As it was the most produced aircraft, then it must have hit some sweet spot or be near it. * atmosphere with barely noticeably higher oxygen content, and much higher nitrogen * tech level similar to contemporary * rugged, simple, inexp...
[Question] [ Let's say I have a terrestrial planet superficially like earth, except that it rotates much slower (about 10-15 days per rotation) and its atmosphere is ideally several times thicker. If I want this planet to have a substantial magnetic field (3/4 of Earth's as a minimum, though higher is better), what f...
[Question] [ I'm trying to construct a solar system, and I'm toying with the idea that the planet capable of sustaining life was initially outside of the habitable zone, but the star's advanced age has caused the luminosity to increase, thereby shifting the HZ further outwards. **How do you calculate the increase of ...
[Question] [ To my understanding, part of the reason life is able to exist on Earth besides its ozone layer is due to its magnetic field, which protects the planet and its life against solar winds and keeps the atmosphere from being stripped away. Now, I’m aware that Earth’s magnetic field varies a bit in strength at...
[Question] [ I trying to describe colonization of an Earth Like [planet](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/61075/how-to-protect-human-colonists-from-red-dwarf-flares) orbiting a red dwarf in its habitable zone. * It is **NOT** tidally locked with the [star](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/question...
[Question] [ Assuming a mage individual has a specific organ or a system (like neural?) that can influence outside material world but in order to do so requires the energy directly fed to the cells in the same manner the muscle and neuron cells do. Meanning that it would only accept ATP or creatine phosphate (CP) and...
[Question] [ I am working on a novel of a fantasy world on another planet. I am not *too* concerned with scientific accuracy, as again, it's fantasy, but I am not interested in supernatural things for my world. That is, there is no magic in my world, and all the phenomena is natural or organic. That said, my idea was...
[Question] [ ## Context **God games** are organised, in which a hundred immortals participate. Every "God" is given an alternate dimension. These dimensions are all identical and contain an Earth where Humans didn't yet evolve. At the start of the games, each god receives a certain amount of god-credits they can spe...
[Question] [ I'm working on a far-future SF story taking place on a terraformed Mars and would like a fact check. Current estimates (see [here](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg/zubrin.htm) and [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars)) are that the CO2 on Mars could be released in gas form to ...
[Question] [ We are creating a world of floating islands, these vary in size from small outposts that are little more than a Dock and Watchtower, through independent farmsteads, to full Nations in which the majority of the population are unaware they are on a floating island. A particular Nation has access to "magic"...
[Question] [ Picture this: there is a high fantasy world with a majority of humans, but in recent times there have been other, monster based species gaining traction (i.e werewolves, naga, harpies). In this current environment, we have our villain, a Dracula-esque, supernatural corrupt noble who has magical power at ...
[Question] [ I am trying to create a planet that rains acid, and that has acidic oceans of water, but a breathable nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. This planet has native lifeforms that have evolved to withstand these acid rains and that have perfectly adapted to the acidic oceans. Maybe the acid rain could be produced by...
[Question] [ Earth has three convection cells per hemisphere, resulting in each hemisphere having a band of desert at the end of the Hadley cells. Given a planet with the following characteristics: * Twice the radius of Earth. * Rotates every 24 hours. (So the linear velocity of rotation is doubled, but the angular v...
[Question] [ There are a few flying questions lately and this got me thinking. Someone suggested that a centaur might power a plane via a bicycle. I don't think this would work out, since the centaur would be very heavy compared to its power... but what about a small, light creature, with a lot of strength compared t...
[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. Stun...
[Question] [ Humans are [diurnal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronotype). We have chemical signals the control our waking and sleeping cycles, we are evolved with good day and color vision, poor night vision and smell, and an excellent ability to shed heat in the mid-day sun. That being said, there exists a group ...
[Question] [ Assume there are three earth-like worlds in our solar system. These three worlds would also have a single natural satellite roughly at the same mass-distance ratio of Earth to the Moon (about 1.2 percent of each of their masses and about 384,400 km distant give or take). I'd put the innermost of the thre...
[Question] [ *Alternate question title: From Fungi to a Fun Guy* So, I asked a [previous question](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/34034/could-plants-develop-sentience) about which non-animal would be the likeliest to evolve sentience. The answer turned out to be fungus, since mycelial networks clos...
[Question] [ We see plenty of seasonal variation on Earth, due to the large axial tilt, but the Earth follows an almost perfectly circular orbit, so we don't get much variation as a result of that. What if we had a planet with similar axial tilt, similar conditions, etc., but in an eccentric orbit? What will that do ...
[Question] [ I am an immortal, megalomaniacal supervillain with unlimited resources and patience. I want to slowly eliminate the Earth's axial tilt so that its equatorial plane is coplanar with its orbital plane. How can I achieve this without causing huge numbers of deaths? Assume that I have subjugated the entire p...
[Question] [ Somewhere, far away in the universe, there is a galaxy that has not been made by nature. Whatever kind of hyperadvanced civilization could have created such a titanic project, and for whatever purpose is not relevant in this question. At the center of this artificially constructed galaxy is a black hole ...
[Question] [ **Background** I am investigating the practical utility and limitations of a procedural-generation-based naming scheme for stars and other notable or significant interstellar structures (e.g. nebulae, globular clusters) in a Milky Way-like galaxy, for use by an expansive interstellar civilization. Hundre...
[Question] [ [Alastair Reynolds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds) is a contemporary sci-fi writer whose works often demonstrate a strong grip on science as it presently stands. Recently, I picked up his book *On The Steel Breeze* for a quick re-read of the first few chapters and stumbled across someth...
[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 wa...
[Question] [ *(This question is not about getting scrap metal out of orbit and recycling it: please see the second and third sections of the question text.)* Consider an object which was not designed for, or has lost its capacity to perform, atmospheric reentry (for instance: a space station or part of it, a spacecra...
[Question] [ There was an orbital station; a huge torus, as known from sci-fi. It was a luxurious place for people from dusty planets to relax at, and spend hard-earned money in environments resembling Earth from the legends. Forests, meadows, hills, rivers and lakes. Everything powered by solar energy, protected fro...
[Question] [ To narrow this down, I'm looking only for climactic specifications. Not cultural responses, etc. During [Ernest Shackleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Shackleton)'s expedition to the Antarctic continent, he found a huge canyon/crevasse that spanned a very large area of tectonic activity. In fac...
[Question] [ In mammals - and that includes us humans - the lungs make up 7% of the total body volume. This allows us to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, thanks to the pulmonary alveoli. But bird lungs are unrivaled. They make up 15% of the total body volume. Gas does not mix between in- and ex- halation. If ...
[Question] [ In a new self-sufficient human colony, what are the minimum requirements of the local environment (i.e. what resources would it need) for long-term survival? Let's suppose that the colony land on something similar to a desert (sand desert or cold desert, whatever) with a limited amount of natural resourc...
[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/39/edit). Closed 9 years ago. [Improve this question](/posts/...
[Question] [ Hey I've been trying to map out some ocean currents for a planet I'm creating, called Kalmoren. I've been following an artifexian tutorial however he seems to split gyres based on the circulation cells (at 30 degrees then again at 60 degrees). When looking at maps of earths ocean currents they don't seem...
[Question] [ I'm working on a fusion rocket concept for a hard science fiction setting. I'm envisioning laser catalyzed Proton-Boron reactors (low waste heat, aneutronic, 100% of their output being He4 Alpha particles) based on [HB11](https://www.hb11.energy/) or [TAE](https://tae.com/)'s designs, but with two major ...
[Question] [ In a world I'm currently developing, I'm working on a merpeople equivalent (more or less physically identical to your bogstandard mermaids, for the purposes of this question), and I want them to wear clothing. I know there are plenty of arguments against the practicality of this, but regardless, it's an ...
[Question] [ Mars is the dusty, airless void of death and general unpleasantness it is today because it lost its magnetosphere millions of years ago. This was because Mars's dynamo in its core shut down. Because it lost its magnetosphere, the solar wind was able to strip away Mars's atmosphere, oceans, and any unfort...
[Question] [ In a Rocheworld scenario where two planets are tidally locked and share an atmosphere, *but* where both the planets are so small that their gravity is very little (as low as one of the dwarf planets in our solar system, such as Ceres, for example), is it possible for creatures that can fly to go back and...
[Question] [ There's a famous saying in science fiction: "Relativity, causality, FTL: pick two". I choose causality and FTL. In a Newtonian universe, where there's a privileged reference frame, the speed of light isn't an absolute limit, and Einstein was wrong, what parts of physics would I need to re-work? In partic...
[Question] [ In my world there is a strip of ocean which is uncross-able due to extreme currents and storms. The solution has been to simply go underneath this particular strip (which is very narrow; only a few miles across) and then resurface on the other side. To this end, ships which can go underwater have been ...
[Question] [ Most of the world's lightest known materials are aerogels. In recent years, their mechanical strength has greatly improved, due to the creation of composites, crosslinked forms, and especially graphene aerogels. The mechanical properties of [commercially available](http://www.buyaerogel.com/product/airlo...
[Question] [ My idea is to build a universe with various alien species. There are dozens of different species and every species evolved differently on a different planet. The problem arises when they want to meet each other on space stations. It is very uncomfortable to wear an environmental space suit, which regulat...