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I am working on a world situated on the Earth.

There is normal gravity, normal conditions of living - normal everything, except the human population itself.

The situation:

Humanity as a species evolved to its peak, and now everybody has slight elemental powers based on fire, earth, water and air.

Nothing is overpowered. If you have no source, you cannot do voodoo elemental stuff. If you have a source, you can manipulate with it to the max range about 10 meters. I can not create a resource of my manipulation neither can turn in it. I can sense the water, I can do waves, for example, or water walls.

Here is a problem. I am a water "elementalist". Can I walk on water in the Earth environment?

HDE 226868
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Ernedar
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    Nothing too scientific, but water-pressure based jetpacks already exist, so if you can generate enough pushing power (AND BALANCE IT CORRECTLY!), you can easily create small platforms of upwards current under your feet, no? – Diego Martinoia Oct 12 '15 at 09:13
  • Does your water elementalist knows how to calculate the surface tension of the water? or the laws of physics can be manipulated by your source. – user6760 Oct 12 '15 at 09:45
  • law of physics can be slightly manipulated. for example you can make water flow around you, make circles around you with it or shot it like a projectile. so yes i think. – Ernedar Oct 12 '15 at 09:51
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    Simply make the water under your feet very very dense. Should allow you water walking. Or ... you could walk with the help of some air pads below your feet. – Youstay Igo Oct 12 '15 at 13:20
  • @YoustayIgo You can't make water dense enough to walk on. It is basically as dense as it can be already. – James Oct 12 '15 at 14:04
  • @YoustayIgo Even if you could make it denser, doing so would cause that portion to sink. You could increase the local surface tension. You still have the problem of trying to walk on it as it would be like trying to walk on a large, slippery trampoline. Depending on control levels, you might be able to skate on it. – Ouroborus Oct 12 '15 at 18:06
  • Skating is still good for me, so ok. I just want to be able to do it. – Ernedar Oct 12 '15 at 18:23
  • This sounds suspiciously like an explanation of the theories behind the Avatar: The Lost Airbender world. – The Wandering Coder Oct 13 '15 at 05:30

4 Answers4

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Sure

Water tension is what allows those bugs or a feather to float on water. As you increase gravity, however, the tension is not strong enough, and the bonds between the water elements break.

Since you are able to manipulate the behaviour of elements, such as water, you would simply strengthen the bonds between water molecules below and around your feet. This would look like standing on a trampoline. The longer you stand still, though, the further out you must strengthen the bonds, until you've covered the whole, say, lake. This is because somewhere further out, the bonds will begin to break, and your whole platform sinks. Keep moving, keep manipulating.

Mikey
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    So simply i need to be constantly moving. – Ernedar Oct 12 '15 at 18:27
  • No, you could cover the entire surface of the lake and stand still, but don't do it too long, or you'll mess with the ecosystem (imagine the poor bird that goes for a dive, and smacks into it, etc.) – Mikey Oct 12 '15 at 18:28
  • That iw not an option, since i wrote, i can manipulate only certain are around 10 meters wide. Whole surface will be not logical for example on sea or an ocean. – Ernedar Oct 12 '15 at 18:41
  • You need to form a "skin" just a few feet around, and then cause something like a convection cell motion to push up on it cancelling your weight. I don't see what time limit does... unsupported you a patch like a piece of plastic wrap, and it won't hold for any time at all. – JDługosz Oct 12 '15 at 18:42
  • The bonds between two water molecules cannot be strengthened and have it still be water – James Oct 13 '15 at 13:50
  • @James - agreed, it would be more like glass or cement, I suspect. But it could work if his character can magically make the two elements 'cement' themselves to each other. It would be more like a super-fluid or plasma phase of water - I'm not a scientist. – Mikey Oct 13 '15 at 19:49
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It can be done...but maybe not in the way you imagine.

Meet the basilisk lizard.

enter image description here

This lizard uses a combination of light weight, large fast feet, feet hair, and air bubble pockets to run on water.

How does this help our human? Well, it doesn't really, but it does give you a formula for what it takes to walk on water. For humans to do this technologically unaided our feet would have to be massive, hairy and able to be propelled at an amazing rate...

In the end, to do this you are going to have to find a way to manipulate the water currents to push you up...or remodel your water folks' feet, I suppose both would work too...

Keep in mind that if your person is manipulating currents upward they are not going to be walking on a smooth surface, the water under their feet would be rolling and bubbling...they definitely are not going to be staying dry when they do this.

James
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With the ability to create waves and walls of water, I believe you would be able to hold the water beneath your feet "solid" enough to hold you up.

Holding the surface solid enough to walk on would still take quite a bit of balance and practice, as the water movements below this surface would continue to flow and move with its currents, tides and waves.

Picture it as running across a very large waterbed, or perhaps a pool cover that is connected all around the edges.

Michael Richardson
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You can also manipulate temperatures by absorbing/channeling heat and freeze water on your path. A 10cm thick layer of ice would be sufficient.

But how fast would be the heat transfer? If it's too fast, then water wouldn't have time to crystalize, losing ice's floating properties.

Another option is to avoid water displacement. When you step in, water molecules just go elsewhere. If you can manipulate water and its molecules, then you can order the thin layer of water molecules under your feet to stay in place.

Tuan Trinh
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    Your last paragraph is just what the accepted answer explains. You should stick with your new contribution in this answer, only. – JDługosz Apr 10 '17 at 16:09