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1500 questions
52
votes
8 answers
How do creatures with a hive mind communicate?
Suppose we have a civilisation which is made up of many creatures sharing a single hive mind. Each creature can see, hear and remember what each other member of the species (or possibly hive) has seen heard and experienced, they think and make…
Liath
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52
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11 answers
What would happen to the internet if Google disappeared?
There are a lot of great questions about What would happen if the internet failed semi-permanently and What would happen if electricity stopped working.
As we all know, Google has a great impact on the internet. I'm not only talking about the search…
tkausl
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52
votes
10 answers
Will unattended nuclear power plants actually cause damage to their surroundings?
Scenario: Deadly virus wiped out 80 - 90% world population and it did it pretty quickly (in 2 months)
Although it is plausible that among these 10 - 20% of survivors will be people who actually know how to run nuclear power plant, it's safe to…
PavelBot
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11 answers
What does the Minotaur eat?
So: We all know about the Labyrinth and the Minotaur. One is a maze of stone tunnels, and one is a half-man half-bull killing machine.
It's reasonable to assume that the Minotaur requires a decent amount of energy to keep going (Lets assume about…
Joe Bloggs
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52
votes
17 answers
Society rules for marriages and love on multigeneration ship
Earth, far future: We built multi generation ship which can get 20 000 people to another solar system in next 20 generations (600 years)
For scope of this question assume that ship itself is well built and it will indeed be able to carry people and…
Pavel Janicek
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52
votes
5 answers
Pew Pew Lasers! What would directed energy weapons actually sound like?
Anybody who has consumed a space opera movie, tv show, or video games knows that energy weapons go pew-pew. I however want to do something more creative for my setting, and with truth being stranger than fiction I thought to that reality might…
Trismegistus
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52
votes
2 answers
What would the sky look like from the surface of a planet with rings?
What would a planet's rings look like from the surface of that planet?
Would the rings be perceived to be stationary or move across the sky, and would the alignment of the rings relative to the axis of rotation affect this?
Adeptus
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52
votes
26 answers
A planet you can take off from, but never land back
Can there be a planet that space missions can take off from, but never land back?
It is easy to imagine that thicker atmosphere, large amounts of space debris or higher gravity could entirely stop space missions. But I'm thinking of a case where…
jpa
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52
votes
32 answers
Can government be funded by only printing more money and not taxing anyone?
In a society where government-issued currency (most current countries) is used, could the government fund itself by printing money to use instead of taxing its citizens?
Would this work?
If so:
How would this affect the faith in the currency…
Eric Johnson
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52
votes
14 answers
Why do goblins never form societies bigger than about 500 members?
The goblins in my world are classical fantasy goblins. They aren't too smart, have primitive technology, live in tribes, and use tamed boars, wolves, and other wild animals. They usually have a boss, who runs the show because he is so nasty,…
TheDyingOfLight
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52
votes
21 answers
What would be used for "coordinates" on a large asteroid?
Assuming we had a non-spherical asteroid that doesn't have a magnetic "north", how would the inhabitants define areas on the asteroid? How would they explain to a visitor to go to a very specific spot to retrieve or leave something besides "head…
TChris Gardner
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52
votes
16 answers
On a generation ship, how to handle the dead?
One thing that necessarily happens on a generation ship is that people die of old age. Now that poses a tension: On one hand, you need to handle the dead with dignity. On the other hand, you probably cannot afford losing the materials the dead are…
celtschk
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52
votes
7 answers
Can I use a trebuchet to launch satellites into space from a lunar colony?
I've got a lunar colony that struggles to obtain resources, so they're looking for ways to launch satellites into orbit without using up a bunch of rocket fuel.
One plucky engineer has suggested that trebuchets are the way to go, pointing out that…
Dubukay
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52
votes
31 answers
What shape of a ship would be most effective in real life space combat?
What shape of ship would be optimized for space combat in the context of a future space navy? What advantages and disadvantages would the shape you have chosen have and why is it the best for future space warfare?
Space warfare will be in a close to…
Efialtes
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52
votes
11 answers
Is it feasible to have a literal ivory tower?
I guess making a tower out of ivory would make little to no practical sense as opposed to making a tower out of wood, stone, concrete, or other materials. I suppose building a literal ivory tower would be immensely costly and, if the world elephant…
gaazkam
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