Most Popular
1500 questions
38
votes
9 answers
Interstellar war without co-ordination, is fine timing important at these scales?
I've been working, on and off, on a universe with limited FTL based on the "one big lie" principle of sci-fi writing; travel speed averages just a hair over 4 times the speed of light, travel is instantaneous for the ships and crews travelling…
Ash
- 44,753
- 7
- 97
- 214
38
votes
12 answers
Could an unusually long lived being continue to learn with the times?
I'm thinking about vampires, as we commonly see vampires who are hundreds (in some cases thousands of years old). In some depictions they appear old fashioned, in others they appear to be as up to date as "normal people".
If someone (for whatever…
Liath
- 18,600
- 11
- 96
- 135
38
votes
27 answers
How can paleolithic humans colonise the stars without direct help from aliens and still be primitive?
In my story I have paleolithic era humans who were contacted by aliens long enough ago for them to have used space travel to spread across many planets. I want them to be able to fly and somewhat maintain spaceships but not produce them.
They are,…
PStag
- 2,276
- 1
- 13
- 16
38
votes
9 answers
Evidence of spacetime anomaly in local geology?
My current project features a contemporary scientist who is convinced that some sort of spacetime anomaly occurred in a tiny rural Yorkshire, U.K. community circa-1850; he believes a dilapidated old manor-house may have simply appeared on the…
J.H. Cowel
- 481
- 4
- 7
38
votes
26 answers
What weapon of mass destruction could theoretically vaporize a whole solar system?
I'm trying to engineer a scenario where a nation wipes out another's home solar system by vaporizing it into a cloud of gas nearly instantly and it engineers a huge controversy over how it happened and would cause extreme chaos within the galaxy…
Efialtes
- 3,226
- 2
- 19
- 33
38
votes
16 answers
Effects of immortality on human brain and consciousness
I'm writing a story that features modified humans that have a very long lifespan/ practically immortality. Immortal characters in fiction aren't exactly rare, but I want to write something more realistic (which might be ironic considering the…
iio
- 381
- 1
- 3
- 4
38
votes
5 answers
What would happen if magic was constrained by the second law of thermodynamics
This is a followup question to the question Wondering what would happen if magic was constrained by Conservation of Energy and it's related to this post. This question asks which sources of energy could feasibly be tapped by magicians, and the…
NauticalMile
- 1,052
- 11
- 20
38
votes
15 answers
Colonizing the galaxy by slow boating reality check
Humans like to explore and seem to have an almost instinctual need to expand. After spreading throughout the solar system and even into the Oort Cloud they decided that humanity should follow the robot probes out into the galaxy.
Without FTL, but…
Dan Clarke
- 7,201
- 2
- 23
- 36
38
votes
6 answers
Evolution of species with separate sapient and non-sapient forms?
This question is inspired by the last paragraph of my answer here: Negating the negative effects of childbearing
(A follow up question to this can be found here: Methods to ensure gene flow in species with seperate sapient and non-sapient…
dsollen
- 33,524
- 8
- 105
- 223
38
votes
2 answers
What is the approximate caloric intake of a dragon?
Dragons. We know them. We love them. They breathe fire and wreck our towns and plunder our gold. But all that destruction has to get fueled somehow. So naturally, I would assume dragons have to eat (or at the very least have some method of caloric…
corsiKa
- 2,083
- 15
- 20
38
votes
26 answers
What could make a remote village also have reasonably high traffic?
I've got a European medieval-themed world and my focus is everyday life in a small village (population of 300~500 people) in the mountains. I'm trying to stay away from action, adventure, violence, etc. as much as possible, so I want this village to…
Chaffee
- 1,567
- 12
- 19
37
votes
7 answers
Are underground shelters defensible?
In many survivalist stories the intrepid heroes wisely (given the impending plot line) decide to build and stock a fallout shelter. When the inevitable catastrophe comes they move into their underground bunker and live in relative comfort while the…
Erik
- 2,490
- 2
- 19
- 35
37
votes
13 answers
How to stop a massive canal system from silting up?
Based on the desert world from this question I need to transport around 500 cubic kilometres of water / year across a desert. Using this calculator. this can be achieved if the main feeder canal is 15m deep, 3200m wide and has a 1mm/km gradient.…
Slarty
- 37,270
- 6
- 55
- 146
37
votes
10 answers
Plausibility of Floating Whales
Ignoring the plausibility of their evolution and sources of food, could a whale-like creature which internally consists largely of hydrogen bladders/gasbags realistically stay aloft?
If these creatures are plausible, would larger creatures be able…
Gryphon
- 10,926
- 5
- 57
- 93
37
votes
15 answers
What methods might an ancient civilization use to desalinate sea water?
Following on from my previous question here concerning the ancient civilization I have called the Androy and their struggle to survive terrible drought conditions on their planet.
After years of struggling with having to dig deeper into an aquifer…
Slarty
- 37,270
- 6
- 55
- 146