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1500 questions
32
votes
9 answers
Sleeping on planets with very long days
Consider a planet where a day, that is to say the amount of time a specific (roughly equatorial) point is in sunlight is much longer than on earth. A humanoid race has evolved on this planet. You can assume that days and nights are roughly the same…
Liath
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32
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12 answers
How could a private corporation take over the British government
I've been toying with how to word this question but I can't think of how to word it well.
Under current British law would it be possible to 'privatize' the government?
In my scenario I'm wanting a private company to take over the running of the…
Terry
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32
votes
2 answers
Can a dragon be electrocuted?
This question uses the European dragon model where dragons have semi-metallic scales (may or may not have actual metal scales), like to hoard gems, and possibly fly around in storms for the heck of it. If it is also the kind that somehow has…
AnnoyedDragon
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32
votes
10 answers
How far back in time can I go before people stop accepting my money from the future?
Lets say I go back in time with a wallet full of, say, 150 dollars worth of bills. How far can I be sent back before I reach a point where I'm unlikely to be able to use my money because it looks too different from the current currency to be…
dsollen
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32
votes
8 answers
Why would an incredibly long lived race not be known for their scarring?
Many long lived races are seen as serene, beautiful, and wise. Yet with long life comes the increased chance to be permanently injured in a life-altering way, either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Eons of war would wear down the psyche and…
Jesse Cohoon
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32
votes
10 answers
Can a biological laser exist?
We know that Earth creatures can generate high-voltage electricity (your nearest electric eel can attest to that). We also know that ordinary air at Earth atmospheric pressure can be used as a laser gain medium -- this is used in Transverse…
Shalvenay
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32
votes
10 answers
Developing a government that can hide an immortal ruler (and their secret to immortality)
Someone has discovered the secret of immortality (whoa, awesome!), but it requires what amounts to a human sacrifice and their spirit overtaking the deceased body (not as awesome!). Technically, it's more like possession than immortality, but it…
skeletim
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32
votes
11 answers
A King's son is born after the King has died and his brother has inherited
Assuming standard medieval "firstborn son or next closest male relative" inheritance. A King (A) dies without heir. His Brother (B) inherits the throne. 8 months later the dead King's (A's) wife gives birth to a Son (C), conceived by the dead…
Tom
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32
votes
15 answers
Reasons to not allow an uploaded brain to be conscious?
My story has brain uploading, but in practice it serves a purpose more like reincarnation, recreating the original recorded state of the scanned brain in a pre-prepared clone of the deceased. I need a reason why these people's uploaded…
Z.Schroeder
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32
votes
11 answers
Von Neumann probes: feasible or not, now?
Recently, a robot called Philae soft-landed quite safely onto the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, then shot some photos and got some other interesting information that was sent back to Earth. This unveiled my curiosity, regarding our current…
Rodolphe
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32
votes
10 answers
Is it a forgone conclusion that any exo-bacteria discovered on an alien, albeit Earth-like planet will be deadly to human life?
Would the discovery of alien bacteria found on even an Earth analog planet preclude the possibility of colonization due to the potentially deadly nature of bacterial/viral infections? Put differently, would the fact of our evolution in Earth's…
Brian
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32
votes
17 answers
Strategy to make extraterrestrials fear us
Its the year 2050, and extraterrestrials have popped up next to the Solar System. We know they are coming our way and we know they are most likely hostile.
As Steven hawking said:
Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer…
downrep_nation
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32
votes
14 answers
How much memory is needed to record a human thought?
Mind-Machine interfacing is fairly common across the width and breadth of sci-fi, from Science-fantasy to Hard Science-Fiction. The idea of connecting a human mind to a computer system especially the ability to record human thought and experience…
Trismegistus
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32
votes
25 answers
How to keep mages from taking over the world?
In my world anyone can use magic with the proper training. There are two levels of magic users:
The first level is apprentice (someone with 4 to 8 years of magic
education). They can move people and medium size objects with their
mind, sense what a…
Bryan McClure
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32
votes
26 answers
Which goods make sense to transport over interstellar distances?
Think about the Nostromo from Alien. A giant freight ship that transports iron ore (!) over many light years (passing several other systems) to Earth on a year long trip. I think most will agree that it makes nearly no sense at all. Iron is abundant…
Hothie
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