All Questions
Tagged with science-based physics
630
questions
3
votes
1
answer
116
views
Is it reasonable that my human-habitable alternate universe look different?
In the story I am planning, I wanted to have two universes, one just like ours, in which humans evolved, and another that is sufficiently similar to our own that humans may survive, but in which ...
- 63.3k
3
votes
5
answers
621
views
Air magic only used to decrease humidity and improve living conditions?
I'm writing a world with an overall warm and very humid climate (Eocene-adjacent, although it does not have to be 100% realistic). Population is very low compared to Earth. Humans generally live in ...
4
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Plausible reasons for the usage of Flying Ships [closed]
Inspired by this question, I would like to try a similar question, but for flying ships.
So, assuming that the technology is readily available and that we could build these flying ships as easily as ...
- 293
1
vote
1
answer
46
views
What materials are best for creating a solar sail based of scientific factors [duplicate]
What materials are best to use for a solar sail? Since solar sails function through the transference of momentum from photons, a high reflectivity material would be best, no? Are there any scientific ...
- 11
6
votes
4
answers
210
views
What is the best kind of nuclear reactor to use for a criticality accident if I want to expose my crew to a huge amount of radiation?
I've recently been making an attempt to write a short story that leans very heavily towards hard sci-fi. My area of expertise is primarily in biology and neurology, and the backbone of the story is ...
- 327
1
vote
2
answers
288
views
Looking to shape a magic system based as much as possible in actual science [closed]
I am looking to create a magic system that is grounded in science. My initial thought was the ability to manipulate electrons on the atomic level. Since I do not want the magic users to be walking ...
- 136
8
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Negative pressure projectile propellants (Alternatives to gunpowder)
While I was looking into alternatives to gunpowder I stumbled onto a comment talking about an ignited chemical propellant that could be placed in front of a bullet and effectively suck it forwards out ...
- 89
2
votes
1
answer
78
views
UV radiation from conventional blasts? [closed]
Continuing from this question
Blast will produce shockwaves at a close distance, so earplugs are a given. But what about the UV glasses? Temperatures exceeding 2500K are required to produce UV ...
- 337
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Could variation of the universal constants affect computation?
One of the obstacles to realistic - yet interesting - space battles is that of effective computation. If all trajectories and whatnot can be computed much faster than a human could follow, it leaves ...
- 919
5
votes
1
answer
686
views
Speed of light in higher-dimensional space [closed]
In science fiction, one of the widely used tricks for achieving faster-than-light motion is traveling through "hyperspace". By that I mean, entering a space with more than 3 spatial ...
- 61
5
votes
3
answers
203
views
Would the discovery of a room temperature superconductor with a high critical current improve ion drives?
I'm just an optimistic, uneducated bum, so if any of the terminology or ideas are wrong I apologize. So I understand that ion drives are very economical but very low thrust. Partly because powering ...
- 377
0
votes
0
answers
84
views
How do Mermaids Create Fire? [duplicate]
Fire is useful. It generates heat to warm your house or cook your food, or to lights the fuses of your bombs. It's also handy if you can start a fire underwater and take it to the surface, so you can ...
10
votes
8
answers
5k
views
Could Mermaids Tear a Warship's Planking?
I had an idea for a story, where mermaids sabotage a ship during the age of sail. I wanted to ask for advice on it, and if it makes sense. Perspective would be especially helpful, since someone told ...
3
votes
1
answer
399
views
Calculating drop time from a spaceship to a planet
In my story, we have a spaceship orbiting at "LEO" around a foreign planet.
The planet has 0.6g gravity. same atmosphere density as Earth.
The ship orbits at 600km with an orbit time of 100 ...
- 229
4
votes
2
answers
524
views
Could a torpedo fits through a smaller opening due to length contraction?
I was wondering whether a relativistic torpedo which is a futuristic cannonball measuring 1m in diameter could fit a small circular cracks on the surface of an energy shield with a diameter 10% ...
- 48k