Questions tagged [science-based]
For questions that require plausible (better than suspension-of-disbelief) answers based on Real World science that are not necessarily constrained to the known limits of Real World science. Contrast with the hard-science, science-fiction and internal-consistency tags. This tag may not be used alone. This tag may not be used with the science-fiction, hard-science, or internal-consistency tags.
9,474 questions
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How many alien worlds could exist within 100 ly without us noticing?
I’m working on a story where in 2024, humanity has discovered a network of precursor-type wormholes. This precursor civilization established a web of connections that interconnect every star system ...
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What would be the length of a year in a binary star system?
I am currently making a world in which a planet is in a binary star system, orbiting in a figure 8 around a blue giant and a yellow dwarf. The distance of a goldilocks zone of the blue giant is around ...
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Bone as a structural material; or, making a building's skeleton literal
Note: this question uses a third-party world and species to illustrate the point of, and help lay out the thought process leading to, the question, but it is not in any way about them; therefore, this ...
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Logistical limits & concerns of (inter)continental analog radio communication
After bouncing between here, Wikipedia, and a bunch of dubiously promotional articles for a couple of days, I figured I might get a straighter answer if I straight-up ask myself—so:
I'm tossing around ...
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If there was a small moon orbiting closely to a planet with water, how much would it affect the tides?
Let's imagine an inhabited planet with water. It has a moon which affects the tide, much like our own planet. Instead, however, the moon is smaller (the circumference is roughly 3,800 miles or 6,115km)...
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Are there one or two science-based/natural occurences that could rationalize the circumstances of my story?
Here are the conditions of my story:
A group of people (Group A) live and work on an island.
Something occurs ("The Event") that forces Group A to abandon the island.
After Group A leaves, ...
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Can a plasma thruster (using water as fuel) bring a crewed vessel from Titan to Enceladus orbit in 30 days or less?
So I've been worldbuilding a hard-ish setting in the Saturn system (science-based in Worldbuilding's terminology). I am looking for an engine that could be a good, durable and cheap workhorse that ...
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What physical changes to the mouth would cause problems with articulation?
I’m sorry if this is not worded well, this is my first time asking a question.
The (human) character I’m asking about has elongated canines similar to that of classic vampire teeth. It’s important to ...
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Is it possible for a Mercury-type planet to form in lieu of an asteroid belt where one would normally form?
I am aware that the reason why we have an asteroid belt instead of a planet between Mars and Jupiter is because Jupiter stole most of the mass in that region (including some mass that would have ...
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What would the g-force be at the end of a rotating skyhook? [closed]
I'm talking about something like this:
With a rotating skyhook similar to this, but slightly more advanced, the kind where the tip "slows" down enough so that it is stationary relative to ...
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Energy released by the sudden appearance of an alien obelisk?
In the not-too distant future, mysterious obelisks made of unobtainium begin to materialise around the world. They do not fall from space, but appear suddenly; teleporting into seemingly random ...
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Why build an industrial space station in close solar orbit?
For a somewhat hard science-fiction setting, set roughly around the 24th century, I had envisioned an industrial space station in close solar orbit (closer than Mercury at least).
However, I started ...
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How big can a kaiju get before square cube law starts being a bum [closed]
So I like kaiju's and stuff and I know they cannot exist in real life due to energy demands, and the square cube law. I know I can get around the energy problem with a way to generate anti matter/...
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How could EMPs be used as a phase in hybrid warfare?
I'm writing fiction about an attack where an EMP (delivered by drone for the first phase) renders electronics inoperable, allowing armed forces equipped with shielding and not relying on electronics ...
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Consequences of a no i quantum mechanics+3d time universe on human technology [closed]
I would like to start writing writing, and write in the same sort of framework as a variety of Greg Egan stories, that is, internally consistent frameworks of physics that probably aren't true but ...
