Answer by M S for How could a sapient species lose its intelligence?
Environmental conditions that favour brawn over brain in addition to social and cultural regression (e.g children not being fully/correctly taught the language of their parents) could produce an...
View ArticleCalculating the total thermal energy contained within an object [closed]
A character in my world has a superpower that allows them to convert all (or at least 99.99...%) of the thermal energy contained by the particles within a volume into directed kinetic energy, causing...
View ArticleGasoline-Powered Supersoldiers [duplicate]
According to our current understanding of biology and chemistry, could genetically engineered supersoldiers that digest hydrocarbons (such as those found in gasoline) feasibly be created within a world...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for How would "barbie doll" anatomy work?
One unfortunate possibility is that your species may eat, mate, breathe, and excrete using the same orifice.
View ArticleAnswer by M S for This drug can rewire the brain and “insta-teach”. How fast...
This source suggests the human brain can create 1 million synapses every second. This source suggests the brain to have 100 trillion synapses. That gives us a rough rate of change of 0.000001% per...
View ArticleIs there any reason a society might use electric boilers and steam engines in...
In an area in my world, people have discovered how to turn their aural constructs (magic stuff) into electrical supercapacitors, allowing for relatively advanced electrical technology.Now that they...
View ArticleHow long after birth would it take for a fully-coordinated baby to begin...
In the isekai genre of anime, it is a common trope for a person to be reborn into a baby's body while retaining their full cognitive abilities. Assuming they maintain full control of their coordination...
View ArticleWhat adaptations would be likely to help vascular plant life survive in a low...
One of my worlds has a very sparse atmosphere with a pressure of about 0.17 bar, making it roughly one sixth as dense as our own. It is largely identical to our own in every other way, having the same...
View ArticleWhat material properties would be expected from magically-produced iron?
Magic SystemOne of my magic systems consists of the ability to magically synthesize a material in a given shape. The material can be any one of the elements from hydrogen all the way up to gold, or one...
View ArticleEffectiveness of antimatter particle accelerators in space warfare
I came up with this idea for a space-based weapon and I'm wondering how viable it actually is. The weapon is made possible using portals.The PortalsThe portals are a clarketech produced by a portal...
View ArticleCould a newborn baby survive on a paleo diet?
Background InfoOne of my stories features the classic isekai trope of a person being reincarnated into a baby's body while still retaining their full cognitive abilities. The world they are...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for How could a carbon-based mechanical lifeform evolve naturally?
I won't be able to provide a particularly comprehensive answer here, but I'll throw in my two cents.In one of my worlds I came up with the idea of an ecosystem filled with animals that, like you...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for How would life, that thrives on the magic of trees, survive...
How does magic spread? If it diffuses through the atmosphere in the same way oxygen does, then magic concentrations around the globe should remain relatively consistent, with there still being more...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for Using gravimetry to detect cloaked enemies
Military submarines use gravity gradiometry to prevent collisions with underwater objects. That clearly shows that detecting nearby objects with gravity is possible. I don't know how precise such...
View ArticleHow do I calculate air pressure at various altitudes within a planet-sized...
I'm building a world consisting of floating landmasses located entirely within an indestructible rectangular prism that is 10,000km wide, 10,000km long, and 4,000km tall. If I want air pressures to be...
View ArticleHow long could a person survive on nothing but water, salt, and sugar?
Magic SystemOne of my worlds has a magic system that allows people to produce any element, as well as a small number of molecules. When something is produced using magic, it spawns into existence in...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for Would Artificial Gravity With Short Range Be Possible?
A slightly different perspective:Let's assume your humans have discovered a technology that lets them somehow turn electrical energy into gravitational force. Let's also assume the process behind this...
View ArticleFormula for determining maximum flight speed of superpowered individuals
I would like to be able to roughly determine the maximum horizontal flight speed of any superpowered individual using only the maximum acceleration that person can produce. To do this, I will need a...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for How does "innate magical power" fit into a magic system...
I can think of a couple of optionsIsekaiYour character was transported from a different universe with a different magic system.Divine InterferenceYour magic system works because God (or gods) make it...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for How could a Renaissance level feudal society get into space?
Hot Air Balloons and OrnithoptersAccording to Wikipedia, Vijaypat Singhania set a world record and reached an altitude of over 20,000m in a hot air balloon in 2005.So, what I would suggest is to have a...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for Giant Sword vs The World. How much damage does it do to the...
While the blade isn't very thick, at the speeds it's moving it will cause a wave of heat and plasma to spread through the atmosphere, outward from the circumference of the Earth through which the blade...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for What reasons might day and night be very similar on a planet
Your planet has an enormous and incredibly reflective moon.Earths moon, while large, is not the largest it could possibly appear in the sky according to real-world physics, and it only has an albedo...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for Why can't the alien's particle shield be replicated despite...
For the exact same reason a caveman couldn't make a phone: we don't know how to manufacture them.
View ArticleAnswer by M S for Do humans have sufficient internal energy for the power of...
I wouldn't recommend drawing the energy from internal sources, as cooling your core or stealing cellular energy will very quickly have negative consequences. Your body may be able to simply increase...
View ArticleAnswer by M S for How could a light sorcerer fly
If your character is limited to generating light, the best you could get is to have them wear some kind of engine where light provides heat to turn a propeller or turbine. They would in effect be...
View ArticleComment by M S on Would a futuristic civilization still use animals for...
Your title and body are asking two different questions.
View ArticleComment by M S on Permanent Full moon via "Magic"
@Fallenspacerock this is a magical suggestion. I doubt an actual mirror would do the job well at all
View ArticleComment by M S on Permanent Full moon via "Magic"
@quarague orbital period just at the edge of Earth's Hill sphere (1.5 million km) is almost exactly 213 days, so you can't get it to a year
View ArticleAnswer by M S for Magic System Based on Electronics
Generator: produces mana at a constant rate. The mana produced has too little voltage to be used for spells.Capacitor: stores mana, and outputs it at a high voltage and current for spells.Variable...
View ArticleComment by M S on How would these floating plants not need to constantly...
@NeilIyer see my edit
View ArticleComment by M S on How would these floating plants not need to constantly...
Smart suggestion, but I imagine that would severely limit the height at which the plant can float. Maybe in forested areas the vine lays along the tree canopy, to ensure the plant still retains its...
View ArticleComment by M S on Will nothing bad happen if I just create infinite energy?
@Mazura I think the logic is this: I need to eat food to produce mana. I eat a sandwich, which gives me some mana. Using that mana, I magically produce 5 more sandwiches. Now I can eat those 5 to...
View ArticleComment by M S on What does an intersection between two universes look like?
Funny, I asked this exact question in the sandbox and eventually abandoned it
View ArticleComment by M S on What would it look like if space had a boundary
"Also the universe is not the same in all directions." This is definitely not true. A very important astronomical observation is that the visible universe is homogeneous at large scales
View ArticleAnswer by M S for What would it look like if space had a boundary
If boundary is basically a black hole, anything that passes through this black wall cannot go back into the bounded space, would this black wall be basically pitch black?As described, yes.And if you...
View ArticleComment by M S on What would be the most effective way for a humanoid species...
This is a pretty exhaustive list
View ArticleComment by M S on Is it possible for a humanoid to learn English within a few...
Is there anything stopping her from reading books or going on a computer at a public library?
View ArticleComment by M S on What types of tropical plants could evolve to tolerate a...
@AlexP ikr, I hate it when people put humans in their worlds, like c'mon, don't they know how unlikely it is for an exact replica of our species to evolve? I wish they were as smart as me
View ArticleComment by M S on Would it be possible for a single celled organism to evolve...
Don't slime molds "solve" mazes the same way flowing water or a fire would? I.e there's no intelligence being displayed, its just expanding randomly and following energy gradients.
View ArticleAnswer by M S for Laser finger guns
A laser of low power will blind someone. A laser with decent power will blister skin, set clothes on fire, and blind anyone looking at the person you're shooting at.A laser of really high power will...
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