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.
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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 ...
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'Bulk, high-ish purity carbon' sources in a mostly contemporary-adjacent setting
Basically what it says on the tin. A society mostly like ours as far as it's technological base goes recently discovers a way to synthesise very useful 'crystals' with carbon, with applications in a ...
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Is the proposed solar sailing race course possible?
This is an idea that's been banging around a couple of universes in my head for quite some time, the idea is to have solar sail racing yachts that have to traverse an asteroid field. This could be ...
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Would this telescope be capable to detect Middle Ages Civilization?
Imagine the aliens of Prettyfaraway had developed the PrettyHuge Space Telescope.
This pretty impressive array of gravitational-lensing space faring telescopes was capable of resolving Earth surface ...
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What evolutionary pressures would lead to clowns?
In my world, there is a species scientifically named Homo ridiculus (funny human) (so, they are humans, just not Homo sapiens), commonly named clowns.
Some basic characteristics of them are:
They are ...
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Can a bird fly if the polar atmosphere is this thin?
Imagine, if you will, a fantasy world so fantastical in regards to physics that one of its telltale signs of disregarding the laws of physics is how atmospheric density is tied to latitude. At zero ...
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Airtight beaks?
I have a (moderately) hard sci-fi, in which there is a species (the Bethin) who are based on squids. They have the biological equivalent of a space suit for their skin, and use the mantle cavity as an ...
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Plausible reasons for the usage of Flying Ships
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 ...
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Methods of determining if an AI takeover on a planet has happened? [closed]
So, in my plot a Galactic Inspector incognito visits a planet (series of planets) with the mission to determine if an AI takeover has already happened there. If the planet is controlled by AI, the ...
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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 ...
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Can a species transition to ZW from XY (or vice versa) sex determination system through evolution?
In my world, there is a species descended from green iguanas (Iguana iguana) that has ZW sex chromosomes rather than XY like all other iguanids.
In the XY sex determination system (which is used by ...
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Could a jet powered tail-sitter aircraft compete with standard VTOL designs? [closed]
There have been many designs for tail-sitters1 in the past, but they were mostly scrapped for being really hard to land and take off in. However, today this can be easily mitigated with computers. ...
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Would a "plug and play" prosthetic be possible?
A plug and play prosthetic is a type of prosthetic that does not require months of rehabilitation just to use, rather, this type of prosthetic can be used immediately after it is surgically installed, ...
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Weather on a Hot Saturn
So, out of curiosity and for the purposes of a roleplay universe I am making, I am curious about the weather on a Hot Saturn. This planet, nearly identical in mass, composition and size to Saturn, is ...
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Could an azhdarchid pterosaur take off and fly while being ridden by a human?
Could humans theoretically ride any of the largest azhdarchid pterosaurs, assuuming a wingspan of about 10.5m and weight of about 200-250kg for the largest azhdarchids such as Hatzegopteryz or ...
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