Questions tagged [science]
For questions about the fictitious in-universe science found in works of speculative fiction. DO NOT USE for questions purely concerning real-world science as they are off-topic.
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What is the best scientific explanation for how The Flash moves so fast without issue, or is it just "magic?"
The Flash goes from zero to ??? in an eye blink. As he does not have a Saturn 5 rocket on his back, how do you explain the acceleration? How do you explain his ability to stop on a dime and turn ...
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How does time travel take into account the rotation/revolution of the Earth? [closed]
Hypothetically, if you were to travel say, 6 months into the past with no spatial displacement, you would end up floating in space because the Earth would be on the opposite side of the sun.
I know ...
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YA Novel where the main characters family have been replaced by impostors
There's not much I remember about the book. I know it has a green cover, the hardback version anyway. The green is almost shiny with vertical lines, sort of like the matrix.
This could be way off, ...
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What would really happen if you were exposed to space? [closed]
It seems that every science fiction story has a different idea about what would happen if a human were exposed to the vacuum of space.
At the end of Total Recall, Quaid and Melina are ejected to ...
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In Ex Machina, can this character survive?
This is not about
who I'm quite sure is doomed, but
Is there any way this character could survive for long?
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How exactly does one farm moisture?
This question has been bothering me since I was six years old- we know that Aunt Buru and Uncle Owen are moisture farmers, but what is it that they do? What is the process? Is it profitable? What ...
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What's the technical explanation for gravity to exist inside a spacecraft in science fiction? [closed]
Specifically, spacecraft that are not obviously using centrifugal force to simulate gravity the way that the space station from 2001 does.
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Can the "mind" make injuries real like in the Matrix? [closed]
In the original Matrix movie, when Neo falls off a building he receives minor injuries in the simulation. When he "wakes up" in the real world, he feels pain and when he reaches for his mouth he sees ...
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Is there a scientific basis for the healing properties of chocolate?
A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.
‘Here,’ he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece. ‘Eat it. It’ll help.’
...
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Earliest story about civil nuclear power
Does anybody know which is the earliest SF story about the civil uses of nuclear power (possibly, power generation)?
The best I can find is a 1940 short story by Robert A. Heinlein, “Blowups Happen” (...
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How is antimatter produced?
In Star Trek, the fundamental concept of warp drive requires anti-matter and matter combinations to produce the needed energy. Yet, despite this importance, I haven't come across any reference to how ...
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Book (pre 1982) - recalled mercenary only survivor of radiation weapon
I read a book somewhere around 1981 or 82 at our local library. It was the first book in a series. I can almost remember the entire book just not the title nor the author. I would love to find out if ...
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What FTL drives in science-fiction are the most scientifically plausible? [closed]
Science-fiction has used wormhole travel, hyperdrive, teleportation, even sub-FTL flight combined with time travel o get characters there and back again. Even hard science-fiction writer Larry Niven ...
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Earliest use of Relativity in SF?
Einstein proposed the theory of Special Relativity in 1905, and General Relativity in 1916. I knew that the use of Relativity as a story concept appeared in Heinlein’s “Time for the Stars” (1956), ...
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Is Batman a scientist?
Batman clearly does a lot of research and development (apparently on his own in many timelines). The question has been posed before.
Is Batman a scientist?
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Are the language elements in Snow Crash supported by science?
After reading Snow Crash, I have to wonder if any of the premise or main/supporting plot points are backed by any science, or even plausible based on our current understanding.
For example:
Little ...
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Story where stardrive test-pilot visits alien solar system and is attacked by a psychic (alien) child
Looking for story title and author.
Can't remember if the story was a short story, novella or novel.
Here's the storyline as I remember it.
In the near future humans have just created a prototype ...
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What was the first story describing realistic zero-g during space flight?
Newton's law of universal gravitation has been known since 1686 and it states that gravity is proportional to inverse square of the distance, but never fades to 0. This led to stories where various ...
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1
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Looking for title and author of book where gun powder explodes
Like the title says I'm looking for title and author of a book where gun powder explodes.
I read it sometime ago (15-20 years)
The story starts in a university where they are testing a machine. When ...
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Sci fiction / fantasy novel about a teenager with telekinesis but couldn't control it not until a mysterious young man taught him
The novel is more of a teen sci-fi book. I can't remember the author, but it's somewhere along the line of Anthony Horowitz.
It's a paper back series novel. I read it in my high school's library ...
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Has Batman addressed the hazard of lead exposure while wearing lead in his armor?
Batman is sometimes seen to wear lead lining in his costume, for example in Superman/Batman Annual 1 or Superman/Batman #9, as well as other occasions as detailed here.
In DC canon, lead poisoning ...
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