Questions tagged [technology]
For questions about the technology and its usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose. Must be related to an on-topic work. Use this tag in conjunction with the tag of the work in question, e.g. [star-wars].
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Story about a spacecraft that crash-lands on a planet with a civilization resembling Pre-Columbian era
I have read this book around 20 years ago, and the book was already quite old at that time so was likely written before 1990. Highly likely I have read it in Hungarian, but I'm unsure if the novel was ...
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Why do (Federation) starships need Bussard collectors in front of their warp nacelles?
Ever since Zephram Cochrane's first human-built warp-capable vessel, the Phoenix, Human ships with warp drives have had Bussard collectors placed in front of their warp nacelles.
Why are the Bussard ...
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How is Batman's grappling gun always loaded and ready to use, and never runs out of ropes?
One of the most identifiable gadgets of Batman is the grappling gun ("Bat-Rope"): a launcher that shoots a grappling hook and enables Batman to pull himself up to the rooftops.
However, in ...
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Book about a British boy from a futuristic world
It's a story about:
a boy called "Jay"
he has a sister who is apparently a hacker and can block the WiFi in specific places
and a mom who works for rich people
and a dad that works in a ...
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Batman cape as a glider and a bulletproof shield
In the most recent incarnation of Batman, namely in the film "The Flash" (2023) where he was portrayed by Michael Keaton, Batman has the most sophisticated and useful cape. The cape can turn ...
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Looking for title of story, probably sci-fi, about mentally declining man who built prompts allowing him to perform daily functions. Any help here? [duplicate]
I have no idea when it was written, nor when I read it, but it's been at least a couple of decades My memory is very vague on particulars, just that it seemed to be pretty prophetic, bringing to mind ...
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How could Mr. Fantastic’s computer see distant planets in real-time in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer?
In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Galactus devastated a few planets before he came to Earth. Mr. Fantastic sees the surfaces of these planets in real time. That’s not really how telescopes ...
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Has there ever been a depiction of a futurist in Star Wars Legends or Canon?
I love futurism and even though Star Wars is more science-fantasy than sci-fi; they DO have technology and science and scientists are often featured in various stories. Philosophers are also mentioned....
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Short story by Ray Bradbury, man comes home to smart house, can't cope, takes a gun and shoots up the consoles, gets taken away by men in white coats
I'm looking for a short story by Ray Bradbury, in which man comes home to his "smart" house, he is greeted by the door, his living room offers him a drink.... Overwhelmed, he can't cope ...
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Who is responsible for making the time machine in the Terminator movies; humans or Skynet?
In the Terminator movies, Skynet is trying to kill Sarah and John Connor, sending various terminators from the future to hunt them down.
So my question is: who made the time machine to go back to past?...
user64716
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Please identify an Asimov short story with miniature typewriter
I recall an Asimov short story from the 1950s or before, in which a reporter character hides a mini-typewriter in a pocket, so he can surreptitiously type notes during an interview. It's a great ...
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Has transporter technology ever been used to fight Borg assimilation?
The transporter technology in Star Trek has been used in many fantastic plot fixes. People are stored in some kind of pattern and rebuilt. This process has been used to cure diseases such as the aging ...
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Earliest use of a prosthetic-integrated gun in speculative fiction?
We see this trope in comics and manga, and also in cyberpunk fiction, where characters have weapons integrated onto prosthetics, like arm cannons. It can sometimes even be a bit absurd, where guns are ...
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How do female Comonwealth citizens continue to have kids after rejuvenation?
In the Commonwealth saga, where as humans get older they start to seek rejuvenation to return to their biological twenties and effectively live forever, and in the Void trilogy where Biononics allow ...
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Are there sonic faucets?
Sonic showers are of course a well known and accepted technology in Star Trek, perfectly capable of replacing traditional water-based showers or baths (which may still be used recreationally.)
What ...
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Does Heinlein ever elaborate on the physics underlying Shipstones?
In Friday, Heinlein describes a device called a Shipstone, which is essentially a non-rechargeable battery with extremely high energy density. They are manufactured by some proprietary process, which ...
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Can the navigation shields resist lasers of any strength?
In The Outrageous Okana, it is described that lasers are ineffective against the Enterprise:
WORF: Still no response. Captain, they are now locking lasers on us.
RIKER: Lasers?
WORF: Yes, sir.
PICARD:...
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How fast does bacta heal cuts and minor injuries?
I remember that bacta was applied to the Mandalorian by IG-74 and he seemed healed almost instantly. Also in Star Wars Resistance; Katz applied bacta to a weak alien and he seemed good to go.
My ...
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If magic doesn't agree with Muggle technology, how does Arthur Weasley have a flying car that can turn invisible and drive itself? [duplicate]
I don't quite know the extended lore, but I'm pretty sure that it's established that the reason why we don't see modern weapons being used in the series is because magic and Muggle technology just don'...
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Even in the 1960s, was the UI/.computer systems of The Enterprise being criticized?
I am sure modern youngsters if they have the patience to watch STOS find the limitations of the Enterprise in some respects hilarious -- Yeoman Rand actually hands Kirk reports; the transporter seems ...
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At what point did Starfleet starships start recycling their waste in the Star Trek universe?
On the ISS (International Space Station), astronauts recycle some of their waste — only the kind they can yield water from. However, on the first Enterprise, this was clearly not the case. They ...
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What are droid brains made of?
Has a source ever confirmed what droid brains are made of?
Since Artificial Intelligence is likely extremely complex and energy consuming, I have my doubts that it's made of silicon, but I'd like to ...
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What does it mean to "bypass" a plasma relay or EPS conduit, etc.?
At various times in the Star Trek universe, somebody says they should bypass something like a plasma/EPS relay or conduit. What does such a "bypass" entail? Like, physically, what is ...
user152192
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What do we know of the technical advisors on ST:OS?
I think there is no doubt that the science in the science fiction of Star Trek in the 1960s was far superior to that found in any competing show. Some "science fiction" shows made no real ...
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Can K feel Joi's touch?
I believe she can actually light his cigarette, probably a function of the same lasers or whatever that project her being focused to cause heat (perhaps this would not work with the portable emanator)....
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What was the earliest fiction to use cloning as a magical ability/superpower?
I've seen media where a character is able to clone/replicate themselves in an instant. These clones help fight off enemies either directly, or serve as a distraction.
So I've wanted to know, what the ...
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What is hyperspace in Star Wars?
Is it teleportation, making a wormhole, or something else? Does it always exist and people just go into it, or does someone create it for themselves when they jump? Does it manipulate time?
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Semi-recent sci-fi movie where everyone is chipped and controlled by an evil corporation or government
I’m looking for a movie I watched within the last year (likely released within the last decade), where everyone is chipped, and is in-turn controlled by an evil corporation or government. People ...
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Scifi novel about two high dimension beings trapped on earth by a "jailer"
Looking for a recent novel about a pair of aliens who fight amongst each other and trapped on Earth as a result.
They try to escape, by nudging humanity towards discovering specific tech, and are ...
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Stargate teleportation vs Star Trek's: very different technology?
It is my impression from what little I know of Stargate is that their method of teleportation does something like warp space: there is no disassembly and reassembly of objects and beings and this ...
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Where did the idea of the ornithopter originate?
This question stems from a commonly depicted mode of transportation, the ornithopter. It is the primary flight tool in the latest Dune movie as well as seen in Black Panther and in several books I've ...
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Could the mobile emitter in Voyager be used by any program created on the holodeck?
In the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "Future's End, Part II", Voyager's EMH, the Doctor, was able to leave sickbay or the holodeck and roam freely with the help of a mobile emitter (the ...
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Do computer games still exist in Star Trek?
I don't remember, other than the TNG episode The Game, of any other types of video games in Star Trek.
Obviously, you can go into the holodeck, load up a simulation, and have fun, but consider the ...
user144649
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How do starships in orbit avoid mundane detection by pre-warp societies?
In the episode First Contact, the Enterprise is in orbit around the planet Malcor III, a pre-warp society that is planning to launch their first warp-capable vessel in a year. The implication behind ...
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What's the first appearance of monomolecular wire or nanofilament (extremely thin, superstrong, hence cuts almost anything)?
There's a pivotal scene in Larry Niven's short story, "The Borderland of Sol" in which Beowulf Shaeffer uses a length of Sinclair monofilament -- a monomolecular wire as strong as molecular ...
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Is the hyper drive a plot hole? [duplicate]
In The Last Jedi, Vice-Admiral Holdo kamakazis' her cruiser by jumping it to hyperspace through the enemy fleet, destroying it in the process.
This seems like an enormous plot hole. Why don't the ...
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In the DC universe, how do Zeta Tubes work?
In the DC universe, there is a means of travel called the Zeta Tubes.
How do they work (conceptually)?
Do they copy the info of what's in the origin, destroy its contents, and paste it at the other ...
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What is the earliest work of fiction featuring spaceships with shield technology?
I'm trying to figure out what is the earliest mention of shield technology in any work of fiction to feature spaceships that are protected by shields or any similar force field technology (think of ...
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Are self-sealing stem bolts a Star Trek in-joke?
During a scene in Star Trek: Discovery season 3 episode 6 "Scavengers", Burnham mentions self-sealing stem bolts. This item has had a few mentions in earlier Star Trek series, beginning with ...
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What is a chain code and how do they work?
In several episodes of The Mandalorian we have had mention to a chain code. I believe Cara Dune, Moff Gideon, Greef Karga, and Din Djarin all bring them up at some point.
In Chapter 14: The Tragedy ...
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Can Borg drones control their ships with their minds?
I've seen some people get upset at seeing Borg drones press buttons on computer consoles, arguing that they should be able to simply control the ship via their hive mind connection.
I'm pretty sure we'...
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Why do many people live like medieval villagers in a society with ubiquitous advanced technology?
In The Mandalorian, chapter 13:
The walls protecting the village are basic metal. The village itself looks like something out of Game of Thrones. People are dressed like medieval peasants. There are ...
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What does "auto-wash" actually do?
Recently, I needed a washer mechanic to come to my home to clean out the lines. He told us that we need to do an...
auto-wash
...from time-to-time to avoid problems, and that made me wonder about a ...
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Sonic weapon used by necromancer -- does air have enough density to transmit power like that? [closed]
I think there are real-life sonic weapons that can kill people but the actual explosions/almost complete disintegration that the necromancer's weapon causes seems unrealistic -- no matter how much ...
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How does Spider-Man track chemical trails?
In Spider-Man PS4, Peter Parker has the ability to identify and track certain chemicals he comes across. The identification process is most likely a form of spectroscopy, probably Raman. But after ...
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Short story about a farmer who unearths a mysterious motor or engine [duplicate]
He is working his field and digs up a large object that seems to be humming. There is an opening in the case, so he inserts a piece of lumber and it spins with such torque that it almost kills him. I ...
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First work where a traveler from afar arrives to a backward society and he tries to help its scientific progress
There is a traditional trope in science fiction: an alien arrives in a backward world and tries to advance its scientific and technical progress.
I would like to know the first novel or story in which ...
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How did Cochrane obtain dilithium for the first warp flight?
In the Star Trek Illustrated Handbook (based on The Official Star Trek Fact Files 1997 - 2002) I read:
Following the model established by Zefram Cochrane, Federation vessels' warp engines accomplish ...
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Are there any specifics given as to how the Genosha mutant power suppression technology works?
In the X-Men franchise, there are numerous human made tech which somehow stop mutants from utilizing their abilities.
It doesn't matter if the power is physical, psionic, or energy based; once applied,...
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Do any non-Federation starships have deflector dishes?
One of the answers to this question says
The visible dish itself is a bit unique to the Federation. (emphasis added)
Is that true? Do any non-Federation ships have deflector dishes?
user89104