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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Why don't Muggle-born wizards use Muggle technology to fight Death Eaters?
We know that wizards in the Harry Potter universe are subject to regular physical harm (e.g. witness injuries from being hit by Bludgers or just colliding with things when playing Quidditch).
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Process management and high technology weapon. Novel name and author?
I am looking for help to point me out at a very old novel (likely from the '60s) about two empires at interstellar war. When it comes to starships, one is technologically very advanced, and the other ...
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Why would a slug thrower be more effective against a lightsaber/Jedi than a blaster?
An answer to this question about gunpowder in the Star Wars universe includes the following quote saying that the shot from a slug thrower is not completely deflectable by a lightsaber. This seems to ...
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In Star Trek - What's the Point of the Transporter Room?
I hope this isn't a silly question but I've been watching TNG and this bothers me.
The transporter 'pad' area is relatively small. As a guess, maybe 12 people can fit on it. But the vast majority ...
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Are there things a Replicator cannot replicate?
As John O commented here on "How did Voyager replace its photon torpedoes?"
What is special about a photon torpedo that would make them unmanufacturable without specialized tools that Voyager did ...
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How were Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine physically trapped by a ray shield?
In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine are trapped by a ray shield on the Separatist ship the Invisible Hand:
It is specifically called it a "ray shield" by multiple characters:
60 ...
Null♦
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Why don't Starfleet Officers wear protective gear when going abroad?
So I've watched pretty much all the Star Treks and from what I've seen, Star Trek officers don't wear any protective gear! Why don't they wear any kind of armor like the Klingons? Is it because the ...
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Do (weaponized) lasers exist in the Star Wars universe?
Lightsabers are not made of light, nor have they anything to do with lasers (even if there are people who mistakenly refer to them as "laser swords").
Blaster bolts are also not lasers. They travel ...
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How do people at Hogwarts usually tell the time?
Classes and lessons at Hogwarts are presumably scheduled at fixed times of day. The first class might start, for example at nine in the morning.
To be on time for one's lessons, it is therefore ...
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What is the first reference to an internet of computers in science fiction?
Considering the internet has substantially revolutionized our way of life (you're using it right now in fact) I was wondering whether it was ever envisaged in science fiction. I'm therefore inquiring ...
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How long did it take for the Death Star (1) to reload?
In the battle of Yavin, the Empire wants to destroy a moon that is hidden behind the planet Yavin. They circle around the planet because the moon is hidden. Again: They are on a space station that can ...
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Why don't they use gunpowder in the Star Wars universe?
Especially in the Republic era when the use of the lightsaber was more common, why didn't anybody use chemical propellants (real life modern guns)? A modern-day assault rifle has at least 10 times the ...
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Has technological progress stopped or reached a peak in the Star Wars universe?
In the last 30 years, human technology has developed massively. Every year a new smartphone is released with a faster processor, more memory, better features.
Why hasn't the same level of progress ...
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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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Why didn't the Clones use vibroblades to fight against lightsabers?
It is known in the Knights of the Old Republic series that vibroblades were made from a special material that couldn't be cut by lightsabers. Then, why aren't the clone troopers using any?
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What is the range of the Enterprise-D's sensors?
A similar question on the functionality of sensors can be found here, but my question goes beyond that (pun intended). What is the range (distance) of the sensors of the Enterprise-D? My ...
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Is there an in universe explanation why a replicator cannot create living organisms?
In the Star Trek Universe the replicator is able to build nearly anything from clothing to a hot meal seemingly out of thin air. Creating artificial life using it and replicating a living being have ...
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In Star Trek why is warp speed the ultimate litmus test on "galactic acceptance" of a civilisation?
Why is warp speed and first contact seemingly the most important thing in the Star Trek universe for a civilisation to become "enlightened" and then utopic?
For example, why couldn't the ...
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What keeps a lightsaber from going on infinitely?
Is there a reason ever given that explains why a lightsaber (which I assume/was made to assume is a sort of laser) doesn't go on infinitely like a normal laser (excluding atmospheric conditions)?
...
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Why can latinum not be replicated?
According to Memory Alpha, Latinum cannot be replicated. What is the reason for that?
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Why Were the Weapons in Middle-earth So Rudimentary?
Again, I'm re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and am still on book one, so my question is going to refer to the movies.
During the time The Lord of the Rings stories take place, Middle-earth is ...
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How can Geordi see screens?
Geordi La Forge's visor can be used to see different electromagnetic fields. This lets him see people as glowing fields, as well as other fields. How can he see monitors and other interfaces? A screen ...
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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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Why do people step to positions to be transported, even if there isn't a transporter pad?
After watching (I'm sure quite too) many Star Trek episodes, I've noticed a number of occasions where the characters seem to step away or onto a more specific location to get transported, even if they ...
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Why are most holograms blue in Star Wars?
Throughout the Star Wars saga, no matter the era, no matter who's broadcasting, blue holograms are exceedingly common.
Additionally, Snoke's hologram occasionally flashes blue.
However, multi- and ...
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Why is Nostromo's technology so 1980s?
"Prometheus" is meant to be a prequel to "Alien", happening 30 years before (src).
If that's the case, how come one of the very earliest spaceships, Prometheus from 2089, has a spiffy new technology, ...
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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 is the largest (engineered) physical object dreamed of in science fiction? [closed]
I can think of 3 kinds of big.
By volume
By a linear measure
By mass or weight
Bonus points for all three. Extra bonus points for the object being realistic in construction.
Let's add to it that it ...
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Why was life support so time-critical in Star Trek ships?
In Star Trek, the loss of life-support for any time—minutes or seconds—seems like an extremely time-critical problem where people must be immediately transported out or every system is ...
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Why doesn't technology advance in fantasy settings?
In High Fantasy settings it always seems like centuries and sometimes millennia go by with no technological advancement. Is there any reason why?
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How do Droidekas fire blasters through their shields?
In the Star Wars universe, it's usually the case that shields can block energy weapons (blasters, lightsabers, lasers) but don't do much against physical objects (rocks, bullets, spacecraft). This is ...
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Where does Q technology come from and where did it originate?
In the Star trek Universe we discover that the Q's powers are optional and not a part of the actual race (they can be taken away from a particular Q and can be taken away as a whole during a huge ...
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Can spaceships really explode in space? [closed]
Take for example the opening of Revenge of the Sith. We see spaceships fighting with other spaceships using laser canons and missiles. Then when one spaceship is destroyed, we see fire and heavy black ...
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How is the DeLorean powered in the final trip back in time in Back to the Future III?
When Marty McFly is attempting to time travel to 1885 with the help of the 1955 Doc Brown and the uncovered time machine from the mine, what is used to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity for ...
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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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Why wasn't gunpowder more common in Middle Earth?
By the Third Age, gunpowder was obviously invented, but it was very rarely used.
In late medieval and early modern Europe (and subsequently on the whole planet) it completely changed warfare.
As ...
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Have the inhabitants of Middle-earth ever used siege engines?
When Fingolfin faced the Thangorodrim, apparently he didn't really know what to do, other than noticing that it would not fall from the voices of trumpets.
Did anyone (other than Morgoth, Sauron, ...
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When was the first driverless car story written?
Reading the question about a future (the future) when non-automatic cars will be illegal, a moment sometimes called the automotive singularity, sparked the question in my mind about when the first ...
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Essay in a sci-fi anthology; A missile from (circa) 1968 is found in 1940 - When do scientists think it's from?
This was more of an essay in a collection of sci-fi stories (e.g. rather than an actual story) that I read maybe in the late 1960's.
The premise was that given the tech that they had in 1940(ish) ...
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Do "life support belts" exist outside of ST:TAS?
In the first episode of the animated Star Trek series, Beyond the Farthest Star, an away-team investigates an alien ship using "life support belts," which appear to protect the wearer with a force-...
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Why did the Resistance automatically assume the use of this tech in The Last Jedi?
In The Last Jedi:
As soon as the FO ships appear, the Resistance immediately come to the (correct) conclusion as to the tech that was used.
Why would they assume the use of this tech, that they have ...
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Can all proton weapons penetrate shields? Why?
There are at least two instances where proton weapons have penetrated military shields specifically because they are proton weapons:
Separatist proton cannons blanketing the skies of Ryloth in anti-...
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How do Terminators speak?
It seems obvious that Terminators don't have vocal cords, and their speech is probably generated by some kind of speaker assembly linked to a speech processor. However, every time we see a Terminator ...
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Do the Machines in "The Matrix" Adhere to the Three Laws of Robotics?
In the "real world" of the Matrix, do the machines follow Asimov's Three Rules? Were they even programmed with them?
EDIT: I realize that killing people goes against the 1st law, but by keeping ...
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Could Star Wars deflector shields prevent non-weaponized energy signals?
Star Destroyers do have deflector shields. The "ray shield" deflector types are designed to prevent energy based attacks, such as blaster or laser cannon fire. But what about other types of energy ...
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What is the SFX process for phaser beam accuracy?
Inspired by this question about hand-held phaser grips and the lovely picture posted by Tritium21, I noticed that there seems to be a very deliberate direction to the line of fire of O'Brien's ...
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Why were ray shield generators used in the interior hallways of combat spaceships?
In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine were trapped by a ray shield on the Separatist ship the Invisible Hand:
60 INT. BRIDGE-TRADE FEDERATION CRUISER
BODYGUARD: General, we ...
Null♦
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In-universe explanation for why is the TOS-era Enterprise is more austere than the Discovery?
Since Star Trek: Discovery doesn't take place on the Federation's flagship, like in TOS, roughly 100 years before TOS and in the beginning of a war, it should be logical to assume that the ship's ...
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How do Star Wars hologram communications work?
Starting at 2:46 in Clones Wars season 2 episode 7 we see both ends of a hologram communication.
I've always wondered how people somehow manage to maintain eye ...
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Are there signs that the Matrix holds any technological resemblance to out-of-universe computers?
I've read on several occasions here a tendency to assume that the Matrix as a technology is operated much like out-of-universe (i.e. "our world") computers: Assuming the Matrix runs in a ...
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