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DWKraus

 Discussion on question by Darth Biome…

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DWKraus
Aug 27, 2023 01:03
Constant warm rising air would mean windmills would be amazing power sources, though.
DWKraus
Aug 27, 2023 01:03
There would be some very peculiar effects on air and pressure with such a wall. Does air pressure change as you go up and down? Is there a constant source of light/heat? There would be a constant thermal flow of air upward at the surface of the wall as it heated. Also fierce turbulence that would likely destroy any airship.
 

 Discussion on question by Pamv75: How…

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DWKraus
Dec 14, 2022 04:00
You'd come pretty close if the USA was in a giant trade war with China (who has bought up large amounts of US debt) and the US decided to default on the national debt.
 

 Discussion on question by mammiferevi…

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DWKraus
Sep 24, 2022 05:42
Do your vampires have resistance to prions?
DWKraus
Sep 24, 2022 05:42
@Daron I'm assuming they are referring to the fact that a child is considered Jewish if the mother is Jewish.
 

 Discussion on question by Jadon Erwin…

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DWKraus
May 26, 2022 12:56
How the smoke behaves will significantly affect everything, from temperature to breathing. And yes, all the plants and animals would be dead and rotting. No new oxygen being produced, and what IS alive would be consuming it pretty fast in decay processes. Are there alien plant equivalents taking over? Is their biology compatible with terrestrial?
 

 Discussion on question by Skallod: Ho…

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DWKraus
May 26, 2022 11:24
Don't forget a sphere is three-dimensional. There will be a huge amount of water involved, that will either leave a high drop under the ship, OR that will flood the ship due to surface tension in a zero-G environment.
 

 Discussion on question by Khangodr: M…

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DWKraus
May 10, 2022 11:08
Can a class 2 wizard control someone they can't see the skin of? A tank or an airplane can be easily made so you never see the crew. A soldier with every inch of skin covered may or may not be protected.
DWKraus
May 10, 2022 11:08
How long after contact does the fighting begin? A lot depends on how much of the enemy capacity each side understands. A single level 2 wizard who knows enough to "pass" as a modern can bewitch guards, control officers, cause wars as nation goes to war with nation because dictators invade their neighbors, etc. Otherwise, the other answers are right that the wizard world can be simply obliterated from miles overhead.
 

 Discussion on question by RYAN LANDEL…

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DWKraus
May 6, 2022 09:57
Do You mean Earth, or a human colony? A colony world could have very different starting geography, like limited, very flat land. A polar ice cap melts, and WHAM. If there were just thousands of shallow islands, all the land could be quickly submerged, and there would already be lots of ships.
DWKraus
May 6, 2022 09:57
You would probably need pykrete cities en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk
 

 Discussion on question by Surprised S…

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DWKraus
Feb 11, 2022 00:55
Biggest problem come when there are more than two options. The only people who get any representation are those with the most homogenous beliefs. So 90% of society doesn't get any vote. A single voting block with homogenous beliefs can dominate. Minority opinions without high cohesion will eventually quit trying.
 

 Discussion on question by Atriol: Max…

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DWKraus
Jan 29, 2022 15:05
Dinosaur bones and joints were structured differently than mammalian ones, giving a wider allowance for large size. It would be a start to breaking the square-cube law.
DWKraus
Jan 29, 2022 15:05
@The Square-Cube Law This question has your name on it.
 

 Discussion on question by Lemming: Wo…

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DWKraus
Nov 29, 2021 22:46
I know I've seen this as a concept, only in the books I remember, the alternate universes were mirrors, not books. You kept scanning for slightly different universes until you found one that matched your need. Stephen Donaldson, The Mirror of Her Dreams goodreads.com/book/show/177250.The_Mirror_of_Her_Dreams
 

 Discussion on question by Ichthys Kin…

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DWKraus
Sep 29, 2021 15:45
I need to agree with @legio1 Anaximander's fish is a creation story, not a life cycle, and not based on biological science but elemental theory of the time. But the question could be restated to make a question that works.
 

 Discussion on question by JR710er: Ca…

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DWKraus
Sep 20, 2021 04:36
A lot of the issue here is that the simpler and easier a particle is to propagate, the less information and functionality it carries. A virus does an extremely simple task with relatively low efficiency and fidelity, made up for in vast numbers. Humans reproduce something of great complexity with high fidelity (including development, which is complex for humans) but with extremely low reproductive rates. Are your parasites more like a flesh-eating bacteria, or an intelligent life form? For what you're talking about, the infested human would need to be a bit of a more complex life cycle.
 

 Discussion on answer by Nosajimiki: P…

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DWKraus
Sep 15, 2021 14:13
So if you have rails (tracks for wagons) used to guide standardized wagons around an empire, then standardize barges to move those wagons across rivers, then standardized barges to ship those wagons down rivers, wheels so those wagons can be shipped more easily without wheels on. Wagons can be unloaded at one port, wheeled across an isthmus, and loaded onto a new waiting barge. But empire would need to be huge, trade-centered, and long-lasting. Ships would be less likely to store cargo under the decks, and you could do with or without cranes if the containers WERE wagons you never unloaded.
 

 Discussion on answer by Ash: What wou…

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DWKraus
Sep 15, 2021 14:09
This would merely require that you renovate an existing structure - WWII German Flak Tower youtube.com/watch?v=6jgvkzD8d3k
 

 Discussion between Ichthys King and e…

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DWKraus
Sep 14, 2021 16:59
Biggest adaptations will be how to scoop up the stuff into the toothless mouths like plant gruel. Simplified digestive system. This plant wouldn't survive very long, as it will be so easy to consume. Reorganize the post into paragraphs to more clearly delineate what is going on.
DWKraus
Sep 14, 2021 16:57
I'm having trouble understanding the structure of the question, which is I think where the confusion is coming in. It's blurry when you are trying to talk about existing terrestrial plants and when you are trying to discuss your hypothetical plants.
 

 Discussion on question by MikeD: What…

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DWKraus
Sep 2, 2021 19:09
My understanding of "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," originates with the practice of inspecting a horse's teeth prior to buying it to assure it is healthy. A gifted horse is free, so checking it's teeth implies you are nit-picking the quality of a gift. I've never heard the "punch" version.
 

 Discussion on answer by csiz: What ma…

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DWKraus
Aug 18, 2021 07:20
@RonJohn The technological magic of today may lead us to the ultimate in human oppression very soon. The key is to put the keys to the kingdom somehow in every person's hands, and also allow ready escape from oppression. Maybe teleportation? You can always escape an oppressor or abuser, make it semi-random so you can't be followed, or even automatic so no one can ever murder someone else because they just teleport to where the god deems them the safest...
DWKraus
Aug 18, 2021 07:20
@RonJohn Then I think you're arguing that housekeeping magic and fertility control magic should be an answer (not bad notions), and I don't disagree with the freedom from need part of this answer. You might have the core of a good answer there. Entertainment is problematic (Brave New World) and communal harmony makes me think of the movie The Giver.
DWKraus
Aug 18, 2021 07:20
The first part sounds like "bread and circuses" which fulfills human needs but doesn't necessitate increased freedom (think Rome). And scaling for community-based magic could also lead to social coercion as individualists are discriminated against for not being in harmony with the will of the group (think big brother/Borg).
 

 Discussion on question by Artem: What…

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DWKraus
Jul 16, 2021 02:41
You might want to think about these things a little differently for fiction. There are intangibles that are common in stories that get more done in parallel with magic and tech. Willpower, for example, leads to people tenaciously pursuing goals, and social forces mobilize vast quantities of labor to carry out tasks. The Pyramids were built with pretty low tech and pretty huge social capital. Miracles and psychic powers are really just stand-ins for magic, as is any sufficiently advanced technology.
 

 Discussion on question by 1995inHUN: …

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DWKraus
Jul 15, 2021 03:23
What's the problem? Ignore clothes (which lack gender significance in this society) but otherwise conform appearance to a somewhat masculine ("butch", for lack of a better term) appearance. Avoid jewelry, make-up. feminine hair styles. Does your character actively need to make a statement about their gender non-conformity? If so, defy whatever gender-defining behaviors your society has.
 

 Discussion on question by sociocat: I…

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DWKraus
Jul 1, 2021 02:27
Does the portal suck air from both sides of the portal? If not, does the gas from the other side move through the back side portal, or does the back side of the portal behave like a solid?
 

 Discussion on question by ThisIsNicol…

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DWKraus
Jun 18, 2021 14:37
Since the creatures attack physically, the easier solution would be to have numerous cheap "poison" autopiloted ships filled with (antimatter or insert nastiness here) that kill the things when attacked. Smash the hull and the antimatter containment fails; BOOM. For that matter, it's not a bad way to drive evolution. If all human ships blew up this way, humans ships would be like poison caterpillars. Eventually you select for creatures that don't attack humans.
 

 Discussion on question by Claus Appel…

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DWKraus
Jun 14, 2021 06:03
Check out this question. Not quite a duplicate, but covers a lot of the same topics. worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/1406/…
 

 Discussion on question by MathCookie:…

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DWKraus
May 31, 2021 18:03
Memories are often incomplete and subject to the brain reinterpreting things. What if you half remember someplace or have some subtle difference wrong (green door vs blue)? What if you have a painting of a place and imagine the place vividly? What if the place has changed since you were there last (house torn down, earthquake caused the land to shift, house was moved so you remember the house but it's in a new location)?
DWKraus
May 31, 2021 18:03
For that matter, how is place determined? The Earth is in a different location than it was seconds ago, so is place all by association? Can you thus teleport to an object? A person? What if you only experienced a place with limited senses (blindfolded)? Can you teleport to someplace you can see, but haven't actually been to (the next hill, for example)? Sorry, I see a lot of opportunities and complexities to this question that are hard to explain without answers.
DWKraus
May 31, 2021 18:03
Is energy conserved in any way? This makes an instant machine with people teleporting to the top of a wheel. Really large people would teleport more mass, and I assume teleporting takes no effort, so gaining weight would increase your capacity to teleport. But I suspect this would cripple civilization and lead to a perpetual stone-age culture. Predators can't get you, prey can't avoid you, and stealing is super-easy so portable wealth, food, or tools are easier to steal than make. Is velocity conserved? If you fall, and teleport home, do you die when you hit the floor of your home?
 

 Discussion on question by user85880: …

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DWKraus
May 27, 2021 04:00
Yes, I think while you can make the words of the language simple, the result will be that people will have to construct complicated descriptors to reflect the complication you are 'eliminating, i.e. venom is 'poison of biting animals', and so on.
 

 Discussion on answer by D.J. Klomp: D…

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DWKraus
May 24, 2021 15:16
Challenge Question: Can you think of a way that these issues can be resolved? If the wormholes had to maintain a certain distance, or had to be at an "equal" gravitational level, could a condition be set to satisfy the contradiction? I THINK the change in momentum one is okay, since the momentum of the object is relative to the object, not the universe (the ball changes its reference to the universe, but the momentum remains constant)??? A workaround would be great, since portals are integral to so much worldbuilding, and semi-plausible "Laws" would make this a very good answer.
 

 Discussion on question by user85788: …

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DWKraus
May 23, 2021 16:20
In my fictional Matriarchal society (based on spaceship culture), your loyalties are all to your birth family. Men never leave their mother's ship, except to go work for the family. Who your mother matters, not your father. Your uncles are the men that help raise you, not a father. The men are either pursuing sexual relationships or rented out by their grandmothers/mothers/sisters for a stud fee (which also assures paternity and secures interfamily alliances).
 

 Discussion on question by James McLel…

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DWKraus
Apr 23, 2021 02:11
For that matter, why not have most of the volume in the airlock fill with simple airbags full of something neutral like nitrogen, minimizing the breathable air volume and speeding up the process? Seems simpler, and the robots wouldn't take the place of doors anyway. The bots would need to be close enough to displace the air in the chamber, so they'd be essentially a solid/non-Newtonian fluid. Would your utility fog risk getting blown out the airlock?
DWKraus
Apr 23, 2021 02:11
This would need to have suits operating at the same air pressure as the habitats, and also mean the external atmosphere didn't have anything toxic that had to be flushed from the residual air or the surface of the suits. Tracking in dust is a very different thing on another planet/moon.
 

 Discussion on question by DT Cooper: …

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DWKraus
Apr 3, 2021 17:44
As long as we're decoupling powder and projectile, why not be really futuristic and use a light-gas-gun? Handwave a few engineering issues, and exploding gas cartridges are more myth than reality. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion_light-gas_gun
DWKraus
Apr 3, 2021 17:44
I'd drop the hard science, leave reality check. I think you have your 3r burst and full auto rates switched.
DWKraus
Apr 3, 2021 17:44
It's a sci fi weapon. This is super-tame compared to plasma guns, laser rifles, and micro-missile launching smart guns. You might check with a gun smith, who'll tell you they can't make it now. Otherwise, the rest is invention and engineering. Is the ejector on it for clearing jams? It is caseless, so no brass. Hard science seems like overkill.
 

 Discussion on question by Daron: What…

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DWKraus
Mar 27, 2021 17:01
Farmers may have spent less time farming than we imagine. Still lots and lots of work to do, though blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/08/29/…
 

 Discussion on question by Diamond Eye…

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DWKraus
Feb 28, 2021 04:30
While not perfect, David Weber actually has a lot of good stuff to say about this. Get past the force-field stuff and intersystem FTL, and there's lots of good strategy, tactics, and thought about some of the realistic problems associated with this sort of fight - like BIG solar systems and huge distances, "slow" light-speed sensors & communication, and how stuff isn't where you think it will be by the time you target it.
 

 Discussion between Tristan Klassen an…

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DWKraus
Feb 21, 2021 20:57
Rebuilding Diesel engines would be hard. If the Diesel engines were heavier, less reliable, less efficient, and less safe than those we were talking about, they'd be comparable to the heavy, inefficient, maintenance-intense and lethally explosive steam engines.
DWKraus
Feb 21, 2021 20:56
True, but it also says that things have recovered enough that rail service is both practical and worth the time and effort. That kind of broad recovery suggested to me they were rebuilding their entire infrastructure. In a wood-free, dry desert with supplies of oil, Steam is a hard sell, and for people recovering from an apocalypse, trying to recapitulate the society of the ancients might be even more important than practicality (which I still think Diesel would be).
DWKraus
Feb 21, 2021 18:48
@Tristan Klassen The 567 (1938) replaced the 201a (1934) within a few years because the 201a wasn't reliable. Your engineers can skip the questionable tech and copy the best of history. But the fact that most of the Cleveland Diesel division's engines went into things other than trains (70% submarines) only proves the point that the Diesel can be one tech applied to endless vehicles, while steam needs to go big or go home. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winton_Motor_Carriage_Company
DWKraus
Feb 21, 2021 18:48
@Tristan Klassen BTW the Minnesota transportation museum is restoring several early Diesel engines, but the steam engines are more sexy and get the donations. They use the small working Diesels for visitor train excursions because they can't get any of their steam engines working, and keeping up the Diesels is cheap and easy.
DWKraus
Feb 21, 2021 18:48
If you were trying to rebuild an industrialized society, and had the general science and basic engineering, I still think that recapitulating the entire steam engine tech tree, knowing you would abandon it almost as soon as you worked it out, would mean you'd be better off skipping steam. Diesel engines like this dieselnet.com/tech/diesel_history.php were more efficient than steam engines and less complex (in my opinion). The same applies to electric motors vs. the complex engineering of mechanical wheel systems. Diesel-electric is complex, but you don't have to reinvent the wheel.
 

 Discussion on question by Gurkirat: M…

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DWKraus
Feb 9, 2021 02:28
I actually think that WriterGeek1 did a very good job of addressing both points. As to who is speaking, I gave an answer here that mostly applies. writing.stackexchange.com/questions/53947/… although intended more as third person. To break up the conversation, give the MC's internal dialog about what is going on, descriptions of what she is seeing, doing, or wants/feels. Treat it like she's telling the events a story to an unnamed but very close confidant/confessor. First person isn't my strongest suit.
DWKraus
Feb 9, 2021 02:28
I'm struggling to understand what you are really asking. Is it about the flow of identifying characters as they speak (in a not he said/I said way), or are you trying to break up the conversation but want it to flow naturally in a way that doesn't break character if first person?