Fanfic Helpdesk: Technical and Scientific Help for Writers

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Modern frostbite treatment delays amputation, so that wouldn't present the necessary immediate threat, IMO.

Necrotizing fasciitis would work as a reason to remove the limb, and wouldn't even require a serious alternative injury.

Seaboe

[StargateMillennium]

Hey, can someone check my science for me on this concept?
Let's say you want to break through the front door of an alien pyramid. The door is very thick and made of some unknown but clearly incredibly tough rock-like material. The original plan was to use a thermal drill to melt through the door.

Now, someone else comes up with the idea of instead of brute force melting the door down, use the thermal drill to quickly heat up the door (letting the material expand), then immediately cooling it down (turning it back into a solid while it's still shrinking and therefore increasing the stress it undergoes while shrinking until it cracks itself).

Does the science of the 'other plan' check out? Or is there another way?

[Gatefan1976]

This might help:
http://watershapes.com/lessons-learn...ava-rocks.html

[StargateMillennium]

I don't really know where to put this so I'm just gonna put it here for the time being. But, I'm wondering if anyone with medical knowledge could read over a quick piece for me? This section of the story involves someone getting struck by lightning and I want to see if I got all the medical stuff right. I've done what I can with research but I think someone with a proper education in this subject would be better.

[StargateMillennium]

This is a theoretical question but this is out of my field.

Normally lightning hits a tall object because the clouds have to dispose of its excessive negative charge and it does so taking the path of least resistance.

If I had a machine that generates a strong positive field or an object with an incredibly strong positive charge, if the field/charge is strong enough could I get the lightning to summon the shorter object generating the field rather than the tall object.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

I would think it would depend at least in part on the distance between the short and tall objects. If they're close to each other, I think it would be more likely that the lightning would split, with bolts hitting both objects.

Also, lightning from charged surfaces can race upward from the ground to meet the bolt coming from the cloud. Might that happen if your short object is correctly charged?

Seaboe

[StargateMillennium]

So hypothetically if I were to say when the gate is active the DHD gave off a strong positive charge and the gate gave off a strong negative charge if the charges are strong enough, during a lightning storm could it be coerced to strike the DHD instead of the taller superconducting stargate?

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Hmmm. My knowledge of electricity doesn't go that far.

Seaboe

[Hathor_girl]

I gathered this for a post on another thread, and I thought I would post it here too, since some of it may be of general interest to fic writers (even if most of it has a Tok'ra slant):

Various information and stuff on Tok'ra Kree!'s pages, which is useful for fic writing etc.:

-Info about canon Tok'ra
-Info on canon Goa'uld: 01, 02
-Tok'ra Screencaps
-List of Tok'ra episodes
-Jaffa Forehead Symbols
-Tok'ra and Tau'ri cooperation
-Things the Tok'ra have done for the Tau'ri and the Galaxy
-Tok'ra and Goauld Tech. Weapons . Ships . Misc.
-General Stargate screencaps (on Roeskva's page - she's one of the mods)

This as well as plenty of prompts and plot bunnies are linked from their resource page.

[WraithRichard]

How do battle tactics work in space? I mean, it's 3d, not 2d, so it's hard to cut off supply lines, or create a blockade around much more than a small planet.

Most everything in is space and doesn't have to dock at a planet (or at least for very long or often), so utilizing the ground isn't a great option.

PS: sorry for necroing this thread if that's against the rules.

[iiradned]

For more realistic physics of space combat look at the Babylon 5 or the new Battlestar Galactica.

The direction your craft is pointing at does not have to be the direction it is travelling.

[WraithRichard]

For more realistic physics of space combat look at the Babylon 5 or the new Battlestar Galactica.

The direction your craft is pointing at does not have to be the direction it is travelling.

I'm watching Bab 5 for the first time right now. It's helping, but I notice very few choke points. Most battle seem to be won purely by numbers or firepower.

Thank you for responding!

[P-90_177]

How do battle tactics work in space? I mean, it's 3d, not 2d, so it's hard to cut off supply lines, or create a blockade around much more than a small planet.

Most everything in is space and doesn't have to dock at a planet (or at least for very long or often), so utilizing the ground isn't a great option.

PS: sorry for necroing this thread if that's against the rules.

B5 and BSG are good examples for CQB and close up dogfighting, but if you really want a realistic example than look no further than the Expanse where space combat is across thousands if not a couple of million miles at a time.

[WraithRichard]

B5 and BSG are good examples for CQB and close up dogfighting, but if you really want a realistic example than look no further than the Expanse where space combat is across thousands if not a couple of million miles at a time.

What is The Expanse?

Sorry for being dumb.

[iiradned]

What is The Expanse?

Sorry for being dumb.

The Expanse is TV series based on a series of books. The first 3 three seasons were shown on SyFy before cancellation but a fourth season has been ordered for Amazon.

It set in our solar system with three major factions, the UN on Earth (Earthers), the Martian Congressional Republic (Martians), and the fledgling Outer Planets Alliance (Belters- based mainly among the larger asteroids and space stations).

It starts out with the mysterious destruction of ship hauling water ice from the rings of Saturn as pretense for a megacorporation to seize control of and exploit a "protomolecule" of extra-solar origin.

Later books deal with the discovery of wormhole allowing for interstellar journeys.

There is also the Honor Harrington series of novels in which the tactics and strategies of space combat play a major part. The novels physics while modeled extensively on reality are handwaved (mainly the author's selection of propulsion technologies) in order to approximate the age of sail but over a range of a few light-minutes to over 1 light-hour.