CroMagnon Posted May 21, 2016 Posted May 21, 2016 So if you only ever reply to one of my threads, please make it this one! While some of these questions are more biology-oriented, the majority are about electromagnetism and thermodynamics; totally fine with this getting moved somewhere more suitable. I write fantasy, what with magic, dragon, spirits, and all, but I like at least the foundations of those things to be in the known physics of our world. Science is by no means my roof though. I'll probably fudge a lot of the math to make the story work; this isn't about whether magic or psychic abilities are real, it's just brainstorming about how they might work if they were possible. Any help would be appreciated! Energy: The power to stop projectiles or manipulate flames must come from somewhere. Neurons use electric signals, ghost shows speak of electromagnetic spirits, and a good portion of the universe seems to run on electromagnetism. A fitting underlying mechanism for a magic system based half-ass on real science. But I'm only a physics enthusiast, not an expert. I'd also need an energy source for my magic users, as I doubt the power of food alone could stop an arrow, so these first few questions will be more general physics and some biology. 1: What is the relationship between volts, watts, joules, coulombs, hertz, amperes, and teslas? In For Dummies format? And if no one minds converting their joules, it's easier for me to work with kilocalories. I study food and the struggle for such basic resources is mjor them in my writing. 2: Which of the aforementioned units are relevant to earth's electromagnetic field? If so, what are the values, ie how many watts or joules or teslas is our field? What about the sunlight that reaches the surface? 3: A biology question: what do humans waste in waste? What exactly can't we digest that perhaps other organisms can, and what enables them to digest those substances? 4: How much energy does it take to lift an an object of a given weight? If energy barriers/forcefields were real, how much energy might it possibly take to stop an arrow? Repel temperatures of about 1000 degrees Fahrenheit? Withstand 10 times atmospheric pressure? Telekinesis: The last set of questions started to touch on applied magic a bit. I have no idea how telekinesis or forcefields would work if they were possible, but I remember reading about a frog that was levitated by a magnetic field. I'm not sure if the frog was okay, but I haven't heard of any other mechanism for levitation. I know magnets can also repel each other, so I guess that's a thought for how an energy forcefield might work. These next few questions are thus about magnetism, unless anyone has any other ideas for a mechanism behind telekinesis. 1: What are the different types of magnetism? 2: How are they generated? 3: Do different types of magnetism only affect certain substances? Pyrokinesis: Something I imagine is a little more complicated than just levitating and repelling objects. First my fire mages need the energy to function, a means of remotely heating and igniting substances, and some way to manipulate the resulting flame. I feel thermokinesis is a more accurate term: the ability to redirect heat. I've touched on this topic with a couple threads, but I figure I should shed light on my thoughts and see if I can't get more detailed aid. I thought of using the principles behind a tokamak. Hot flames are a plasma, plasmas conduct electromagnetic fields, so heat a substance into a plasma with microwave radiation and manipulate it with an EM field. Unfortunately, someone on here kindly informed me that the ion in cooler plasma are too few to conduct anything. These last questions are regarding my pyrokinesis options. 1: Which frequencies of EM radiation are most efficient at heating things to ignition? Are different substances more affected by certain frequencies than others? How exactly, once again For Dummies, would I calculate the energy needed to heat certain things to the point of catching fire or melting? Iron, copper, leather, wood, flesh. cotton? 2: Since my whole tokamak-plasma-electromagnetic-flame-manipulation idea wouldn't work, then what other mechanism might be used to control fire if it were possible? 3: These last few are more biology-oriented again: what adaptations might an ape (such as humans) evolve to withstand a harsh, hot, sulfuric volcanic environment? 4: What are the most flammable substances the body produces naturally? In what quantities? How are they produced? Could a human-like species evolve to sequester any of them in the palms? Sorry for so many questions. this stuff has just been bugging me for a long time. Thanks in advance for any help!
swansont Posted May 21, 2016 Posted May 21, 2016 ! Moderator Note This works a lot better if:— You ask one question at a time, (or a small related set) so that all of the replies and followups don't make a mess of the discussion— You post them in the correct subforum.(i.e. don't ask a biology question in the physics section)— Leave magic out of it, as that's not science.
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