Potential power source for a megastructure/space weapon

[SilentRoamer]

Ok you make a valid point on the white holes but isn't everything in the universe technically bound by nature's rule of equal opposites? I mean like light and dark, life and death, creation and destruction, the beginning and the end. So even if it is theory, would it be a realistic probability?

No - white holes have never been observed in nature and we have observed a lot of space. If the entire Universe is unbounded and geometrically flat then it's possible that the U is infinite, therefore it's also possible we live in a comparatively tiny region of space where no white holes exist but this does pretty much go against known cosmology that dictates Isotropy and homoheneity across the Universe.

However if you CHOOSE to have white holes that's your choice, IMO they are no more scientifically unviable than FTL or wormholes (ignoring Einstein-Rosen bridges and any sort of tricks using CTC's.) Just don't go too crazy with the pseudo science.

I mean if a black hole sucks everything in

Black holes don't suck anything in - it's a common misconception which you can look at in terms of classical physics - where gravitational force exceeds the escape velocity of light. Or you can talk about the curvature of space being so extreme that all world lines lead towards the center of the black hole. Once you cross the event horizon there is no more information exchange to the outside observer - of course to them you never really cross the event horizon but for yourself in proper time you do.

We have atleast prove that the world isn't flat. (Also not confirming nor denying the universe's creation was by a divine being. I am not religious myself and consider my life to belong to science more than a religious nature but that's my point, we simply dont know enough yet.) There may come a day when we discover a new law of thermodynamics or physics which either contradicts another one or replaces it all together. Just a speculation, mind.

As for the supernova, it could be contained within an energy field/shield of some description (thought it would most likely have to be a VERY strong one at that) Then the problem of heat becomes irrelevant, as the energy field/shield would contain the heat within itself.

Whatever the physics here it is only going to end up being pseudo science and technobabble. Huge energy output from a star? No problem, just use Quantum Indeterminancy Variable Temporal Shielding - all the energy that can't be absorbed gets deflected into the future, where it can then be absorbed. Voila!

Just have fun with it and don't worry too much if you think "it's been done before".

You could always use a Cosmeg!

 

[Venusian Broon]

Well of course we are writing fiction, not science. We can do anything we want.

Some interesting points you make:

...nature's rule of equal opposites? I mean like light and dark, life and death, creation and destruction, the beginning and the end...

Never heard of such a natural rule, if anything it is something we humans are fond of doing all the time. Actually I'd say it's a human perception or obsession.

So even if it is theory, would it be a realistic probability? I mean if a black hole sucks everything in what's not to say that each black hole is connected by some form of Einstein-Rosen Bridge to another dimension where the matter sucked in by a black hole is throw out as it's basic atoms via a white hole, either in a different dimension or some other part of our universe or even another point in time and space?

There are loads of ideas about what black holes actually are and do, so yeah why not

It's not my understanding of how they might work. But my understanding of such an object is very likely wrong!

The problem I have with something like a white hole, if and only if you are wanting to impress the physicists in your reading groups or want to write a hard-SF story, is that they are the result of taking an extreme view of a purely theoretical object. They can be conceived of but for a whole number of different reasons they are highly unlikely to exist. (Like unicorns for example.) If they do exist they should be pretty standout, given all the weird physics that should be happening in their vicinity (and unlike black holes they are really visible!) But we haven't seen them. I believe someone postulated them to explain Quasars, but we know a lot more now about both theoretical white holes and Quasars, and they are not the same...

As for breaking the second law of thermodynamics and that being a law of physics, some people say that we simply dont know enough or can gather enough knowledge and information at our current technologically stage because we are not advanced enough yet to travel and explore the universe and all its natural phenomena, so how can we definitely say that this is this and that is that, so who knows, our entire understanding of the laws of the universe and physics may not be so written in stone as we think.

The way I'd put it is this. There's a reason we call scientific things laws and theories. Theories are generally quite robust, but probably 'not correct' and likely be replaced at some point in the future with an updated and better version - so Big bang theory, String theory, (Quantum theory - even although it is the most successfully proven law ever and my favourite, it definitely does not explain the large scale universe, so it can't be totally 'correct').

Laws are more fundamental. If they actually could be broken then we should actually see a lot more really weird stuff happening all about us. This does not seem to be happening. (Mind you, who knows. Perhaps we're just not looking hard enough!) Trust me, if the 2nd law could be broken, we should be able to see it. And wonder in awe about how paradoxical that bit of Spacetime is behaving...

However again, let me repeat, for the purposes of a nice bit of fiction, break any physical law to get the desired effect. It's fun to do!

As for the supernova, it could be contained within an energy field/shield of some description (thought it would most likely have to be a VERY strong one at that) Then the problem of heat becomes irrelevant, as the energy field/shield would contain the heat within itself.

Clearly you are talking about a superstructure made of unobtanium powered by applied Phlebotinum - the only matter/energy field system I can think of that could withstand the brunt of a nearby supernova, then ignore the laws of physics.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Or to remove the problem of the energetic force of a supernova all together, the aliens who built the megastructure would be smart enough (obviously, if they could built a megastructure in the first place) to be able to create either an artificial star or supernova that was small enough, but powerful enough to power the megastructure. Huh? That's an idea which also doesn't break any laws of the universe, etc.....right? Lol

Anyway, I'm sure I've got a good dozen impossibilities and physical theory/law breaking in my WiP. And I'm not getting rid of them. Cause I need them to make cool scenes.

 

[ImperiumSega138]

Ok, white hole won't really fit in with my story now that I think about it anyway, too many variable because if I did use white holes then that opens my universe to multiverses and I'm not ready to go in that direction...yet. So star it is. Btw, does it matter what stage the star is? I mean if I use a star relatively at the same stage as our own star compared to a hyper star (or whatever they are called, you know the really, really, really big one, I think it's blue and it's like the biggest star we have ever discovered or something) or say a brown/white/whatever colour dwarf star thing (sorry, this is where myscience knowledge gets a little hazy) left over when a star goes supernova, I mean I know those types are super dense and have like stupidly strong or something gravitational field etc, etc. Would it make a difference to how much power the megastructure could absorb from the star?

 

[ImperiumSega138]

I like your last comment Venusian Broon, it made me smile. I understand the necessity of "cool scenes" to both attract and captivate the target audience. I did a few years at both college and university on video games design and VFX so I know the importance but also the extreme pleasure one gets when making a scene (this could be either visually or descriptively) totally epic in proportions. I think I will kept the (as you described) a "superstructure made of unobtanium powered by applied Phlebotinum" as well as white holes (but I'll save them for later, when expanding my characters universe into a multiverses, etc.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Re: stars.

I don't know the mechanism on how the energy of the star gets transferred to the megastructure...so at the moment just pick one that you like!

Officially yes, there's a significant range in sizes/masses for all the various flavours of main sequence stars:

 

[ImperiumSega138]

I wanted to keep it as close as I could to the hard science facts but they just don't allow me the leg room I need for my universe and beside my alien which built these megastructures are supposed to be WAY more advanced than us. I'm talking like a Type III (bordering on Type IV ) civilization. So you know, they probably know more about this stuff than me, the guy who created them! Haha

 

[ImperiumSega138]

I'd say how the mechanism of how the megastructure transfers the stars energy is like as it were being mined, maybe it's something to do with neutrinos (always a favourite of mine, neutrinos). The megastructure "deconstructs" the star by stripping away each layer of its mass until all its atoms have somehow (insert techno-blabble here) been converted into a useable energy which it can use to broadcast the energy wave across its local region of the universe and when all thirteen of the megastructures (which have been place at the right distance from each other across the entire universe) activate their energy waves will overlap slightly allowing for a total coverage of the entirety of the universe. And yes, I know that their range is going to have to be MASSIVE in distance considering the size of the universe but hey, they can do it!

 

[ImperiumSega138]

This is my current design for the control room of each of these megastructures (obviously, this section show is only the one room but the facility is much bigger). Tell me what you think!?

 

[Ursa major]

Just a small question....

Is it necessary for your PoV character(s) to know how, in detail, the megastructure works? What I mean is: are your characters involved in building it, or coming up with the idea for it, or explaining how it works to those who will authorise its use, etc.?

I only ask because, if your characters are not intimately involved, their interests may lie elsewhere. For example, will they survive its use? What else might the use of the weapon do, other than its stated aim? Can its side effects be constrained? (If not, is it really worth building it and using it.) How long will it take to build? Is there a deadline? Does it matter where it's positioned. Oh, and did I mention, "Will we survive its use?"

The degree to which any science, technology, magic, etc., needs to be described depends on who is involved in the telling of the story. If your characters are tasked with designing it -- are proposing solutions (in which case, you need not restrict their speculations to one solution, but might well need to know the pros and cons of the ones considered "possible") -- then you'll need more detail than if you're story revolves around the person(s) who will make the final decision to wipe out life in the galaxy. (And there are, obviously, many people who may be involved, e.g. people constructing the megastructure, whose concerns will be less about how it works -- "Only those geniuses who designed it really know the science" -- but how it can be implemented.)

Note: the less detail required for the story, and the more separation between the characters and those who "know" how it works, the easier it will be to make it plausible (because there'll be less for the pedantic to pick at).

And there's the little matter that if one has created a device that can wipe out life in a galaxy (albeit to stop an enemy), it's a rather useful tool if one wants uncontested ownership of an already populated part of the universe, so someone worried about this might want to know that the structure, and its technology, won't last long after it's used (which will probably require those who know not telling other people, people expected to survive, how it works).

 

[Venusian Broon]

Note: the less detail required for the story, and the more separation between the characters and those who "know" how it works, the easier it will be to make it plausible (because there'll be less for the pedantic to pick at).

I agree in general with your comments, however I'd add the caveat, IMO of course, that it can go too far the other way. Especially for science fiction. Be too vague with something that impacts your plot, like a technology, or other world building element, and it can lead to a loss of immersion in the world for a reader. (Well, specifically a reader like me.) And at worst it makes it easier for deus ex machina to come into existence. So say your fortress is defended by an 'impenetrable force field' and that's all you tell me, but for plot purposes someone finds a way through because they applied Phlebotinum to it, then it's 'meh, no good!' from me. Stupid example, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I wanted to keep it as close as I could to the hard science facts but they just don't allow me the leg room I need for my universe

I think that if your plot involves building 13 mega-weapons with the sole purpose of sending out an energy wave to effectively lobotomise all sentient life in the universe, then you are already far beyond any reasonable definitive of science fiction and are firmly in the realms of fantasy.

 

[Ursa major]

So say your fortress is defended by an 'impenetrable force field' and that's all you tell me, but for plot purposes someone finds a way through because they applied Phlebotinum to it, then it's 'meh, no good!' from me

To be fair: even if an author had spent the first half of the book explaining how the impenetrable barrier works, and then someone just manages to find a way through, by whatever means (unless it can be seen that the half-book worth of explanation can be seen, in retrospect, to have pointed this out), I still wouldn't be that happy.

Although having said that, it seems highly unlikely that I would have got anywhere near a mention of Phlebotinum (or any other... er... bloody deus ex machina mechanism... or anything else in that... er... vein...), as I'd have given up a long way before the middle of the book....

 

[ImperiumSega138]

Well I was only going to give the reader a quick "run through" of how they work, I wasn't going to go into immense detail, but I'm also using this story for a video game design of my future career and when a video game is sold it comes with all these little facts in a booklet or journal etc (if you buy the expensive version with all the goodies). Also I was thinking that more along the lines of, if I know how it's designed, works, etc, then I would be able to write about it better and more believable rather than that I just thought of it in a botch job fashion, you know what I mean hopefully. The proper reason for how it works (and the fine details) were never going to be put into the final or even draft form due to it diluting the story by explain the techno-blabble.

 

[Ursa major]

It's not a bad idea -- with or without the prospect of a future game version -- to know a bit more about things that feature in a book than appears on the page.

 

[ImperiumSega138]

Finally someone that agrees with me! Lol thank you

 

[Steven Sorrels]

Just FYI, this plot sounds very much along the same lines as the Halo franchise. If that's what you're going for, then fine, but just be aware. Not trying to be "that guy", though.

 

[ImperiumSega138]

I know it's close to Halo but I'm trying to keep from it as best I can but something's do run parallel with Halo. I wanted to do a similar story to Halo but I wanted more emotion to be felt for my aliens who are giving their lives to preserve all other life in the universe, I want it to connect more (if possible) with the audience and make them feel for said aliens. I am currently trying to rethink a few key areas (that are way to close to Halo) but I want to keep the base structure intact, if you know what I mean. I'm not trying to rewrite halo, and I'm not trying to copy it but as in all things like this, some elements of the work will have similarities between it and Halo. I want those similarities to be more of a "nod" to Bungie/343 Industries/Halo franchise. Hope that helps clear it up a bit.