Questions tagged [post-apocalypse]
For questions dealing with events taking place after a catastrophic event.
812 questions
10
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Are steel plows still necessary on the Great Plains?
John Deere's invention of the steel plow (steel plowshare and moldboard, iron frame) revolutionized farming, and allowed the Great Plains to be turned into cropland. What I have been unable to ...
11
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Theoretically, in an apocalypse scenario what is the best way to amputate an infected arm?
The title says it all. For my narrative homework, I chose an apocalypse scenario where a main character gets infected. I'm not sure the best way to close it other than them watching the sunset or ...
13
votes
11
answers
2k
views
Ways to travel across land when there are biological landmines covering 70% of the earths surface
I am creating a post apocalyptic world where it is nearly impossible to walk anywhere habitable without being stabbed by about a dozen neurotoxic barbed tendrils that shoot from the ground, with the ...
-1
votes
1
answer
101
views
Marketplace in future desert world [closed]
I'm creating a desert world in the distant future. The sun has expanded, making it closer to Earth and drying out much of the planet. Civilization is back to nomadic and or early civilization types of ...
1
vote
3
answers
218
views
Where on the surface of the Earth would be best to start a colony from scratch? [closed]
I have been tasked by my College Writing professor to write an essay my choice of real people from my personal life to recolonize the Earth. I am looking for inspiration as to where this would take ...
3
votes
3
answers
965
views
Population impacts on temperature
By what amount (if any) would ambient temperature sink if a metropolitan area (lets say ~12M people) would be reduced to a fraction of its population (lets say ~10k) by an apocalyptic event.
I'm ...
16
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Three kilometers (~2 miles high) tsunamis go around the Earth - what kinds of ruins are left?
I am (still) writing some fiction about the solar system being rearranged, with the Earth losing the Moon. But before she goes, I am having her do a close flyby.
My story is actually happening ...
4
votes
4
answers
883
views
What are some plausible means for increasing the atmospheric pressure on a post-apocalyptic earth?
I want my post-apocalyptic science-fantasy setting to be at least plausible enough for people to suspend their disbelief comfortably, rather than having to ignore obvious physical fallacies. I want ...
16
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Would an industrial level society be able to visually identify orbital debris from a destroyed mega structure?
My world is a very distant post apocalyptic society on earth after the destruction of some orbital mega structure around the planet - like an orbital ring or something. The current civilization(s) on ...
12
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How long would today's books last in a post-apocalyptic setting?
In my setting, the modern world ended catastrophically 500-ish years ago in-setting, which would be about 2150 as the event date. So the "present" is 2650 ish.
Judging by the research I've ...
19
votes
26
answers
6k
views
Why would you build slow moving vehicles instead of faster ones?
It's the zombie apocalypse. A group of survivors on the east coast learn about a safe settlement in the west. However, they must travel through the zombie-infested heart of the continent. The inner ...
1
vote
1
answer
199
views
How long would a stock of nuclear warheads and their delivery systems remain viable? [duplicate]
My world is recovering from a period of chaos lasting around 50 years, during which time many things were not maintained, or only sporadically maintained. My story takes place in (what used to be) a ...
8
votes
1
answer
201
views
How long would a crater/mare on the Moon be glowing red and visible from earth?
As part of the backstory of my setting, a wormhole base on the Moon catastrophically failed around 500 years ago. The energy released was enough to melt a huge portion (edit: approximately size of ...
4
votes
3
answers
957
views
What fauna can survive a permanently dark sky?
A few days ago I asked this question. In it asked about flora that could survive under a permanently dark sky.
In this regard this regard this question is quite similar. Though now the question is ...
2
votes
10
answers
422
views
Why do the police forces in my world use antiquated weaponry?
Here's a little background:
My science-fantasy world has been devastated by monster attacks coming from various enormous pits inside the planet. The first led to a total collapse of civilization and ...
7
votes
3
answers
466
views
Highly resistant House Plant
The Premise
My world takes place about 25 years after an magical apocalyptic event killed most life in my setting. It also left the sky permanently dark which is caused by thick magical clouds.
I know ...
12
votes
6
answers
7k
views
How long will global internet connectivity remain if all people are incapacitated?
Suppose all people are incapacitated or disappear: how long will the global internet connectivity remain working?
Will re-routing via still functional paths occur automatically, or does it require ...
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How might civilization develop if hunter-gatherers and/or early agrarian civilizations had access to highly advanced technology? [closed]
Imagine a setting where, across numerous worlds: people without memory, identity or culture wake up surrounded by the ruins and technologies of a highly advanced spacefaring civilization that ...
-1
votes
2
answers
167
views
What effects to expect from 100+ generations living subterranean with constant low doses of radiation
Back story is that humans settled a foreign planet and the star began to die so humans went subterranean until the worst of the star death cycle passed (yes I know this process theoretically takes ...
1
vote
0
answers
154
views
Is there a book that I could buy that has detailed technical instructions for jump-starting technology in post apocalypse, post industrial future [closed]
So, I'm not rich so construction of an underground bunker and stockpiling it with food and medical supplies is a pipe dream (love that this coloquialism refers to opi-smoke dreams). So I've been ...
-1
votes
1
answer
224
views
What would our world look like if it only got 160 days of sun in a year?
A while ago, I encountered a YouTube and Spotify playlist called "songs for an empty world" by LAIN. The description was especially interesting to me:
Only 250,000 people left. 160 days of ...
15
votes
7
answers
5k
views
Will a Humans Tolerance Keep Going Until Full Immunity?
Context: This is a post apocalypse low fantasy, soft science world. In it megacorps have built a protected city for citizens to survive. The world outside the walls in dangerous, with toxic gas, ...
-4
votes
3
answers
202
views
What are the best blackmail and extortion paths for haberdashers in post-apocalyptic Victorian cities? [closed]
In a Victorian city on an apocalyptic world, a haberdasher has gained social power. All things pertaining to the Victorian life circa 1880 would be proper here, save for the equine industry. He has ...
0
votes
2
answers
883
views
What traits would a human have in an oxygen rich environment?
I'm having trouble finding research surrounding this question. If humans evolved in a more oxygen-rich environment, what would their evolved traits be?
For context: I'm creating a post-apocalyptic ...
6
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What wild mammals could survive a nuclear winter? [closed]
I'm writing a story that takes place after a nuclear winter that lasts for at least 25 years, and which caused much of the surviving population to become hunter-gatherers as a result of crop failure ...