writer Definition and 57 Threads

Hi All, I'm a sci-fi writer who mainly writes at the fantasy edge of sci-fi writing but occassionally likes to have some actual laws-of-physics abiding concepts in my work. I'm looking forward to reading the forums.

Hi, new member here. I'm a fiction writer and could use a bit of help in writing scenes based on real science. It's harder to make something up that clearly defies the laws of physics. Looking forward to dive into the forums. I'll try not to pester you with stupid questions, but please forgive...

Summary:: Looking for ideas for my book about future QP applications. Hey everyone, I'm writing a sci-fi thriller set 25 years in the future, where my main character and his team are trying to stop an artificial superintelligence that is operating on the world's most powerful quantum...

Garry Starkweather who was developing the idea for the laser writer at Xerox. Due to management opposition, he had to move to PARC to bring it to fruition. As a kid he was quite the tinkerer. A nice summary of his life and journey to laser writer development is in this NY Times obit.

https://comicbook.com/startrek/2019/12/03/star-treks-d-c-fontana-dies-at-80/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._C._Fontana

Hi - I'm a writer/editor/writing coach/teacher, now retired - alas, more due to disability rather than age. My speciality when I was working was various sorts of non-fiction. I particularly enjoyed coaching professionals writing their first books, on various topics in business, the non-profit...

Below is just one idea among many bourbon-fueled brainstorms, in which I have searched for a suitable disaster to inflict on my characters. It may be that it's too grandiose to wrangle into a plot - the scenario I am trying to service is this: An alien is faced with this catastrophe (one it...

hi, I might be not explaining the question very well so in other words... IS there a writer (a famous one i mean) who writes prose that has a set meter to it? Or if not meter then a rhythm to the sentences if that makes sense? thanks

I have an insane hypothetical question about energy and spitting atoms. I am currently writing my first novel in which my main character has the ability to control and manipulate energy. My hold up right now is what would happen if said character were to split a hydrogen atom with her mind. My...

William Shakespeare (for example) is regarded as a great poet/playwright? What makes him so good? What could he do that other's couldn't? Basically I'm looking for things or skills/attributes of a great writer? What makes someone great in literature? Thank You!

Here's a petition trying to get the USPS to run a stamp series honoring SF/Horror writers, editors and artists. It sure beats the hell out of another series of flowers...

Hi there, I have a hypothetical question which is prima fascia more than a little ridiculous, but it relates to a science fiction book I'm working on writing. I'm hoping that one or more of the general smart folks here can weigh in on it and give me some realistic answers about a very...

Hello all, I've gotten some great help here before: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=4051091#post4051091 and I come back to you again with another question. So suppose there's a space colony, similar to Gerard O'Neill's ideas back in the 70's of ring-like tubes that...

Sort of a like Word except implements latex?

I am working on a novel that uses 'gates' that for lack of space here let’s just call worm holes (any excuse works for this question). But these gates cannot bridge to each other if located in a region of space that is warped too much. So I'm looking for a proportional answer, not a calculated...

I'm a fiction writer working on a short story. I have a few questions about space and other things that I haven't been able to find the answers to. Here are a few of my questions: 1). Will the rotation of Mercury speed up over time? 2). What effect does synchrotron radiation have on...

I'm working on a sci-fi / noir / mystery novel for my thesis, and I've endowed my femme fatale heroine with the ability to conjure traversable wormholes. It's important that she be able to do this without the aid of any machine or finite quantity of exotic matter that she would have to...

My novel is coming together rather rapidly, but I've left some pretty big holes in my descriptions of the setting. It takes place on a generational ship traveling from Earth to a New hypothetically hospitable planet. Essentially I would like to know the amount of time that has passed on both...

I was wondering where there is a safe free site to download the drivers for this external cd- writer 8200 series

Hey I am currently in the 12th Standard and want to, become a neuroscientist as well as a writer, however until recently I was thinking about writing later in life(like in my 50s). But recently I have come across various people advising me of the low pay of a neuroscientist, and also with the...

I hope someone can help me with this. i have a question about kinetic energy and kamikazi spaceships. If i have say a 40,000 Metric ton spacecraft that rams another ship at a specified velocity the other ship not moving i understand that i would apply the kinetic energy of the ramming ship to...

Hi, I'm writing a novel set in the future and wanted to find an opinion on the future possibility of determining a person's life expectancy down to a fairly specific prediction. For example, If you had a very old man and access to all of his medical information (dna, etc.), could you predict...

I am a young adult writer, and my current WIP involves parallel universes. My main character is from another universe. I have read about worm holes and black holes. Quite frankly, just when I think I am beginning to remotely comprehend I hit another brain cramp. I realize this is all...

I am wondering if sounds would be noticeably different inside of a tunnel made out of ice than for a tunnel made out of dirt/planet's crust. If so, can you think of any comparisons or general differences. For instance, would sounds echo louder/farther in one of them? I suspect the properties...

Tonight I was watching Stephen King's Bag of Bones and noticed a common motif - a famous author moves to a small, remote town, and encounters X. What caught my attention wasn't the weird, small town motif [I can relate to that one! :smile:], it is that so often the main character is a writer...

PForums, I am a writer working on a novel and as part of my job is to research the science behind any idea, I have to make sure is it plausible in real life. So, my question is in regard to Necrosis of the Epidermis. Is there any known diseases that can cause necrosis on the Epidermis (outer...

When I was in 8th grade I found that I had a bit of a talent for writing, and it seemed to come out of nowhere. I'm not the most outspoken guy, but I have no trouble with writing. I find it to be an easier communication medium than speech (although I will not deny that speech is the most...

i'm not a physics major so i have to ask a question and i may not know what I'm talking about but here goes. if i had a giant circular accelerator accelerating a metal slug from zero velocity to high velocity with say 10^12 watts per electromagnet in a circle of 10 electromagnets is it possible...

Ok, I am no physics major…. I am a writer, but I truly need to get some Physics information. I am sure that should I get this work in progress published, some physics major will be able to blow huge holes in my idea, as it stands today. So I would like to throw out some suppositions here and...

hello guys I am writing a science fiction novel atm and I am having trouble figuring something out since I am no mathmetician by any means. Im trying to figure out how fast an object needs to travel faster or slower than local Earth spacetime to receive a 1% time dilation effect. Working...

Hello all - once again! I am an aspiring SF writer currently in the process of writing a book. I am looking for ideas (go nuts!) for different types of spaceship fuels. The idea is that the fuel has to be something that exists in abundance (preferably naturally occurring), and...

Roller Coasters--help a writer out? I'm a freelance writer working on an article about how roller coasters work. It's to be a fairly short article for a children's Web site, so I don't need massive amounts of information (and I am doing research of my own as well), but I thought it might be fun...

Physics Forum, I am a writer currently working on a novel and I simply need your opinion in a matter. As a writer one of my jobs is to do research on a subject or matter I am writing about and instead of bother doctors where they work or when they are on their way home I decided to try and...

What do you think about this video from the "selfish gene writer" This is a video creater by the write of the book "the selfish gene" , http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9112899495889928903&ei=tQYuS5jCCJ6q2wKJsozZBQ&q=dawkins&hl=en#docid=4491999408234054262 Now I would like you...

Hello. I'm a professional writer and editor but all of my experience has been in the commercial fields, so I have no formal physics or math background. I've always had a profound interest in physics and have kept up with "conceptual" advances just about as much as any layman can be expected...

Good day and thank you for taking interest in this thread =) My name is Mykhailo, and I am currently creating a concept of a sci-fi character. I require your help to point out obvious physics-related mistakes in my concept. Tips and directions on improving the concept are highly encouraged as...

First of all I apologize since writing isn't technically a science... It seems there are myriad resources out there I can use to learn anything science or math related. My question would be, are there any text's that are to writing what Apostol/Spivak are to calculus? I wish to become a...

Hello all! And again, thank you for letting me ask these questions. And thank you so much for all your ideas, suggestions, and critiques. In my novel, there exists a steel room. The only way into and out of this room is a rather thick steel door. The room the door opens up to is made of...

(moderators, I hope this is posted in the correct forum; I'm just not sure where to place this exactly) Hi, I write science fiction and I'm currently searching for some answers. I've done my best to find these answers, researching and reading published articles by known physicists...

Hello! I am a writer currently working on a children's science fiction novel. I need help with a problem of plot that hinges on my main character emitting an EMF field similar to an appliance like a hair dryer. This character is surrounded by this field and needs to get rid of it in a simple...

Hi There, I'm a novelist working on a science fiction adventure, and I could use a little help on the astronomy side. I'm not looking to get down to the inner workings of quantum formulas, but I do want to make sure that I'm at least being reasonably on point given the fact that I can fudge...

Hey Physics Gang, I'm onto my next writing phase and would appreciate any help you can give me on this round of questions. Here we go (Many of these questions will relate to Space Shuttle launches): As is, the Space Shuttle essentially hitches a ride on a rocket, which handles the launch...

Hi There, I am working on my second novel, a kind of Buck Rogers-type adventure, and I want to make sure that I'm being at least reasonbly accurate in regard to what an "outer space" journey might be like. It's going to be light in tone and I'm not looking to get into lots of particle talk...

Hello, My name is Alistair Maxwel. I’m a science-fiction writer in need of some help. As you are all aware, now a days science-fiction writers use quantum physics to explain everything from near death experiences to global consciousness. I endeavor and strive for more precision. I...

my dvd writer seems to have gone mad. i burned 5 sony dvd's first n they all were fine, then the next one got thrashed and then 2-3 dvd's got wasted. again few next dvd's were fine. all my dvd's were of sony. things continued. now i have about 10-12 fine working dvd's and same number of "REALLY...

Hi all! I'm writer from Ukraine, writing book about Madonna's life. What do you know about Madonna? Please, tell me. Thanks! WBR, Svetlana Shmidt

Is there a free alternative to MathType and Math Writer?

Recently, my DVD writer can no longer recognize when a blank CD is inserted. However, it can still burn DVDs. Anyone know what's going on? I don't know the brand. I tried updating the drivers but apparently I have the most recent one.

My first book has made it all the way to the publisher's desk, where I'm told it will sit until I have a second. The first was a bit of cliff-hanger. I'm working very hard on the second and hope to have it finished by the end of the summer. Actually, I hope to have it done in two weeks, but...

In my posts I want to write out an equation, and have noticed that other people can post things with latex, which makes a nice equation... how do i do this? thanks