Weird science?
Jun. 21st, 2023 08:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kengrI've often played with the idea that there isn't just *one* way to do things. So, for example, there may be several different ways to achieve FTL. Ditto for weapons tech and maybe defenses like shielding.
But the other day, I gave it more serious thought than I had in the past. I tried to picture a setup where the "other side's" tech isn't magic (except in the Clarkean sense) but is essentially incomprehensible to "us".
basic idea is similar to that in one set of Turtledove's stories where early on there's a crucial experiment or discovery that leads you in a direction that leads away from the sort of things we discovered.
But unlike his setup (where most races discovered antigrav and hyperdrive early, but never really got a handle "regular" physics), I want a more "even" result.
So both sides can do equivalent things, but their science behind said things is just so much gobbledegook to the other side.
But trying to *write* something like this looks like a *major* headache.
But the other day, I gave it more serious thought than I had in the past. I tried to picture a setup where the "other side's" tech isn't magic (except in the Clarkean sense) but is essentially incomprehensible to "us".
basic idea is similar to that in one set of Turtledove's stories where early on there's a crucial experiment or discovery that leads you in a direction that leads away from the sort of things we discovered.
But unlike his setup (where most races discovered antigrav and hyperdrive early, but never really got a handle "regular" physics), I want a more "even" result.
So both sides can do equivalent things, but their science behind said things is just so much gobbledegook to the other side.
But trying to *write* something like this looks like a *major* headache.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2023-06-23 04:29 pm (UTC)Materials science can be very picky. Part numbers were written on a titanium sheet intended to be used for one of the prototype Blackbirds. The next morning they had a stencil, with the places where they had written reduced to powder on the floor. Turns out the ink used in the marker contained ammonia.
John D. Clark's _Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants_ is full of similar cautionary tales. Like the young propellant chemist who didn't know that the "I" in IRFNA stood for "Inhibited" and ordered a batch without it. Then wondered why his nitric acid turned green and started dissolving the drum...
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2023-06-23 06:35 pm (UTC)The hazardous reactions one was a bunch of cautionary tales relating incidents where seemingly minor "oops" led to large problems.
One was about the time somebody *thought* a tanker truck's tank was mild steel. And filled it with concentrated NaOH solution. Turns out it was aluminum. Which is bad news.
Exposed to strong bases aluminum (and titanium and several other metal) lose the tough oxide coat. Which leaves the actual metal exposed to the water in the solution. Which it happily reacts with, producing hydrogen, and lots of heat.
So the tanker caught on fire!
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2023-06-23 07:24 pm (UTC)However, the bottom rungs of the materials science ladder -- the kitchen-chemistry stuff -- make a fantastic starting point in any science that relies on materials. Some genius fanfic writer did that with potions ingredients in Harry Potter.