What can a scientist in my Star Wars fan fic be working on?

[Maximum7]

Im trying to write a story about a scientist who is working on something in the era of the New Republic. He does not believe in the Force. I just need something for him to be researching. It really isn’t that important to the story; it just has to sound cool and scientific. Also it can’t have already been done in Legends or Canon. I want a fresh idea.  It cannot be  - A time machine  -A teleporter  -A matter replicator  -Synthetic tibanna gas  -Synthetic coaxium (hyperfuel)  -A singularity Weapon  - Any type of droid  -Anything to do with holograms  -A food synthesizer  - Anything to do with the Force or Midi-chlorians  - A shrink ray  -A freeze ray  -pico and femtotechnology  -A Dyson sphere or any type of megastructure.  -Liquid metal armor or a nano morph  In canon, during the Empire, scientists were researching methods to control droids, lasers that can punch through deflector shields and ship scale disintigrators. These ideas are therefore taken.  I’m trying to look for something that was never researched until the era of the New Republic like kyber crystals weren’t until the Empire used them for a superlaser and even then, they had been used in weapons formation in the past. I’m looking for something that presumably hasn’t been thought of in the 25,000 years of time where almost everything has already been done.

[Snark]

Hello, and welcome to the forum! 

Moving to the Lounge, since this isn't about real-life science & spaceflight.

[Superfluous J]

You could go the funny route and have him studying Macguffery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin in case you don't know what a MacGuffin in.

But I don't know, not many scientists in Star Wars. Seems that most things are already known or the people don't care. Maybe hyperspace travel? Trying to make it more accurate? That would explain why Solo could come out of hyperspace basically inside an atmosphere.

[LordFerret]

You could have him working on the reverse-engineering of an old broken 8-track tape player,  trying to make it work... so they could play and recapture all those great tunes from the 1970's from the cache of cassettes they found along with it, from a time capsule dug up in an Earth archaeological dig.

 

Quite fitting if you ask me.

[Bill Phil]

A new way of travelling between stars. Hyperspace travel isn’t actually all that great in Star Wars. So something a bit more practical could be interesting. Could even mention valid GR solutions like Krasnikov tubes, wormholes, and warp drives.

Of course these can also be time machines in certain setups... 

[HebaruSan]

Who is he working for?

[Maximum7]

18 minutes ago, HebaruSan said:

Who is he working for?

The canon New Republic 

[StrandedonEarth]

I didn’t see antimatter on the no-no list...

[Maximum7]

43 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I didn’t see antimatter on the no-no list...

Antimatter weapons appeared in Legends. In canon it’s mainly focused on hypermatter. 

[Shpaget]

As soon as I read the title I was going to suggest midifluorians, the more elusive, and agressive cousins of the more popular midiclorians, but no no list..

Anyway, what about improving their 3d projector comunicator thingamabobs? Those have abysmal image quality?

[DDE]

3 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I didn’t see antimatter on the no-no list...

I’m not sure it has an advantage on hypermatter in terms of raw energy density.

[Bill Phil]

1 minute ago, DDE said:

I’m not sure it has an advantage on hypermatter in terms of raw energy density.

Well maybe he’s studying a technology to more economically produce/store antimatter?

[DDE]

@Maximum7, up front it’s a somewhat difficult question. Are we looking at the canon after it was savaged by Disney? Because that jettisons a lot of the established engineering. The old technical manuals even risked foraying into the subject of actual accelerations (thousands of gees for a Star Destroyer) and weapon yeilds (gigatons per turbolaser blast).

Furthermore, it would be a bit helpful to narrow the field down a little, and ditch the omnidisciplinary scientist trope. Yes, we know you’re awesome, Sam, but you’re too awesome to be real.

A further problem is that a New Republic scientist probably doesn’t work on military projects. That’s a whole lot of potential avenues going down the drain.   Which raises the question of how much of a budget they have. Given the supposed state of the galaxy? Probably not much, so any theoretical physics research with planet-sized particle accelerators is probably off the list, it’s not like a research institute or an Empire remnant can just churn out a planet-sized installation, right? 

2 minutes ago, Bill Phil said:

Well maybe he’s studying a technology to more economically produce/store antimatter?

First off, you seem to be trying to cheat around OP’s moratorium on hyperfuel research.

Second of all, it’s probably hopeless, given the apparent infinitely superior production and handling qualities of extant hyperfuel. Hell, the old canon had those ships have a propellant mass fraction of 50% or so with no tanks to speak of, implying very funky properties of hyperfuel.

[YNM]

 

[kerbiloid]

Plan A. (realistic)
He is working on a budget utilization.
Nobody knows exactly what his secret job is devoted to, as it is nothing of

Spoiler

- A time machine 
-A teleporter 
-A matter replicator 
-Synthetic tibanna gas 
-Synthetic coaxium (hyperfuel) 
-A singularity Weapon 
- Any type of droid 
-Anything to do with holograms
-A food synthesizer 
- Anything to do with the Force or Midi-chlorians 
- A shrink ray 
-A freeze ray 
-pico and femtotechnology 
-A Dyson sphere or any type of megastructure. 
-Liquid metal armor or a nano morph 

Plan B. (fantastic)
He is working on a secret device which will allow to avoid:

Spoiler

- A time machine 
-A teleporter 
-A matter replicator 
-Synthetic tibanna gas 
-Synthetic coaxium (hyperfuel) 
-A singularity Weapon 
- Any type of droid 
-Anything to do with holograms
-A food synthesizer 
- Anything to do with the Force or Midi-chlorians 
- A shrink ray 
-A freeze ray 
-pico and femtotechnology 
-A Dyson sphere or any type of megastructure. 
-Liquid metal armor or a nano morph 

Plan AB.
He is using Plan B as an explanation for Plan A.

Edited February 20, 2019 by kerbiloid

[DDE]

1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

He is working on a budget utilization.

Are we all the way back to the Senate Launch System?

9 hours ago, Maximum7 said:

I’m looking for something that presumably hasn’t been thought of in the 25,000 years of time where almost everything has already been done. 

Your chances are, overall, horrible. A lot of “research” in Star Wars tends to get outgunned by what the archeologists scavenge up as a result of said 25,000 (more like 50,000 AFAIK, what’s with Revan and his Rakatan battleship 3D printer) of rather cyclical technological development.

A small but probably pretty topical field would probably be anything to do with countering artificial gravity wells. The hyperspace-blocking tech surfaced around Revan’s era, then promptly disappeared (a millenium later the galaxy was down to metal swords, AFAIK), then reappeared in Imperial use, where Admiral Thrawn actually used it on his own ISDs to drop them into ongoing battles with ridiculous accuracy.

Also, I am sure the First Order are not the only people that are working on hyperspace trackers...

Edited February 20, 2019 by DDE

[kerbiloid]

6 minutes ago, DDE said:

Are we all the way back to the Senate Launch System?

Not necessary. That's how it works in whole.

[Maximum7]

11 hours ago, Shpaget said:

As soon as I read the title I was going to suggest midifluorians, the more elusive, and agressive cousins of the more popular midiclorians, but no no list..

Anyway, what about improving their 3d projector comunicator thingamabobs? Those have abysmal image quality?

Even though I wanted to stay away from midichlorians I am potentially interested. Someone on reddit suggested antichlorians, something that negates midichlorians. What are midiflurions? The same concept. 

[Maximum7]

10 hours ago, DDE said:

@Maximum7, up front it’s a somewhat difficult question. Are we looking at the canon after it was savaged by Disney? Because that jettisons a lot of the established engineering. The old technical manuals even risked foraying into the subject of actual accelerations (thousands of gees for a Star Destroyer) and weapon yeilds (gigatons per turbolaser blast).

Furthermore, it would be a bit helpful to narrow the field down a little, and ditch the omnidisciplinary scientist trope. Yes, we know you’re awesome, Sam, but you’re too awesome to be real.

A further problem is that a New Republic scientist probably doesn’t work on military projects. That’s a whole lot of potential avenues going down the drain.   Which raises the question of how much of a budget they have. Given the supposed state of the galaxy? Probably not much, so any theoretical physics research with planet-sized particle accelerators is probably off the list, it’s not like a research institute or an Empire remnant can just churn out a planet-sized installation, right? 

First off, you seem to be trying to cheat around OP’s moratorium on hyperfuel research.

Second of all, it’s probably hopeless, given the apparent infinitely superior production and handling qualities of extant hyperfuel. Hell, the old canon had those ships have a propellant mass fraction of 50% or so with no tanks to speak of, implying very funky properties of hyperfuel.

 

He has a decent budget. But yes I see your point. 

[MaverickSawyer]

I think DDE hit on a winner... Finding a way of countering/overriding/ignoring the effects of a gravity well projector. You wouldn't believe the glee I felt when the Interdictor showed up in Rebels...

[Cheif Operations Director]

On ‎2‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 3:43 PM, Maximum7 said:

Im trying to write a story about a scientist who is working on something in the era of the New Republic. He does not believe in the Force. I just need something for him to be researching. It really isn’t that important to the story; it just has to sound cool and scientific. Also it can’t have already been done in Legends or Canon. I want a fresh idea.   It cannot be  - A time machine  -A teleporter  -A matter replicator  -Synthetic tibanna gas  -Synthetic coaxium (hyperfuel)  -A singularity Weapon  - Any type of droid  -Anything to do with holograms  -A food synthesizer  - Anything to do with the Force or Midi-chlorians  - A shrink ray  -A freeze ray  -pico and femtotechnology  -A Dyson sphere or any type of megastructure.  -Liquid metal armor or a nano morph  In canon, during the Empire, scientists were researching methods to control droids, lasers that can punch through deflector shields and ship scale disintigrators. These ideas are therefore taken.  I’m trying to look for something that was never researched until the era of the New Republic like kyber crystals weren’t until the Empire used them for a superlaser and even then, they had been used in weapons formation in the past. I’m looking for something that presumably hasn’t been thought of in the 25,000 years of time where almost everything has already been done.

hmm. Perhaps lasers that can move for example a mass seeking laser.

I know its not really possible but if its for star wars a lot of other things are not possible too. You could also do laser that makes kyber crystals implode when the blade it hit.

[DDE]

3 hours ago, Cheif Operations Director said:

Perhaps lasers that can move for example a mass seeking laser

A bit redundant in a universe of proton torpedoes.

In practice, @Maximum7, there’s probably a demand for Electronic Counter Counter Measures (ECCM) due to all the jamming that supposedly nerfs guided weapons.

If guided weapons weren’t nerfed, it’d have been a very different universe.

[Cheif Operations Director]

10 minutes ago, DDE said:

A bit redundant in a universe of proton torpedoes.

In practice, @Maximum7, there’s probably a demand for Electronic Counter Counter Measures (ECCM) due to all the jamming that supposedly nerfs guided weapons.

If guided weapons weren’t nerfed, it’d have been a very different universe.

Most certainly true

[MaverickSawyer]

11 minutes ago, DDE said:

A bit redundant in a universe of proton torpedoes.

In practice, @Maximum7, there’s probably a demand for Electronic Counter Counter Measures (ECCM) due to all the jamming that supposedly nerfs guided weapons.

If guided weapons weren’t nerfed, it’d have been a very different universe.

1 minute ago, Cheif Operations Director said:

Most certainly true

 

Hmm... Y'know, I've always been bugged about the fact that starfighters are used in dogfights, yet have absolutely abysmal visibility from the cockpit. I mean, look at the X-Wing, which is often held up as a superb fighter. There's a huge opaque panel above the pilot's head, they have a tiny little slit window for rearward visiblility, the canopy frames are heavy and thick... ugh. I'm convinced that the pilot of a P-40 Warhawk, which isn't well known for rearward visibility, has a better idea of what's going on on his six than an X-wing pilot. It'd be more of an engineering thing, but coming up with a bubble canopy, or even the equivalent of a Malcom Hood mod for the X-wing would be a game-changer for fighter pilots. And don't even get me started on the TIE family...

[DDE]

29 minutes ago, MaverickSawyer said:

 

Hmm... Y'know, I've always been bugged about the fact that starfighters are used in dogfights, yet have absolutely abysmal visibility from the cockpit. I mean, look at the X-Wing, which is often held up as a superb fighter. There's a huge opaque panel above the pilot's head, they have a tiny little slit window for rearward visiblility, the canopy frames are heavy and thick... ugh. I'm convinced that the pilot of a P-40 Warhawk, which isn't well known for rearward visibility, has a better idea of what's going on on his six than an X-wing pilot. It'd be more of an engineering thing, but coming up with a bubble canopy, or even the equivalent of a Malcom Hood mod for the X-wing would be a game-changer for fighter pilots. And don't even get me started on the TIE family...

Instead of a cosmetic fairing, the X-Wing has a large bundle of machinery and two high-mounted engines blocking the view; you’d be looking at an all-out redesign. The situation is even worse for a TIE, which has all of its machinery behind the pilot.

The A-Wing is the closest thing you get.

Spoiler

It’s still better than steering through a periscope with a rookie blocking your view and getting on your nerves.