Inspired by this question here, not sure about the LOTR novels (no copy of my books with me) but, in the movies Gandalf touches the Ring once after Bilbo drops it, and gets a vision immediately of Sauron's eye. And later when Frodo returns and after Gandalf throws the ring in the small fire, he uses tongs to take it out [see 0.46 seconds in vid] Does this happen in the novels or does Gandalf only touch it once as it is in the movie? [embedded content] How many times did Gandalf touch the Ring in the novels then? Over at a Tolkien forum somewhere a user said Gandalf touched the Ring while changing its' chain in Rivendell in the novel--- is it true as well?

In the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , just before the Sorting ceremony, all the first years were quite terrified. No one had any idea what was going to follow (even Ron who came from a wizarding family). Why is this? The ceremony itself is not a secret since most of the wizards in England went through it. Even if there is an unofficial rule not to talk about it, at least some of the kids would probably have heard about it and spread the news. Answer Ron has heard about it, it's just that his brothers have taken great time and care to tell him a load of rubbish in order to scare him, one assumes for their own amusement : ‘How exactly do they sort us into houses?’ he asked Ron. ‘Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking.’ ... ‘So we’ve just got to try on the hat!’ Ron whispered to Harry. ‘I’ll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll.’ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Within the book, the only ...

What are the differences between Iron Man and War Machine armours ? In the movies, it seems that they are the same, except the War Machine armour features more heavy weapons. But if they are the same, why wouldn't Tony Stark use the War Machine armour? Do they have different characteristics (like strength, resistance, flight time...)? I am looking for answers from the movies and/or the comics. Answer I updated my answer thanks to the comment from @Ben. I didn't know about the official tie-in comics that reveal a bit more information about the suits. My old answer was from on-screen info only. All in all we have seen three War Machine suits so far in the cinematic universe . Mark I (Iron Man 2) Mark II /Iron Patriot (After Iron Man 3 up to Civil War) Mark III (Civil War) War Machine MK I The first War Machine is actually the Iron Man Suit MK II. So in a sense they are identical. We can clearly see this in Iron Man 2 when Rhodey goes into the garage to don a suit. We see th...

The Winter Soldier has a metallic arm, and being a Marvel property it's unlikely to be something as simple and straight-forward as aluminium or steel. So what metal is it made out of?

Did Tolkien mention anything about other planets in his mythology or did he invent just the one planet for his stories? Answer No other planets are visited in the Legendarium 1 , but several of Tolkien's dictionaries (published in History of Middle-earth in a number of places) include Quenya and Sindarin names for what we now know of as planets 2 ; whether they were known to be planets by the inhabitants of Middle-earth is unknown. Some examples: Morwen (Gnommish) and Silindo (Quenya): Jupiter (from The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1 ) Carnil (Mars) Luini (possibly Neptune) Nénar (possibly also Neptune) Lumbar (Saturn) Alcarinquë (Jupiter) Elemmírë (possibly Mercury) The final examples are from the Index of Morgoth's Ring . As TGnat reminds me in comments, the star known as Eärendil corresponds to what we would call the planet Venus. The complication here is that we know what Eärendil is: it's a half-elf (named Eärendil, funnily enough) flying through the air with a...

According to Neil Gaiman's account , Shadow's real name is Baldur Moon, which translates to the fact that the protagonist of American Gods is a god . How is it possible that he does not realize that? Or does he? Answer Actually, there seem to be an apparently convincing argument that Shadow/Baldar is NOT Baldur the god, but merely has the same name. The full discussion can be seen here . The main points of the orignal write-up are: First, it doesn't fit at all with the mythos established in the novel for Balder to be incarnated in human form. We see no other god that is embodied this way. It makes little sense for Balder to emerge now, since there's not exactly scores of people just starting to believe in him again. Besides that, the people that did believe in Balder for the most part believed he was dead, so he's just not going to be up running around in any form. Second, while Shadow corresponds to Balder in many ways, there are many ways in which he doesn...

I'm recalling a short story I read sometime between 1991 and 2010 that involved a guy who had learned to achieve a state of enlightenment in which his mind left his body. He could then live "forever" in the ether, and possibly rent a body to experience real life in. He teaches others this skill; there is a class of people who vacate their bodies and a class that remain corporeal, finding the idea of losing the connection with their bodies unbearable. Can anyone help me to recall the name / author of this story? Answer I'm recalling a short story I read sometime between 1991 and 2010 "Unready to Wear" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. , originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction , April 1953 which you can read at the Internet Archive . Here is a synopsis from the ISFDB (typos corrected): A part of humanity has become "amphibious" which means they are able to leave their bodies at will. They have a reserve of very healthy and good looking bodies which c...

According to How did Clara end up on Gallifrey? , it’s just the Time War that is time locked. So why does Eccelston's Doctor tell Rose: My whole planet is gone. My people, my family, all gone. Don't you think I want to go back and save them? Why hasn't he ever gone back to before the war? All the other Doctors basically see Gallifrey as gone from them, and when you say the Doctor cannot go back on his own timeline, there will have been plenty of time periods he could go to; maybe to a time before they could regenerate, or maybe when Time Lords were using Tardises — as in "The Doctor's Wife" she says to Matt Smith: I was already a museum piece when I stole you Answer One does not simply fly into Gallifrey. In "The Day of the Doctor", when the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors arrived in the barn where the War Doctor was about to detonate the moment, this exchange happened: TENTH DOCTOR: These events should be time-locked. We shouldn't even be here. ELE...

I read half a book in a library a while ago that followed a guy from the first set of marines to actually go fight. They have gel-pod-beds to survive accelerations in space. after the first mission, which goes poorly, he gets back to earth like 20 years later and finds everyone else got really old, there's massive crowding, and society has gotten very corrupt. He rescues his fellow female marine from her family farm, and they go back into service, wanting to escape but not really being able to deal with society as it races past them. Any ideas on what this book is called? Answer That would be The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Amusing side note: The Female marine you mention? 'Marygay Potter'; that's also the maiden name of Halderman's wife; Mary Gay Potter. Also, Mandela isn't QUITE an anagram of Halderman... But just about.

From Wikipedia's plot summary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens : Poe Dameron, the Resistance’s best pilot, is sent to retrieve a map to Luke's location from a village on the planet Jakku. How did that map end up in that village on Jakku in the first place? Answer Found an answer in Visual Dictionary on page 14 for Lor San Tekka. A seasoned traveler and explorer of the more remote fringes of the galaxy , ... The spiritual San Tekka has settled with a colony of villagers in the remote Kelvin Ravine on Jakku (elsewhere they mention that the whole colony was spiritual) . He helped search for Jedi lore: In his travels, Lor San Tekka uncovered much of the history of the Jedi Knights that the Galactic Empire had tried so hard to erase. Others now seek him for his knowledge of Jedi secrets. KEEPER OF FAITH - Though San Tekka is not Force sensitive, he has witnessed its power firsthand. During the dark times of Emperor Palpatine's rule, San Tekko was a follower of the Church of t...

The wizarding world is aware of many many types of beasts which the muggles doesn't know of, or at least only knows as mythology/legend. Why don't muggles know of mandrakes, centaurs, unicorns, trolls, dragons, etc on a factual level? Is this because all these critters live in the parts of the world that are somewhat masked off by magic (as are places like Hogwarts and so on)? Does the wizarding world make an active effort to hide these creatures via charms and enchantments? Do the creatures themselves possess cloaking powers or something? Are they simply too rare for us to find out about? Answer This is discussed at great length at the opening of " Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them " in a chapter labelled " A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts " Rather than copying the chapter wholesale (which I'd recommend you read ), I'll summarise the key points: Many fantastic beasts are known about, but are sufficiently rare that sigh...

I'm looking for the title of a short story by Ursula LeGuin about a scientist (?) who is given a drug that slows the timescale of his perception enormously, so that he can perceive that an alien (?) forest is actually behaving as a sentient being, reacting to current events, but at an enormously slow (from a normal human point of view) timescale. It might be in The Wind's Twelve Quarters , but I don't remember the title (and it doesn't jump out at me from the list of titles) and don't have access to that collection right now. It is not "The Word for World is Forest", nor "Direction of the Road" (from this question ), nor "Vaster than Empires and More Slow", the latter two of which look at similar plant perception/time-scale issues. update : it turns out that the description was right, but I had most of the details wrong -- not LeGuin, not alien, not a scientist ... Answer The story you are thinking of is "Alien Earth" , a n...

All die but one, he continues to try to grow plants.... he dies at the end, but is successful growing stuff. I seem to recall the problem might be ammonia in the soil or the air..?

My mother remembers reading a book in the 80's, and only clearly remembers the cover art. However the date is irrelevant because she doesn't think it was new. The cover had a face with one brown eye and one green eye. There is a utopia verging on collapse, wherein all the people look identical. A general olive skin, dark hair, and brown eyes. There are occasionally mutants that are eradicated. The main character of the book had heterochromia and was trying to escape. I'm sorry that all I have to go on is this, and any help would be very much appreciated

On the question How could Aragorn be 88 years old while he looks relatively young? there is the following comment : One tiny bit of trivia: at that point in the books, he's actually 88 years old. His birthday was the day that they met Gandalf the White in Fangorn forest. - Plutor Then : How do you know his birthday? – Earendil 17 mins ago Is there a quote or a something to support Plutor's affirmation? Answer In Appendix B of The Lord Of The Rings, titled "The Tale of Years", within the Third Age: 2931 . Aragorn son of Arathorn II born on March 1st. Later, within March 3019: 1 . Frodo begins the passage of the Dead Marshes at dawn. Entmoot continues. Aragorn meets Gandalf the White. They set out for Edoras. Faramir leaves Minas Tirith on an errand to Ithilien. Happy 88th, Aragorn!

It's no secret that Horace Slughorn gave Voldemort information on making horcruxes, and a major thrust in the sixth book is Harry and Dumbledore trying to find out what Slughorn told him. With that said, it seems like Voldemort already had a fair bit of information about horcruxes when he went to Slughorn. I'm slightly confused as to how the information Slughorn gave him actually helped him - it's not like Slughorn gave him an article on "how to make a Horcrux in 10 easy steps," and the majority of the things they discussed he already knew. And Slughorn never really answered Voldemort's question about how many horcruxes it's possible to make. That being said, how did Slughorn's information actually help Voldemort, and how was it enough information for him to actually make one? Answer Ron wondered this too, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : "This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Horcrux. Secrets of the Darkest ...

I was watching an episode of The Adventures of Superman , specifically Stolen Elephant made in 1957 and there was a short scene with background sounds that were very close to the sound loop used for the bridge background sounds in Star Trek . ( Loop of bridge sounds here. ) Anyone who was watching TV in the 1960s and 1970s heard this sound loop re-used in shows like Mission: Impossible . (And I think I remember hearing it used in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century , but I'm not sure.) Was this sound loop created for Star Trek originally? Or had it been used previously? Is there any documentation on where it came from and how it was made? If it was used before Star Trek , where was it used and when was it made? I'll add that I just saw the episode Elegy in The Twilight Zone , which aired in 1960, and the same sounds are used in the first scene while the astronauts are still on their ship. Answer If you believe this site it states that nearly all of the sounds were original to...

At many points in the story, when Dumbledore asks Harry something, he gives him a piercing look. It makes me wonder if that is Dumbledore using Legilemency against him. Is he? Answer He certainly seems to find some information when giving Harry these 'piercing looks', but he still doesn't know about Harry hearing the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, so I would say no; he's just extremely smart, so he makes some educated guesses as to what Harry is thinking. I would also say that Dumbledore would feel it is rude to intrude on Harry's thoughts with legilimency, which is likely the reason he gives Harry plenty of opportunity to tell him his thoughts of his own accord. Harry's free will would factor greatly into Dumbledore's decisions.

I am looking for a story about a tiny universe smaller than our Solar System. It has one star and one planet, and the planet's orbit is on the edge of universe. The planet's single face points to its sun at all times. The world has a very tall wall around its twilight circumference. A civilization grows on the planet. The ruler of the civilization - curious about what is beyond the wall - commissions for a ladder to be built up the wall. He climbs the ladder and walks towards the darkness beyond the twilight atop the wall. He keeps walking and comes back to his original location. Anything that goes beyond the wall at the edge of the universe is reflected back on itself. I think it starts with a quote like this: "Many and strange are the universes that exist like bubbles in the foam along the river of time." Answer Sounds like Arthur C. Clarke's The Wall of Darkness : Many and strange are the universes that drift like bubbles in the foam upon the River of Time. S...

I read a book when I was younger, that started off with a man directing a play. When it was over, he went to a party with his cast and came out of his drunken stupor in the lap of some woman, drunk and missing his wife, so he goes back home to be with her. As the story progresses you find out this man was somehow sucked into this world from Earth, likely in a previous book. I remember the book specifically describing him having cotton mouth. Weird thing to recall. But there it is. I also think his wife is pregnant. I don't recall much. I remember he has a friend that sort of resembles a monkey. He has an older friend who guides him, I think some sort of mage. He lives in a city that's somewhat/somehow important in this world. His quest in this book is somehow supposed to save this city or the world. He has to sail to wherever he's off to. In one scene he's in a port city and two ruffians in a bar challenge him. He fights them but gets beat up bad. They congratulate him ...

I'm trying to remember a book I read a while ago. A lot of it was focused on zeppelins, that use a gas with a really specific smell you could detect easily (was it strawberry ? or blueberry?). The main protagonist is a boy, he's aboard a big luxury zeppelin that crashes on an island, maybe due to a storm, and can't go back because the envelope has lost gas. There's also something about going on very high altitude with a zeppelin, so high that is almost non-breathable, and everything freezes. At that altitude, the protagonist(s) find a abandoned zeppelin, populated by some octopus-like creatures, which can deliver an electric shock with their tentacles. I would say the book would be from the mid 2000's, when I read it, and for me it looked like a pretty recent book at the time. Answer The Airborn Trilogy by Kenneth Oppel seems like a good fit from the description. The ships use a special gas called hydrium and the world has several flying creatures that are specifi...

In the first season, Fry is taken to and shown the edge of the universe, which looks onto a parallel universe. Fry turns to the Professor and asks, "Is there an infinite number of universes?," and the Professor responds, "No, only the 2." However, later in "The Farnsworth Parabox" there appears to be an unlimited number of parallel universes, each contained in it's own box. My question: how many universes exist in Futurama? Is there a set number or is there really an infinite number? Please support your answers with quotes or links.

There have been various questions about the android Data, how human-like he really is in his needs and behaviour, but none of them address something I started wondering as soon as I first saw him. Look at that sleek, well-groomed hairstyle. As far as I've watched in TNG (which admittedly isn't very far at this point), I've never seen him with a single hair out of place. Is it just fixed-form bioplast sheeting in a different shape from his skin, or does it grow and need to be cut regularly and combed each day like human hair? The same question could apply to his fingernails and so on, of course, so my general question is: does Data's body change over time and require regular care, or not? Answer Data did grow a beard at one point (TNG: "The Schizoid Man") so I guess he needs to cut his hair. Alternatively, he can chose when to grow the hair or the beard. After some search I found that in episode "Birthright, Part I" (at 11:05), he says he can con...

In DS9: Afterimage Ezri Dax is suffering from a bout of 'space sickness' and asks Sisko if Chief O'Brien can slow down the spinning of the station. EZRI: Do you think the chief could adjust the inertial dampers so the station would spin a little slower? Within the Star Trek universe, artificial gravity seems under control to the point of being completely taken for granted, so why does DS9 spin? Do all space stations spin? Answer According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Technical Manual the rotation was driven by four factors: To control the rotation imparted by the processes of docking and undocking spaceships. To control the additional centrifugal force imparted by transferring ore from the processing centre (at the middle of the station) to docked ships at the outer pylons. The internal skeletal structure provides only 22 percent, the remaining 8 percent being derived from the EPS conduit field effect, which acts as a crude structural integrity field (SIF) syste...

Sauron was said to have kept the 9 rings given to the Nazgul. I read an article which claimed if the Nazgul had their rings they would have been even greater in power. If this is true, why would Sauron take their rings from them? Which got me thinking: maybe without the one ring Sauron could only control the Nazgul if he held the 9 rings that were given to the Nazgul. Is there any evidence which might suggest Sauron had to take the 9 rings of the Nazgul to keep them bent to his will?

In S9E1 ( The Magician's Apprentice ) of Doctor Who, Missy says: I'm gonna need eight snipers. Three for each heart, and two for my brain stem. You'll have to switch me off fast, before I can regenerate. [...] It's the only way she'll feel safe enough to talk to me. She suggests, but doesn't say explicitly, that 8 snipers would be enough to permanently kill a Time Lord, putting them beyond hope of regeneration. But since Rule #1, the Doctor lies, is surely followed by rule #2, the Master lies, let's not take this at face value. Do we know whether 8 snipers is really enough? Is there any canon evidence either way? Answer Yes, I think it is, if the snipers were properly trained and coordinated their effort. I think the timing is important. Unfortunately, almost everything we know about Time Lord mortality comes directly or indirectly from The Doctor (e.g. some of it via River Song). And, to my knowledge, we've never seen a Time Lord die permanently on...

As I understand it, the TNG-era Romulan Warbird is powered by an artificial quantum singularity - a synthetic black hole. When such a ship is taken out of commission or the power source is replaced, what do you do with a spent artificial black hole? Is it stored, or dismantled or something else? Answer You may not be aware of this but singularities evaporate which means that for 'practical' purposes they simply disappear unless they're continually fed matter. Thus there is no such thing as a 'spent' black hole the way there is with a 'spent' nuclear fuel rod. From the same page: Unlike most objects, a black hole's temperature increases as it radiates away mass. The rate of temperature increase is exponential, with the most likely endpoint being the dissolution of the black hole in a violent burst of gamma rays So if there was a containment failure the most likely thing to happen (unless the Romulan engineers have a penchant for designing power system...

I was reading some trivia and came across this question and was surprised by the answer. The answer is blue. However, this is not completely true. In the Star Wars Episode IV: New Hope , Luke is given (by Obi-Wan) a lightsaber with a blue blade. Although this lightsaber belonged to Luke, it was not constructed by Luke. It belonged to his father Anakin Skywalker and was constructed by Anakin. So, this is not Luke’s lightsaber. In Return of the Jedi , Luke has constructed his own lightsaber, and the blade is now green similar to Yoda’s. In the new movie Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens , the lightsaber that supposedly belongs to Luke has a blue blade. There is no explanation for this anomaly. Did Disney get it wrong or was the lightsaber in Return of the Jedi supposed to be blue? Did Luke construct a new lightsaber with a blue blade similar to his father’s?

Considering the internet has substantially revolutionized our way of life (you're using it right now in fact) I was wondering whether it was ever envisaged in science fiction. I'm therefore inquiring as to what the first reference in a science fiction story is where there are computers of some description (not necessarily digital, but devices which serve the same functions as computers do for us today) connected with access to the data on each device or to a central server and can communicate via this over long (even global/planet-to-planet) distances. Basically, what is the first reference in sci-fi to a system like today's internet? Answer I've read The Machine Stops a few times, and I don't think it's quite similar enough to the internet. There, the humans live within a giant machine. But the internet is a network of machines. For something a little closer, I think, I'd go with Murray Leinster's " A Logic Named Joe ." from March 1946. You...

Because Voldemort had not been given a new body in which Harry's blood flowed (as would happen later in GoF), Quirinus Quirrel (Voldemort's temporary host in PS) could not touch Harry because of Lily Potter's protection. Does this mean that he would not have been able to use Avada Kedavra on him either? Since Lily's protection would cause any Killing Curse cast on Harry by Voldemort to rebound...

I'm trying to identify a sci-fi/horror film from the late 70's or 80's. It was live-action and takes place mainly on a spaceship or station. The film is very dark with a vibe similar to Alien (1979). I don't remember the plot (other than people getting killed off one-by-one), but I do remember that the robot/android on the ship was distinctive: Humanoid body, black or dark gray in color long, extendable neck with a head on the end (think the lamp from Pixar's logo, only black) had a human brain, and may have had a psychotic break as a result (pretty sure the robot was doing the killing IIRC) Sorry, I know this isn't much to go on, but that's exactly why I'm having problems finding it. Answer Looks like Cugel may have found it: Saturn 3 (1980), stars Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel. In the distant future, an overcrowded Earth relies on research conducted by scientists in remote stations across the solar system. One of these, a small expe...

This is a story I read back in the late 1990's or early 2000's. It was a sci-fi story and the plot was centered in a city. I believe it was on Earth. There were different tribes of Aliens that fought each other through proxy. Each tribe had augmented humans in different ways and used the humans to fight each other. I believe there were also robots or cyborgs of some sort. All of the humans had trackers in their wrists under their tendons. In order to escape, some of them cut the trackers out with a knife. At least one person was able to use a bit of psychic ability where they visualized the tracker being outside of their wrist and then it became so. That's all I can recall. Answer I'm pretty sure this is Shade's Children by Garth Nix. From Wikipedia's description (emphasis mine): Shade's Children takes place in a not-so-distant future where evil Overlords have ruled for fifteen years due to a catastrophic "Change" which caused all people over t...

In the first Harry Potter book it shows that Harry was gotten by Hagrid, instead of Dumbledore. Why didn't Dumbledore get Harry himself, after Harry's parents died? Dumbledore was stronger than Hagrid, Hagrid had less skill. The most I can think is that Hagrid (since he was part giant) would be immune to some spells, like he was immune to the stunning spells they shot at him in the 5th book. Answer I can't provide a citation, but I would suggest, that there was a lot of trouble after the death of the Potters and Voldemort vanishing... I can't exactly figure it out, but I'm sure Dumbledore had many things to organize, make sure the ministry does the right things, protect witches and wizards from masterless-turning-mad death eaters etc... This was a task where all his expertise was needed. To be honest, Hagrid would not have been much help with that, would he? But given his (giant) immunity against spells, his strength, necessary to rescue Harry from the ruins of th...

I remember reading at least one story (there's probably more than one use of this premise around) in which reality was literally shaped by human belief. So when people believed the Earth was flat, it was. When they believed in the ether, it existed. So when enough people believed the Earth was a sphere, it became one. Does anybody know the title? Answer I don't really imagine this is the story you seek, but Heinlein's Waldo contains a passage I've always liked, which beautifully encapsulates the worldview you describe: Suppose Chaos were king and the order we thought we detected in the world about us a mere phantasm of the imagination; where would that lead us? In that case, Waldo decided, it was entirely possible that a ten-pound weight did fall ten times as fast as a one-pound weight until the day the audacious Galileo decided in his mind that it was not so. Perhaps the whole science of ballistics derived from the convictions of a few firm-minded individuals who ...

The book I am thinking of starts with a boy and girl (I think they are class mates but not friends) both getting the same fantasy game then playing it at their own homes. When they started the game there was a character selection screen with a a bunch of your generic fantasy class/characters. The twist was that the videogame characters were in on that the kids were going to get transported into the game. The sexualized male and female warrior characters were designed and supposed to lead them through the adventure (We don't learn this for a little bit). I remember that the boy picked the sexualized adult female warrior character, because he's boy, duh. I think that the girl chose the anthropomorphic character (squirrel person maybe?). The important thing with the (squirrel?) person was that they were (technically) a child. The squirrel child mentions this regularly when anything adult happens and how he can't legally view the adult thing because of "X" Corp, the m...

So, I remember reading a book series in fifth or sixth grade, and I'd love to give my nephew a copy. It was about a young boy and girl who traveled between two worlds. One world had a magical veil blocking out the sun, the other was more of a magical spirit world. They could create hard light using stones that harvested sunlight above the veil. They also had replaced their shadows with sentient cloud-beings. I remember the girl was rather antagonistic, and not very fond of the boy, she was from more of a viking culture, and he was from more of a magician culture. I can't for the life of me remember it unfortunately, and googling is turning up nothing. Answer Based on Thomas's additional info, I was able to find it. It is Garth Nix's The Seventh Tower Series. It's a six book series, but no longer appears to be being published in the US, however it's available on Amazon pretty cheap used. http://www.garthnix.com/books/childrens-fantasy-books/the-seventh-tower-se...

With the Superman lore, we know that light from a yellow star gives him his powers, light from blue stars makes him stronger, and light from red stars weakens him. However, what happens if he is near a white dwarf, or a neutron star? Has there been any evidence of Superman visiting a star system that wasn't red/yellow/blue? Answer Star color is determined by the surface temperature (which has a direct correlation to the amount of radiation it puts out) - What determines the color of a star other than temperature? Superman has experienced the following stars with the following effect: Blue - Super-Superman (the huge increase in radition gives him even more powers) White - He hasn't vistied one (yet), but because it is between Blue and Yellow, he should see an increase over his Earthly powers. Yellow - Regular old tired Superman Orange - A weaker than Earth Superman Red - Super or otherwise, he is merely a man. A Pulsar emits radiation, so if Superman were to be struck by i...

I read a series of books around 2005. I think it might have been a trilogy. Basic story line is in a post apocalyptic world. The main character is a pilot for the Federation or something similar to that. He crash lands, is nursed back to health by the natives, comes to like and respect them, and does not want to fight against them. Also in the later book I think it also involves another race who are very Japanese-ish. They drink sake and the "clan" names are things like Fu-Jitsu and Mitsu-Bishi. Answer This sounds like Patrick Tilley's Amtrak Wars It's a series of six books, set after a war devastated present-day North America (and presumably the rest of the world.) The Amtrak Federation (renamed to the Lone Star Confederation in later editions) live in huge underground shelters, and use technology to conquer the outside world; the surface is controlled by vaguely Native American tribes (the "mutes") who the Federation are conquering as they expand. The ma...

In The Hobbit , after Thorin and company raid the troll's cave they bury the treasure they looted. It's says "they" cast lots of spells over the treasure to help hide it. Then they brought up their ponies, and carried away the pots of gold, and buried them very secretly not far from the track by the river, putting a great many spells over them, just in case they ever had the chance to come back and recover them. Who cast these spells? Gandalf? The dwarves? If the dwarves, do we see them cast any other spells in the books? I mean this company and their kin. Not the dwarves that put up the secret doors, like the one at Moria. I know we also see this when the Company finds the hidden door on the Lonely Mountain: They beat on it, they thrust and pushed at it, they implored it to move, they spoke fragments of broken spells of opening, and nothing stirred. But I don't know if this means they would or would not know spells of hiding (or if the hiding spells were actually...

Recent rumors and theories surrounding a plot point in Marvel's the Avengers centers around long-time Avenger Scarlet Witch being depicted as a cellist. I have been trying to find the specific reference, but with no luck. Where does all this business about Scarlet Witch being a cellist originate? And for clarification, the rumor I am referencing is: Agent Phil Coulson is killed by Loki. After his death, Nick Fury calls him his "one good eye," which could either be a turn of phrase referencing his eye patch, OR a nod to his vision which in turn is a nod to long-time Avenger The Vision . The theory is that Coulson's brain patterns will be mapped onto a synthezoid (fancy word for android) body. Other references that support this are that Coulson mentions dating a cellist, which apparently is a reference to the Vision's wife, Scarlet Witch. Also the Vision's synthezoid body comes from the 1940s Human Torch , which was glimpsed briefly in the Captain America fil...

I recently saw Avengers: Infinity War and it left me pondering over: how Iron Man was mortally wounded using a shard like object that Thanos broke off from former's arm? As far as I could observe wide Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring him, his suit is mostly impervious to a direct but first attack, no matter if it is a close combat and no matter if literally a moon is thrown over him, as meteors of course. In the Civil War he got bombarded by a bunch of cars from above (by Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye) yet he came out with his suit almost unscathed. Even it took lots of efforts for Captain America to destroy his (seemingly less protected) arc reactor of his suit during the climax. Furthermore, in the Age of Ultron, I observed that that even high speed bullets didn't have any effect on his suit. What made me wonder is that the shard was of same material as the suit was, some nanoparticle and whatnot, so it shouldn't have been able to pierce his suit. Even if it could, provide...

The motto for Hogwarts is "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus ", or, " Never tickle a sleeping dragon ". This seems like quite obvious advice and rather silly as a school motto. Is it essentially an inside joke that J. K. Rowling made up for those that would actually translate it? Or does it have any particular meaning beyond the literal? Is it possible she used it as a hint or tip-off that Draco might be more dangerous than we thought (and maybe later changed her mind on that?) Has she ever indicated there to be more than just the literal meaning for this phrase? Answer The motto is deliberately practical advice . Ailsa Floyd for the Times Educational Supplement in Scotland - How did you think up the motto "Never tickle sleeping dragons", which appears under the crest? Is there a story about it? JK Rowling : You know the way that most school slogans are thing like persevere and nobility, charity and fidelity or something, it just amused me to give an e...

In Thor (2011), Thor described Asgardian society as having technology so advanced it's like magic. In that case, do Asgardians have any access to magic at all (like the type Doctor Strange uses), or is it just really advanced science?

I noticed this in another question: Sybill Trelawney's prophecy: " The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him , born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies . . . " Order of the Phoenix - Page 841 - US Hardcover Is any indication as to which three times the Potters had defied voldemort? Answer There is no direct canon evidence of 3 cases, but this is what JKR had to say: From "PotterCast Interviews J.K. Rowling, part one." PotterCast #130 , 17 December 2007. MA: What about the three times-- The thrice-defying of Voldemort? JKR: Of James and Lily? MA: Of Neville's parents. Well, James and Lily, too. JKR: It depends how you take defying, does...