User:Wormulon/Technology tree

The technology tier tree.

Basic outline of some branches
(italics are pure research fields)


 * Space travel (requires appropriate materials and propulsion e.g. fuels, nuclear fission/fusion power, negative energy)

Physics

 * Classical physics (requires basic materials) [this should all be a given for spacefaring civilisations and is all basically required for all other physics]
 * Mechanics
 * Mechanical engineering
 * Hydrodynamic and aerodynamic engineering
 * Thermodynamics
 * Heat engines
 * Cryogenics
 * Electromagnetism
 * Electromagnetic engineering &rarr; electromechanical engineering, charged particle beams
 * Radio, microwave and optical engineering (research boost to chemistry, materials science and molecular biology)
 * Relativity &rarr; GPS (requires space travel), gravitational wave detectors, synchrotrons (requires charged particle beams; research boost to chemistry, materials science and molecular biology)


 * Quantum mechanics (requires chance discovery from e.g. radioactivity) [but at least basic QM should be a given for all post-industrial civilisations]
 * Condensed matter physics (research boost to materials science)
 * Magnetic engineering (e.g. magnetic storage devices)
 * Semiconductor electronics &rarr; advanced electronics (spintronics, plasmonics etc.)
 * Low-temperature physics &rarr; quantum metrology, superconductors (research boost to particle physics)
 * Atomic physics
 * Quantum chemistry (research boost to chemistry and materials science)
 * Quantum optics &rarr; lasers etc.
 * Plasma physics &rarr; plasma etc.
 * Nuclear physics
 * Radioactive decay
 * Nuclear fission (bombs and power)
 * Nuclear fusion (bombs and power [latter probably requires additional steps])
 * Particle physics
 * Neutron, muon, neutrino etc. (uncharged and/or unstable particle) beams
 * Quark-gluon plasma &rarr; non-topological solitons (Q-balls)
 * Topological solitons (cosmic strings, monopoles) [&rarr; some more speculative physics: proton decay, monopolium etc.]
 * Antimatter containment
 * Quantum information theory &rarr; quantum computing, quantum cryptography
 * Quantum field theory (research boost to condensed matter physics, quantum optics and particle physics)


 * Quantum gravity (requires quantum field theory [and some chance discovery I haven't thought of yet]) [SporeWikiverse fiction]
 * Microscopic black holes &rarr; graviton beams &rarr; thunderbolts
 * Negative energy
 * Artificial gravity (requires micro black holes or topological solitons)
 * Reactionless drives
 * Warp bubbles &rarr; basement universes
 * Wormholes &rarr; jump/wormhole drive, ghost phasing
 * Metric shields &rarr; nightshades
 * Hyperspace
 * Transwarp/hyperdrive &rarr; transfer beams &rarr; transwarp beaming
 * Hypermatter power &rarr; superlasers, hypermatter radiation weapons
 * Essence
 * Quantum replicators (requires hypermatter power, Q-balls, antimatter containment, magnetic engineering, nanotechnology, room-temperature superconductors)

Chemistry, Biology, and Materials Science
Note that continual improvement in many of these fields will continue from at least the industrial revolution to possibly the end of the megastructural revolution.

[this is all a very rough draft]


 * Chemistry
 * Electochemistry &rarr; batteries, fuel cells, electrolysis (research boost to chemistry and metallurgy)
 * Inorganic chemistry (research boost to molecular biology) &rarr; inorganic fuels, chemical weapons, etc.
 * Organic chemistry (research boost to molecular biology) &rarr; organic fuels, carbon allotropes, chemical weapons, etc.
 * Materials science
 * Basic materials: biomaterials, ceramics, glass, metallurgy, polymers, etc.
 * Composite materials (requires various basic materials)
 * Metamaterials (requires various basic materials)
 * Diamondoid (requires carbon allotropes) &rarr; megastructural engineering (requires space travel)
 * Room-temperature superconductors (requires chance discovery; research boost to particle physics)
 * [Other advanced materials?]
 * Biology
 * Microbiology &rarr; antimicrobial drugs, biological weapons, etc.
 * Molecular biology &rarr; pharmaceuticals, poisons, genetic engineering, synthetic biology, etc.
 * Physiology &rarr; regenerative medicine, etc.

Earth and Space Science

 * Astrophysics (requires plasma physics and nuclear physics)
 * Stellar husbandry (requires megastructural engineering)
 * Black hole industry (requires megastructural engineering)
 * Geoscience
 * Geoengineering &rarr; terraforming (requires space travel)

Demographic revolution (tier's 10 to 8)

 * Chemistry


 * Biology

Industrial Revolution (tier's 8 to 6)

 * Classical physics
 * Mechanics
 * Thermodynamics
 * Electromagnetism (including Relativity) > Relativistic EM
 * Classical Information
 * Analog computation → Digital Computation
 * Software technology


 * Quantum mechanics > research plasma, nuclear, q.optics
 * Semiconductor electronics (boosts research into Condensed matter physics)
 * Magnetic engineering (e.g. magnetic storage devices)
 * Atomic physics
 * Nuclear physics
 * Particle physics


 * Chemistry and Materials [probably needs multiple sub-trees]


 * Biology [probably needs multiple sub-trees]


 * Earth and Space Science
 * Astrophysics
 * Geoscience
 * [Some other stuff?]

Transtellar Revolution (tier's 6 to 4)

 * Software engineering [Classical mechanics]
 * Immersive Virtual Reality → Utility Fog (with nanotechnology boost)


 * Relativistic astrophysics & electromagnetism [Classical mechanics]


 * Condensed matter physics [Quantum mechanics]
 * Advanced electronics (spintronics, plasmonics etc.) → Atomtronics
 * Low-temperature physics → quantum metrology, superconductors (research boost to particle physics)


 * Quantum chemistry [Quantum mechanics, atomic physics]


 * Quantum optics [... atomic physics]
 * Advanced lasers and 'photonic' technologies


 * Plasma physics [atomic and nuclear physics]
 * Nuclear "chemistry"?


 * Quantum information theory
 * Quantum annealing → Universal Quantum Computer


 * Quantum field theory > Research


 * Quantum gravity
 * Negative energy > Metric engineering
 * Reactionless drives → space warp drives (FTL/time travel in some universes)

Megastructural revolution (tier's 4 to 2)

 * Megastructural engineering


 * Metric engineering
 * Transport beaming (with warping space)
 * One-way Wormhole "jump drives" (with stellar-levels of power)


 * Hyperspace (with stellar-levels of power)
 * Transwarp → Transphasic weapons
 * Subpace pocket detonation

Hyperspatial revolution (tier's 2 to 1)

 * Classical physics
 * Mechanics
 * Thermodynamics
 * Electromagnetism (including Relativity)


 * Quantum mechanics
 * Condensed matter physics
 * Atomic physics
 * Quantum chemistry
 * Quantum optics
 * Plasma physics
 * Nuclear physics
 * Particle physics
 * Quantum information theory
 * Quantum field theory


 * Quantum gravity
 * Negative energy
 * Non-phasic shields > Metric shields > nightshades and Gravastar shielding
 * Multiply connected wormholes → Slipspace (krasnikov conduits)
 * Hyperspace
 * Matter/Antimatter conversion (with non-orientable wormholes)
 * Quantum replicators


 * Chemistry and Materials [probably needs multiple sub-trees]


 * Biology [probably needs multiple sub-trees]


 * Earth and Space Science
 * Astrophysics
 * Geoscience
 * [Some other stuff?]

Cosmological revolution (tier's 1 to 0)

 * Classical physics
 * Mechanics
 * Thermodynamics
 * Electromagnetism (including Relativity)


 * Quantum mechanics
 * Condensed matter physics
 * Atomic physics
 * Quantum chemistry
 * Quantum optics
 * Plasma physics
 * Nuclear physics
 * Particle physics
 * Quantum information theory
 * Quantum field theory


 * [SporeWikiverse fiction:] Quantum gravity (requires quantum field theory [and some chance discovery I haven't thought of yet])
 * Negative energy
 * Hyperspace
 * Quantum replicators


 * Chemistry and Materials [probably needs multiple sub-trees]


 * Biology [probably needs multiple sub-trees]


 * Earth and Space Science
 * Astrophysics
 * Geoscience
 * [Some other stuff?]