Star Trek Tech FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Star Trek Tech.
This FAQ about Star Trek Tech was compiled and written by Joshua Bell inexorabletash@hotmail.com with numerous contributions by others.
01 "How does it work?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)- A Holodeck can create simulations in the following ways:...
- 02 "What about eating on the Holodeck? Does Troi do it to keep thin with all that chocolate she eats?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Any food consumed on the Holodeck would be replicated. If it were ...
- 03 "What is this 'meat puppet' description I've heard used?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- A 'meat puppet' is a old term resurrected to describe a ...
- 04 "So can you take things off of the Holodeck?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Yes. Any object replicated on the Holodeck may leave. Unfortunately,...
- 05 "Didn't Picard lie to Moriarty (in "Elementary, Dear Data" [TNG])?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- According to various reliable sources, that was Gene Roddenberry'...
- 06 "What about beaming things off the Holodeck (ala "Ship In A Bottle" [TNG])?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- This has never been tried, as explained in the episode, which is ...
- 07 "Now wait a second. How come something simple like the chair in "Ship In A Bottle" [TNG] wasn't replicated?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- They were testing beaming something composed of the 5th type ...
- 08 "What's this about 'HoloSex'?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- If current trends are a pattern for the future to follow, then ...
- 09 "What if you urinate/defecate/excrete whatever on the Holodeck?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- One would hope the Holodeck is smart enough to clean up after you. ...
- 10 "Can you get hurt on the Holodeck?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Yes. Even when it isn't malfunctioning, the simulation can't ...
- 11 "But the replicators can't even make unhealthy food!" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Replicators can (within limits of technology and energy) ...
- 12 "What happened to the "arch" they used in the first season?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Its intended use was as a way to program the Holodeck and access ...
- 13 "How do they manage to keep walking for hours and hours?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- The Holodeck has a force field treadmill. If its occupants get ...
- 14 "But what about the walls seen in "Encounter at Farpoint" [TNG] and "Ship In A Bottle" [TNG], demonstrated by Data?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- In Encounter at Farpoint [TNG], Data threw a Holodeck-generated ...
- 15 "What happens if two real people enter a Holodeck and start running away from each other?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- The simplest answer is that the Holodeck compartmentalizes, ...
- 16 "What if they take a real rock in with them, walk away from each other (past the physical limits of the Holodeck) and then toss the rock back and forth?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- This one is too easy. The holodeck could treat the rock in just ...
- 17 "So what if two people take a long rope, and start walking away from each other?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- The answer in this instance could be that the Holodeck hides part ...
- 18 "Can you go swimming on the Holodeck?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Yes. Cliff diving has been mentioned as a recreation sport aboard ...
- 19 "How about a Holodeck within the Holodeck?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- This is done in Ship In A Bottle [TNG]. They end up with a ...
- 20 "Can you get the Holodeck to simulate someone?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Yes. Although done numerous times, including Ship In A Bottle [TNG]...
- 21 "Could you simulate the Enterprise bridge from the Holodeck, and use it to take over?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- The simulation would not be a problem - the Enterprise computer ...
- 22 "Why not just have single-person Holodecks? For interaction, the computer could just link them all together!" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- According to the TNG Tech Manual, there are four primary Holodecks ...
- 23 "Why do people get dressed up before going to the Holodeck? Can't it provide the period costumes?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Yes. In First Contact Picard has clothing simulations created ...
- 24 "How do you fit two entire baseball teams (real people, not holographic extras) into one of Quark's Holosuites?" "Take Me Out To The Holosuite" [DS9] (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- We do know that Quark's holosuites come in various sizes. If you'...
- 25 "Wasn't there a Holodeck on the original Enterprise? I'm sure I remember...." (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Not in TOS. However, in The Practical Joker [TAS] the ...
- 26 Holodoc - Voyager's Holodeck technology
- Phage [VOY] describes Voyager's medical holographic technology ...
- 27 "So tell me about the computers." (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- According to the TNG TM, the Enterprise has three main computers. ...
- 28 "Why do the displays and touch pads work when the computers are down?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- The displays use nanoprocessors - cell sized mechanical computers -...
- 29 "Why aren't the computers distributed?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- The three main computer cores are equipped with low level ...
- 30 "Why the redundancy in the primary hull? Shouldn't the cores be in the secondary hull?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- We're not sure. The TNG Blueprints have the secondary hull ...
- 31 "How big is a kiloquad?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- This hasn't been answered, and in the Encyclopedia, it says:...
- 32 "But a quad is a unit of energy!" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- Words can have more than one meaning....
- 33 "In "The Nth Degree" [TNG] when Barclay was taking over the core, why not just disconnect that core and use one of the other two?" (Holodeck and Computers - Star Trek)
- I can't remember the details, but presumably he took over the ...
- 34 Credits (Holodeck and Computers)
- * Michael M. Welch, mwelch@netcom....
- 35 References (Holodeck and Computers)
- See the Reading List FAQ for more details on the reference ...
- 36 Episode Guides (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- While Vidiot and Hackman have on-line (free) episode guides for ...
- 37 Official Technical Manuals p1 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- These are generally accepted by the .tech community as being ...
- 38 Official Technical Manuals p2 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION INTERACTIVE TECHNICAL ...
- 39 "The Making Of" and Other Licensed Works (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- Making Of books are valuable to Treknical discussions because ...
- 40 Official Technical Manuals p3 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- STAR TREK PHASE II: THE LOST ...
- 41 Pretty Pictures p1 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- These books range from behind-the-scenes photographs of studio ...
- 42 Pretty Pictures p2 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- JACKILL'S STAR FLEET REFERENCE MANUAL: SHIPS OF THE ...
- 44 Pretty Pictures p4 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- U.S.S. ENTERPRISE OFFICER'S ...
- 45 Blueprints p1 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- Paramount has only ever officially endorsed three sets of blueprints,...
- 47 Blueprints p3 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- Galaxy Class Cruiser Interior & Exterior ...
- 48 Blueprints p4 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- Regula 1 Space ...
- 49 Blueprints p5 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- Publishers and Blueprint ...
- 50 Blueprints p6 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- FEDERATION ...
- 52 Gaming Materials p1 (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- Last Unicorn ...
- 55 The of Star Trek (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- While not necessarily related to Treknical discussions, there's been ...
- 56 Clubs and Periodicals (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- The last purely tech clubs I had listed (the Galactic Engineers'...
- 57 Isn't There... (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- * There are no official maps. Bummer....
- 58 Where Can I Get Them? (rec.arts.startrek.tech reading list)
- Most of the Pocket Books-published books which are still in print ...
- 60 Ship Statistics AbsolutelyNonCanon Mini-FAQ
- (updated January 19, 1994)...
- 65 Constitution Class (pre-2270) United Federation Of Planets (Ship Statistics AbsolutelyNonCanon)
- Introduction:...
- 66 Constitution Class (post-2270) United Federation Of Planets (Ship Statistics AbsolutelyNonCanon)
- Introduction:...
- 68 "How does the transporter work?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- While there is no absolute canonical answer, we can piece one ...
- 69 "Excuse me, Annular Confinement Beam?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Yes. The ACB is where the phrase Beam me up, Scotty! comes from. ...
- 70 "How does the transporter know what to take and what to leave?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- In The Enterprise Incident [TOS], the ship's scanners are able ...
- 71 "So what is this pattern thing?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- The pattern buffer is a cyclotron-like tank (TNG:TM) which holds ...
- 72 "So what is a Heisenberg Compensator?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- As Mike Okuda said when asked by Time (28 Nov 1994), How do ...
- 73 "How does that Biofilter gadget work?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- The Biofilter is a good clue as to how the transport patterns work....
- 74 "What is pattern degradation?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- The pattern is probably highly complex. Pattern degradation ...
- 75 "Where are you during transport?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Inside the ACB. Realm of Fear [TNG] shows what it looks like - ...
- 76 "So was Scotty conscious for 75 years?" ("Relics" [TNG]) (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Nope, or he would have starved - if your brain is working, your ...
- 77 "What happens to the air when you beam in or beam out?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- It is likely that during the beam-out process, air simply ...
- 78 when beamed in?" ("Tomorrow is Yesterday" [TOS]) (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Something similar happened in Bloodlines [TNG] when Picard's ...
- 79 "How can you transport without a transporter at the receiving end?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- According to the TNG Tech Manual, the Enterprise hull sports ...
- 80 "So why in TOS episodes/classic films did they beam from transporter room to transporter room?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Intra-ship transport in the TOS era was not very reliable. (Day ...
- 81 "What happened at the start of Star Trek: The Motion Picture then, if it's so safe?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- When the power on the receiving end of the transport failed, ...
- 82 "And why can't Trills be transported?" ("The Host" [TNG]) (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Odan said that transport would kill him. However, in The ...
- 83 "Can you transport through subspace?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- In Data's Day [TNG], the use of a subspace carrier wave ...
- 84 "Why can't you be transported through shields?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- If you could be transported through shields, they'd be pretty ...
- 85 "But what about the time O'Brien used the shield frequencies..." ("The Wounded" [TNG]) (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Shields must allow some energy through to allow sensors to operate. ...
- 86 "What about in "Relics" [TNG] - they didn't do anything special!" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- One would imagine that shield and transporter technologies are in ...
- 87 "Could surgery be performed with a transporter?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- It all depends on the surgery. For example - could I suspend you ...
- 88 "What about souls?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Heh. Well, if you've already decided that Star Trek transporters ...
- 89 "Can you transport while in Warp?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Yes. According to the TM and Best of Both Worlds, Part II, if you'...
- 90 "What happened in "The Schizoid Man" [TNG] ?" (Transporters - Star Trek)
- The Enterprise dropped out of warp for a fraction of a second, ...
- 91 And in the transporter weaponry category: (Transporters - Star Trek)
- Transporter Scramblers: (from Nor the Battle to the Strong [DS9] &...
- 92 "How do replicators work?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- Replicators are based on transporter technology. A sample object ...
- 93 "Can replicators transmute elements?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- Yes... sort of. There have been occasions on the show where ...
- 94 "What about gold-pressed latinum?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- In Who Mourns for Morn? [DS9], latinum is described as a clear,...
- 95 "What happens to the glasses when they're done with them?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- The empty glasses, plates, etc, are put back in the ...
- 96 "Why don't they use replicators to do instant ship repair?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- For minor repair, it might be feasible, but we rarely see any sort ...
- 97 "Can you make two Datas with the transporter?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- No. It is not possible (with 24th century technology, at least) ...
- 98 "Hey! What about "The Enemy Within" and "Second Chances" ?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- For better or worse, no such device has been intentionally created ...
- 99 "What about the time when... ?" (Replicators - Star Trek)
- Star Trek has broken the rules of transporters a number of times....
- 100 Phasing (Star Trek)
- What is phasing? It seems to be mentioned everywhere these days!...
- 102 References (Transporters, Replicators and Phasing)
- See the Reading List FAQ for more details on the reference ...
- 103 A Wrench in the Works (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- NOTE: There are two distinct problems to be solved when describing ...
- 104 "Well, so how does warp work?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- A powerful, asymmetric subspace field is established around the ...
- 105 "But, but... that's just what it does! How does it work!!!" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Alas, there is no canonical answer. The Relativity and FTL ...
- 106 "So what stops the ship from accelerating and getting faster and faster?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Warp travel is non-Newtonian. Without a constant influx of energy, ...
- 107 "What about 'continuum drag' ?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- This was an idea proposed in the forgotten past to explain the ...
- 108 "So how'd the Saucer travel at warp speeds (in "Encounter at Farpoint" [TNG]) ?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- The Tech Manual states that the subspace field generators coupled ...
- 109 "This Warp 5 speed limit - what's up with that?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- In Force of Nature [TNG] it is discovered that within the ...
- 110 "What is subspace?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- According to the Encyclopedia, it is a continuum with different ...
- 111 "What are Tetryons and Verterons?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Subatomic particles mentioned in Force of Nature [TNG], and a ...
- 112 "What are 'warp particles'?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- These were mentioned in Parallax [VOY], and used to open a ...
- 113 "What is subspace radio?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- A means of sending a signal through subspace, so that it is ...
- 114 "How fast is subspace radio?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Under ideal conditions, Warp 9.9997. (TNG TM, page 99) This is ...
- 116 "What is a cochrane?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- According to the Tech Manual, it's a measure of subspace ...
- 117 "What's TransWarp?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- According to the Star Trek Chronology, the Excelsior was ...
- 118 "Transwarp Frogs in Space?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- And then there's Threshold [VOY] in which Voyager - a ship ...
- 119 "What about Transwarp drive?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Okay, now that the Star Trek writers are back to using this [TECH]...
- 120 "What is Quantum SlipStream Drive?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Article by Jeremy H. ...
- 121 "Besides TransWarp and Quantum Slipstream, what other alternate forms of FTL travel have we seen?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Where No One Has Gone Before [TNG]...
- 122 Nitty Gritty (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- FASA says the Enterprise-D uses UltraWarp, so nyeah!...
- 123 "Some Starfleet ships use 3 nacelles!" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- In 2269, Starfleet attempted ships with 1 and 3 or more warp ...
- 124 "Ha! Three nacelle ships are canon!" ("All Good Things..." [TNG]) (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Note that a number of things have changed by the time we see ...
- 125 "But the Ferengi/Borg/Klingon Bird of Prey don't have nacelles!" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- The Borg probably have subspace field generators (redundantly)...
- 126 "Why do ships always meet the same way up?" (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- I know it's been proposed as a joke, but the idea that warp ...
- 127 Contributors (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- Eur van Andel, eur@xs4all....
- 129 References (Warp and Subspace - Star Trek)
- See the Reading List FAQ for more details on the reference ...
- 131 "Who the heck is Mike?" (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- Mike is Michael Okuda, a member of the Star Trek television ...
- 132 "So who's Rick?" (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- Rick is Rick Sternbach, the other author of the TNG ...
- 133 TOS-era: The Original Series (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- The original series warp equation is generally accepted to be:...
- 134 TNG-era: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- By the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the warp scale ...
- 135 AGT-era: "All Good Things..." (TNG final episode) (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- Quoted in the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in ...
- 136 VOY-era: Transwarp Frogs In Spaaaaaace! (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- As you may have guessed, the .tech community was less than ...
- 137 Speed limits (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- What's this about a Warp 10 barrier?...
- 138 "What causes fractional warp speeds?" (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- As you can see from the above chart, travelling at integral ...
- 139 "Why not use impulse drive within the warp field to create a higher velocity?" (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- There's no reason to think that a Newtonian drive (Impulse) ...
- 140 "What about "The Corbomite Maneuver" [TOS] or The Voyage Home?" (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- Kirk and Sulu use a combination of warp drive and Impulse to ...
- 141 "Whoah! Hold on! They must be moving faster - look at the stars that shoot past while they're in warp!" (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- Joseph Haller offers:...
- 144 References (Warp Velocities - Star Trek)
- See the Reading List FAQ for more details on the reference ...
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