Physics and Star Trek
Encyclopedia
The science-fiction
media franchise Star Trek
has borrowed freely from the scientific world to provide storylines. Episodes are replete with references to tachyon
beams, baryon
sweeps, quantum
fluctuations and event horizon
s. Many of the technologies "created" for the Star Trek universe were done so out of simple economic necessity — the transporter
was created because the budget of the original series in the 1960s did not allow for expensive shots of spaceship
s landing on planet
s.
Outside observers have used both Star Trek's strengths and its weaknesses for educational purposes. Physicist Lawrence Krauss
has written The Physics of Star Trek
, a book which postulates what phenomena might make some Star Trek technology feasible, while detailing the blunders the show has made. He followed this book with a sequel, Beyond Star Trek, which applies the same approach to Independence Day
, The X-Files
and others. Astronomer Phil Plait takes a similar attitude in his "Bad Astronomy" website, a regular feature of which is reviews discussing the scientific mistakes in popular movies and TV shows. Software developer and hyperreality theorist Alan N. Shapiro has written Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance, examining the physics and computer science of all major Star Trek technologies, as well as posing the sociological question of why exactly our culture is so interested in building these technologies. William Shatner
, who portrayed James T. Kirk
in the original Star Trek series, also cowrote a book "I'm Working on That" in which he investigated how Star Trek technology was becoming feasible.
Discovery Channel
Magazine stated that vanishing spaceships
, faster-than-light
travel and dematerialised transport
were only dreams at the time the original series
was made, but physicist Michio Kaku
believes all these things are possible.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
media franchise Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
has borrowed freely from the scientific world to provide storylines. Episodes are replete with references to tachyon
Tachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
beams, baryon
Baryon
A baryon is a composite particle made up of three quarks . Baryons and mesons belong to the hadron family, which are the quark-based particles...
sweeps, quantum
Quantum
In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized," referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete...
fluctuations and event horizon
Event horizon
In general relativity, an event horizon is a boundary in spacetime beyond which events cannot affect an outside observer. In layman's terms it is defined as "the point of no return" i.e. the point at which the gravitational pull becomes so great as to make escape impossible. The most common case...
s. Many of the technologies "created" for the Star Trek universe were done so out of simple economic necessity — the transporter
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
was created because the budget of the original series in the 1960s did not allow for expensive shots of spaceship
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
s landing on planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s.
Outside observers have used both Star Trek
Lawrence M. Krauss
Lawrence Maxwell Krauss is an American theoretical physicist who is professor of physics, Foundation Professor of the School of Earth and Space Exploration, and director of the Origins Project at the Arizona State University. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Physics of...
has written The Physics of Star Trek
The Physics of Star Trek
The Physics of Star Trek is a 1995 nonfiction book by Arizona State University professor Lawrence M. Krauss. It discusses the physics involved in various concepts and objects described in the Star Trek universe. He investigates the possibility of such things as inertial dampeners and warp drive,...
, a book which postulates what phenomena might make some Star Trek technology feasible, while detailing the blunders the show has made. He followed this book with a sequel, Beyond Star Trek, which applies the same approach to Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
, The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
and others. Astronomer Phil Plait takes a similar attitude in his "Bad Astronomy" website, a regular feature of which is reviews discussing the scientific mistakes in popular movies and TV shows. Software developer and hyperreality theorist Alan N. Shapiro has written Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance, examining the physics and computer science of all major Star Trek technologies, as well as posing the sociological question of why exactly our culture is so interested in building these technologies. William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, who portrayed James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
in the original Star Trek series, also cowrote a book "I'm Working on That" in which he investigated how Star Trek technology was becoming feasible.
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
Magazine stated that vanishing spaceships
Cloaking device
Cloaking devices are advanced stealth technologies still in development that will cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic spectrum...
, faster-than-light
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....
travel and dematerialised transport
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
were only dreams at the time the original series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
was made, but physicist Michio Kaku
Michio Kaku
is an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, the co-founder of string field theory, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science...
believes all these things are possible.
See also
- Physics and Star WarsPhysics and Star WarsThe science fantasy interstellar epic Star Wars uses science and technology in its settings and storylines, although it is not considered "hard" science fiction. The series has showcased many technological concepts, both in the movies and in the "Expanded Universe" of novels and comics...
- Star Trek planet classifications
- Time travelTime travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
- WormholeWormholeIn physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s - Comparison of Star Trek and Star Wars
- Quantum energy teleportationQuantum energy teleportationQuantum energy teleportation is a hypothesis put forward first by Japanese physicist Masahiro Hotta of Tohoku University which proposes that it may be possible to teleport energy by exploiting quantum energy fluctuations of an entangled vacuum state of a quantum field...
Star Trek technologies
- Cloaking deviceCloaking deviceCloaking devices are advanced stealth technologies still in development that will cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic spectrum...
- Dilithium (Star Trek)Dilithium (Star Trek)In the Star Trek universe, dilithium is a fictional chemical element, although dilithium is also the scientific name for a molecule composed of two lithium atoms....
- HolodeckHolodeckA holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
- Impulse driveImpulse driveIn the fictional Star Trek universe, the impulse drive is the method of propulsion that starships and other spacecraft use when they are travelling below the speed of light. Typically powered by deuterium fusion reactors, impulse engines let ships travel interplanetary distances readily...
- Weapons of Star TrekWeapons of Star TrekThe Star Trek fictional universe contains a very large number of weapons. As with most science fiction franchises, the series focuses primarily on energy weapons...
- Replicator (Star Trek)Replicator (Star Trek)In Star Trek a replicator is a machine capable of creating objects. Replicators were originally seen used to synthesize meals on demand, but in later series they took on many other uses.-Origins and limitations:...
- ShieldsShields (Star Trek)In the Star Trek fictional universe, shields refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that protects starships, space stations, and planets from damage by natural hazard or enemy attack...
- Tractor beamTractor beamA tractor beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. Since the 1990s, technology and research has labored to make it a reality, mostly at microscopic level. Less commonly, a similar beam that repels is called a pressor beam or repulsor beam...
- Transporter (Star Trek)Transporter (Star Trek)A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
- Warp drive (Star Trek)Warp drive (Star Trek)Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
Further reading
- Star Trek Inconsistencies. Ex Astris Scientia
External links
- Philip PlaitPhilip PlaitPhilip Cary Plait is an American astronomer and skeptic who runs the website BadAstronomy.com. He formerly worked at the physics and astronomy department at Sonoma State University. In early 2007, he resigned from his job to write Death from the Skies. On August 4, 2008, he became President of the...
's Bad Astronomy