Wait, they're antimatter? I thought they were made of like...photons and what-not. Like a light based missile.
GasBandit
Staff member
Nope. They're basically guided antimatter/matter bombs with a range of 300,000 kilometers (proton torpedoes stop tracking after 10 or so seconds). Supposedly, they're named as they are because their detonation releases a huge amount of lethal gamma ray photons. Eventually they were replaced by the next generation weapon, Quantum Torpedoes, but canonical sources disagree on whether quantum torpedoes have a plasma warhead, or work by creating a teardrop shaped zero point vacuum inside an 11-dimensional space-time membrane.
Your complicating it. Quantum Torpedos work on incredibly stupid technobabble because it's the only way they could think to make a weapon capable of fighting the Borg. Ironically, mankind's ability to basically cheat their way out of problems with technobabble is precisely why the Borg want to conquer them.
Was Spock sterile? Cos he was a hybrid and all.
Good question, you never see the hybrids mating in ST. Just about each show had a hybrid character, but we never got to see their kids.
GasBandit
Staff member
That I don't know. Really, the entire thing about cross-species fertilization should be impossible altogether, but apparently all bilaterally symmetrical sentient life in the galaxy descended from the same precursor species in the ST universe... so who knows.
Interesting. Unless they make a character who's quarter human, quarter vulcan, quarter clingon, and quarter any other Star Trek humanoid race I guess we'll never know.
Alexander Rozhenko was the son of a hybrid and a full blooded Klingon. So it should be able to happen for Spock.
GasBandit
Staff member
It should be noted also that sometimes the hybrid offspring is only made viable by direct medical intervention/manipulation - for example, Dr. Bashir moaned about how much work it was going to be for him to make Worf and Dax's kid viable. Spoiler alert -
[DOUBLEPOST=1360010805][/DOUBLEPOST]
Turns out he need not have worried, as Dax was then subsequently killed.
Ah! That's true, I had forgotten that Alexander's mother was a hybrid. So. There you go, Yoshi.
It's crazy that I remembered that bit of info from a show I've not seen in about 20 years.
fade
Staff member
Yeah, it kind of sounds like the writers read the Wikipedia entry on string theory and thought the words sounded cool.
I can't even pun with out starting a debate anymore...
GasBandit
Staff member
Well, that is how 90% of star trek tech works.
That's because the originator was Kirk, who got sent back in time and banged his way back to the present. Or future. Or whatever.
fade
Staff member
...which, relevantly, is also the origin of the term "photon torpedo".
Also, B'Elanna (who was half Klingon and half human) and Tom in Voyager had a daughter, who was suppose to be the kuvah'magh. *pushes up his nerd glasses*
I remember seeing this special in high school that talked about Star Trek technology with the transporters. They said that for something to teleport like that their body would need to be heated up to like a million degrees.
It would also need as much energy as an exploding star and would likely cause just as big an explosion. Teleporters are, to put it mildly, absolutely bullshit.
Damn straight.
Also, would antimatter actually make an explosion when touching matter? Or is the jury still out on that?
Also, would antimatter actually make an explosion when touching matter? Or is the jury still out on that?
GasBandit
Staff member
Here you go.[DOUBLEPOST=1360021170][/DOUBLEPOST]
Yeah, direct teleporting is not feasible. Space bending/folding, however...
Huh, neat! I heard on one show that the touching of matter and antimatter would just cause them to dissipate. Must've been just a theory.
It wasn't Dan Brown, was it?
No no no, this was either a radio show or a magazine article. I heard it forever ago though, so the fact that it was refuted makes sense.
figmentPez
Staff member
So worm-holes might work? Das coo.
It was my understanding that the transporters in Star Trek work just like the food replicators. They break down a person at the atomic level, analyze the structure, encode that information and beam it via FTL signal to the area it will be transported, where the person is then reassembled using the matter stores either of the receiving transporter, or has the matter beamed there shortrange through a ship.
Which, of course, means that every time you step into one, you are killed and a clone of you is created at your destination.
Which, of course, means that every time you step into one, you are killed and a clone of you is created at your destination.
There is a cartoon about this entire thing that gets REALLY fucking depressing at the end...
North_Ranger
Staff member
I know there's no shunning. I once heard that the doomies are die-hard trekkers, anyway. Something about those sexy Cardassian voles, I think.
Again, the video I posted explores THAT problem too. Basically, the entire technology is highly unethical and that no one in their right mind would use it if they knew how it worked or had to deal with the fact that they essentially committed suicide to get somewhere faster. It makes me wonder if how transportation works isn't widely known in the Star Trek universe or if the secret of it's reality is a closely guarded secret.