Somewhat articulate

Star Trek’s Fiction and its Non-Fiction Effect On Our Lives

This is a paper that I did last semester in a writing class.  I don’t usually reflect back on papers that I’ve written, but this is something that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit.  So I decided to post the paper in its entirety here.

There are few things that have shaped the way technology has evolved
quite like Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek franchise. There are things
that were introduced in that show that no one had ever dreamed of and
were brought into reality because someone saw it working in a
fictitious science fiction television show. Star Trek is not only a
household name, it is also a modern-day equivelant to a Jules Vern
novel.

Jules Vern was a late 19th century novelist who dreamed of ways for
mankind to extend its reach into the unknown. He introduced things in
his literary works that had never been introduced before by other
authors in his time period. Humanity owes a lot of its modern day
technology to Jules Vern. Without his novel 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea, mankind may never have dove into the depths of the ocean with
submarines. Without his novel From the Earth to the Moon, humanity may
never have had a manned space program.

One of the many advantages of science fiction is that it pushes
technology forward. All new technology starts with a simple thought,
idea, or creative imagination. Soon comes the application of the
thought. In Star Trek, the bridge of the Enterprise always has an
automatic door that leads to the turbolift (elevator). During the
1950’s, that kind of technology was not available. Now in the present,
they are seen in the grocery store, in airports, and in just about
every place imaginable.

On the Enterprise, the ship uses thrusters to move the ship around at
lower speeds. These thrusters are not based on rocket technology, but
seem to be based on a type of propulsion that doesn’t use any type of
expendable fuel that they seem to run out of. In the modern day space
program, a new type of thrust capability is being used for space probes
called an Ion Drive. It uses an inert xenon gas reserve that propells
the craft forward by charging the gas and using the electrical energy
to propel the craft forward. Thus, instead of expelling massive amounts
of heavy fuel that will exhaust its own supply very quickly, the craft
uses electrical energy as fuel. It’s slow, but there’s an almost never
ending supply of fuel and energy to keep the craft moving forward.

Star Trek’s legacy is seen all around the modern day space program.
When NASA’s space shuttle program was underway in the late 1970’s, the
first space shuttle needed a name. After thousands of letters to NASA’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory from fans of the Star Trek series, the name
of the first Space Shuttle became the Enterprise. Although the
Enterprise never actually saw spaceflight, being a mere training
vehicle, it ushered humanity into a new era of spaceflight (Lee 152).

Prior to common belief, sliding automatic doors did not come from Star
Trek. On the bridge of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk always exits and
enters the turbolift and the doors always open without any visible
input other than walking up to the doors. People often incorrectly
credit Star Trek with its invention. Star Trek went on the air in 1966,
but the automatic sliding door was actually invented for elevators in
1954 by two men named Dee Horton and Lew Hewitt. They invented the
first automatic sliding door by way of a device called a mat actuator.

Though many devices that are used today can be traced to roots other
than in Star Trek, their popularization can be traced back to the
series. Modern cell phones can easily be linked to communicators in
Star Trek. Many phones have a flip open screen and have a very distinct
sound like a ringtone when a communication is being received. On the
bridge of the Enterprise, Lt. Uhura is often seen using a communication
device in her ear that she uses to monitor incoming transmissions. When
she is seen using the device it looks very similar to bluetooth devices
that so many people use today.

There is some technology that is used by characters in Star Trek that
is not possible within the current known laws of physics. During Star
Trek: The Next Generation, characters would often be seen using a
device called a food replicator. They would input a vocal command for
what they wanted to eat, and the computer would simply materialize the
food in front of them. The problem with the device is that it seemingly
creates something out of nothing, which violates the law of
conservation of mass, which states in laman’s terms that matter cannot
be destroyed or created, it can only be converted or transferred.

One of the most fantasized and sought after pieces of technology
popularized by Star Trek also happens to be one of the most improbable.
When Captain Kirk says ”Beam me up, Scotty,” he and his crew are bathed
in a fantastic light show and simply disappear and are transported back
to the bridge. The basic concept behind the transporter is that it
takes all of the molecules and particles of the human body, and
essentially faxes them to another location. Although this would be a
very useful and wonderful invention, it is highly unlikely to see this
technology come to fruition within the forseeable future, if at all.

The problem with transporter technology has to do with what is called
the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. In 1927, a scientist by the name
of Werner Heisenberg created and published this idea in response to the
Neils Bohr model of the atom. The Bohr model of the atom states that
electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom and behave similarly to how a
planet orbits a star, having a distinct and predictable orbit. To
explain this principle further would require a great deal of
explanation of quantum mechanics. Therefore, without going into too
much detail, it suffices to say that the Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle contradicts the Bohr model, stating that electrons behave
erradically and it is impossible to ever predict the location of
electrons within the electron cloud that surrounds the nucleus of an
atom.

In order for the transporter to work, every particle of every atom in
an object must be accounted for and must be static. If subatomic
particles behave the way that modern science teaches that it does, it
is impossible to predict the location of subatomic particles at any
given moment. Therefore, it is impossible to disassemble them, package
them, and then reassemble them at another location.

Star Trek is a culturally significan series that has shaped the way
humanity has progressed in the last 50 years and has given birth to
many new and innovative ideas. It transformed many ideas from the realm
of science fiction into science fact. Science fiction, especially
popular science fiction, helps us imagine ways to make our lives easier
and shape the world around us to be more entertaining, educational, and
easier to live in.