If Possible, We Will Make It So
Physics….The final frontier. This is the science behind the space drama Star Trek. Since 1966, its mission has been to engage audiences by seeking out new methods of entertainment. Its task: to explore the boundaries of imagination and science, and thus to have boldly gone where no television show had ever gone before. Star Trek ranks as one of the most culturally influential phenomenon of all time and clearly the most prominent science fiction series to date. The original episodes (TOS), which aired on the NBC network from 1966 to 1969, have spawned four spin-off TV shows and ten movies. In a remarkable feat, the franchise was still being developed and extended thirty nine years after its inception, with its latest incarnation, Enterprise. This longevity has made Star Trek one of, if not the most lucrative franchises to ever grace the small and silver screens. An immeasurable amount of time has been spent by fans world wide on discussing these productions, attending related conventions and buying incalculable quantities of merchandise. But the show's cultural influence extends far beyond its ability to charm fans, earn dividends and reinvent itself. Its true worth lies with its creator, Gene Roddenberry and his enlightened vision of a socially and technologically advanced future, which permeates every detail of the benign Federation (coalition of many advanced worlds) of the Star Trek universe.
The techno-science of Star Trek has enthralled devoted Sci-Fi enthusiasts and many in contemporary scientific fields for decades. The amazing array of gadgets, ships, aliens, computers and the like have held our imaginations captive to say the least. Perhaps this is due to the attentiveness of the producers and writers of the franchise, who have grounded many of these grand and futuristic notions in reasonable and trustworthy science. "One of the keys to the success of Star Trek is the fact that it is grounded in scientific credibility," says Andre Bormanis, a writer for UPN's Enterprise, who has a master's degree in science policy from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1213_021213_tvstartrek.html). With the aid of those like Mr. Bormanis, the tone of Star Trek relates an air of faithful believability to the extent that many ideas and terms have emerged from this series. Fiction is beginning to morph into reality as scientists are engaging in the exploration and creation of space travel, artificial intelligence, high-tech medical and social advances, holograms, military advancements, and nanotechnology. The science of Star Trek is a fascinating mixture of real science, extrapolations of current scientific theories, conjecture, and unadulterated fantasy. It seems optimistic to imagine that we will ever enjoy some of the technologies depicted in the later spin-off series, while other Trek inventions (especially those from TOS) seem to already be within our grasp.
This paper will discuss some of these concepts, in conjunction with other related innovations, to illustrate how the Star Trek experience has inspired modern and continues to stimulate future achievements.
The first topic of interest is interstellar travel. To begin with, we need to have an understanding of the vastness of space. Light travels at a speed of approximately 186,000 miles per second, which is the limit to the speed anything can travel, according to Einstein’s theory of relativity (http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/education/). With this figure in mind, it still takes eight full minutes for the light of the sun to travel to Earth (http://www.science-one.com/new-5078524-4254.html). Remembering these two facts, the closest star systems to our own Sun are Alpha and Proxima Centauri. Traveling at the speed of light, it would take a space craft 4.2 years to reach the neighboring stars. To date, the fastest speed ever attained by an Earth made spaceship was only 37,000 miles per hour. At this relatively minimal speed, it would take 80,000 years to reach either of the Centauris (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/research/warp/scales.html).
The writers of Star Trek knew that they would have to invent a way to circumvent the enormous distances that are associated with space travel. Each weekly installment of the show invariably found the crew on or near to an alien world, but at the speeds mentioned above, it would take 3000 generations of the crew’s family to even reach the closest of star systems. That makes for an interesting story, but it was not the direction that Mr. Roddenberry had in mind. The show’s writers wanted the Enterprise to be able to explore an untold number of nooks and crannies within our galaxy, so “warp speed” was conceived. In theory, warp speed is achieved by stretching out the space behind a warp capable ship and compressing the space in front of it. Warp speed essentially brings a hypothetical destination closer, making it unnecessary to travel faster than the speed of light. However, this notion is in direct conflict with Einstein’s theory of relativity and violates the principles of physics. "Scientists have debated whether warp travel is theoretically possible," says astrophysicist David Batchelor of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who has been watching Star Trek since the series began. "It would require inconceivable amounts of energy to expand and contract even small regions of the universe." (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1213_021213_tvstartrek.html). In a modern day effort though to minimize our space travel limitations, NASA supported the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project (BPP) from 1996-2002 to seek the ultimate breakthroughs in space transportation (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/research/warp/warp.html). To be clear, this project, by no means was experimenting with the fictional “warp drive” or faster than light speeds. Physicists of today understand the space-time continuum rather well, and there is very good reason to think that no object can move faster than the speed of light. The BPP project was however researching: propulsion that requires no propellant mass, propulsion that attains the maximum transit speeds physically possible, and breakthrough methods of energy production to power such devices. Topics of interest consisted of experiments and theories regarding the coupling of gravity and electromagnetism, the quantum vacuum, hyper fast travel, and super luminal quantum effects. Due to the fact that these propulsion objectives are presumably far from fruition, a particular emphasis was placed in discovering affordable, near-term, and credible research that could result in measurable progress toward these propulsion goals (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/bpp/index.htm).
Warp speed is to date the most inconceivable of all the technologies introduced through Star Trek, but it remains as a scientific Holy Grail, a possible light at the end of a tunnel that is as long and perilous as interstellar travel itself.
Another scientific innovation that correlates to Star Trek is in the realm of medical/scientific technology. Unfortunately, we are too underdeveloped to be talking about the holographic Doctor of Star Trek Voyager, but the tricorder, which has been featured throughout the many series of the franchise, is an instrument that is already developed to some degree. Recently, Vital Technologies Corporation of Canada unveiled the TR-107 TRICORDER Mark 1. The Mark 1 has five different functions that have immediate scientific and educational possibilities and was purposefully modeled after the Star Trek design. To begin with, the TR-107 has an Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Meter. By measuring the strength of EMF radiation from a variety of sources in the home, school, and office, the TRICORDER allows people to make informed decisions about the positioning of equipment, appliances, electric heaters, work stations, and children's beds and play areas to minimize exposure. Research studies have shown that EMFs can affect the health and well-being of humans, plants, and animals. The second function that the Mark 1 has is a Two Mode Weather Station. By monitoring trends in atmospheric temperature and barometric pressure, farmers, gardeners, scientists, and sports enthusiasts can predict changes in the weather and plan accordingly. Thirdly, the tricorder can, through its Colorimeter, analyze and match colors, determine the health needs of plants for agriculturists, and aid researchers in performing a wide range of chemical analyses. In addition, the device has a built in Light Meter. This is used for precise measurement of light, which is necessary for a wide range of commercial, industrial, domestic, research, artistic, and health applications. Lastly, the TR-107 TRICORDER Mark 1 can act as a regular clock and calendar and measures elapsed time for sensing functions through its Stardate Clock and Timer (http://www.stim.com/Stim- x/0996September/Sparky/tricorder.html).
Another device, also inspired by the tricorders of Star Trek, has recently come into play and has true medical capabilities in the area of tumors. It is the TRIMprob (Tissue Resonance InterferoMeter Probe). The new device consists of a battery-powered baton and a specially designed computer which houses an antenna that produces microwaves that vary in frequency from 400 MHz to 1,350 MHz. When the microwaves hit a tumor, the tumor resonates at about 400 MHz, producing a signal that interferes with the original signal from the baton. The tumors seem to be in a "less ordered, less organized, less cohesive state" than normal tissue, said TRIMprob's project leader, Dr. Massimo Balma. "When they are in this disordered state, they are able to answer to the TRIM field." Preliminary tests with this device were able to detect prostate tumors 93% of the time and it was also able to correctly diagnose test subjects as cancer-free 82% of the time. Doctor Crusher would be very proud of us for our contemporary ingenuity (http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1057511500.html).
One of the most amazing obstacles that the writers of Star Trek were able to hurdle is the inevitable communication problems that must arise when dealing with alien species. The Universal Language Translator broke down these barriers and enabled the crews of the many series to establish instant communication with a wide variety of extra-terrestrials. In the show, this was developed, due to the fact that time constraints for each episode would not allow for the long and tedious process of slowly learning an alien language. We, here on Earth, have problems learning the myriad languages that exist on our own planet, often on the same continent. In an effort to combat this difficulty, VIA, a wearable computer maker has developed an Earth-based language translator that is available to the U.S. military and English-speaking consumers for approximately $7,000. About the size of two decks of cards, the universal translator will be outfitted with a 600 MHz microprocessor and will run on a Windows 2000 operating system. VIA is compatible with a keyboard or voice recognition software and this voice interface has allowed the company to adapt their wearable PC into a translating device with equal portability. Initially, the device will be able to translate English into twelve languages, including Korean, Serbian, Arabic, Thai, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The device will not be able to decipher word-for-word, but it will convey the essence of what the user is trying to articulate. The device allows for differences in English accents (from Houston to Boston and everything in between). It also has a dictionary stacking function, which allows users to add contemporary colloquial speech to the standard dictionary installed on the device. The significance of such a device was obvious to the U.S. Office of Naval Research which invested capital for VIA to develop their language translator. Joel Davis, program director at ONR, said that the device could replace human translators, who are expensive to train and whose skills tend to diminish over time. Davis says that one translating device would be allotted for a group of twelve soldiers in the field, and the device would facilitate basic verbal interaction with native residents (http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/universal-translator.htm).
Two devices, which are quite common by today’s standards, have direct ties to the Star Trek universe. The first, which was inconceivable by most in the 1960’s, was the crews communicator devices. The resemblance to our current cell-phones is uncanny. I have even witnessed people joking around, saying “Kirk to Enterprise” or “Beam me up Scotty” to whoever had just called them. Motorola has even constructed a cell-phone that flips up in a very familiar Trek fashion. This is a classic example of science begetting fiction, begetting science. Another appliance that was introduced, on Star Trek the Next Generation, before it was invented for a modern practical application was the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The producers of Star Trek had designed a device for the show called a Personal Access Display Device (PADD) which is also a handheld mechanism that helps facilitate the transfer and storage of information. Soon after, Apple computers introduced their “Newton”, the first generation of PDA. Perhaps Apple’s research and development teams had thought of the device before Mike Okuda (Trek’s resident art director and tech consultant), but the similarities are eerie.
Star Trek undoubtedly is a social phenomenon, with far reaching affects into the lives of people who aren’t even Trekkies. The grand foresight that was inherent to Gene Roddenberry’s imagination and subsequently his TV series is truly an amazing affair. The influence that Star Trek has had on the world is evident through the inventions that are discussed above. It is not for me to say that these devices would not have been invented without Trek, but I feel comfortable in the notion that their creation was facilitated by what I consider to be the greatest television show ever produced. With the recent cancellation of Enterprise, we are for the first time in twenty years Trekless. I for one am very displeased with that notion and eagerly await the inevitable next installment of the grand franchise with much hope and anticipation. Until then, science will have to uncover other sources to base their innovations on, and only time will tell if the lack of Trek will stagnate contemporary scientific achievement.