captain@spock.UUCP (John Griffin '87 cc) (05/01/85)
I had a discussion with some friends recently, and the actual mechanics of the transporter came into the discussion. Since the transporter makes a "blueprint" of the transportee, and, in the ST animated episode the "blueprint" can be used to re-reconstruct a person, how does the transporter make this "blueprint"? Is every single cell of the person codified and filed in the memory banks of the transporter (multo memory!)? If so, some system for determining which little impulse corresponds to a certain memory, feeling, or thought in a person's mind. Since someone had to program the transporter to store this info in a recallable method, someone must be able to translate the "code". Therefore, some way must exist to CREATE entirely new materials out of the transporter, simply by "mix and match" of these impulses. Should the Enterprise need dilithum (all the much easier to create because of its elemental nature) Scotty needs only to throw some garbage on the transporter, and punch up the code for dilithium. The transporter then breaks down the garbage into energy, reforms it as matter in dilithium format...voila! New dilithium. Unlimited resources...even the creation of new people (if someone had the patience to program him) would be possible. Does this seem possible? Comments? "A captain's first responsibility is to his starship."
tar@mtung.UUCP (Tim Rock) (05/07/85)
Being able to transport something and store the information about it are two different things. An example of this is your favorite network. The network does not have the ability to store all the information that it transfers from point to point. It delivers it in parts becoming effectively a pipeline. The cost/technology to have a network store the complete copy of the transferred file would be prohibitive. I would imagine that the amount of information needed to reconstruct you would be beyond our comprehension, definitely exceeding a starship's ability to store. Yet by just passing the information along, one can deliver this abundance of information. This explaination is not consistant with all the star trek episodes. I seem to recall one where someone was started to be transported and they totally left the transporter room. They ended up able to bring them back. Unless they brought him back after he was delivered, this would imply that the transporter room is capable of storing the information nessecary to recontruct someone. The ability to reconstruct star ship fuel may require more fuel to perform the conversion than it generates. Its like having a process for making gold out of lead that costs more than the gold produced. Tim Rock AT&T IS Holmdel NJ mtung!tar
edward@ukma.UUCP (Edward C. Bennett) (05/08/85)
In article <559@mtung.UUCP>, tar@mtung.UUCP (Tim Rock) writes: > > I would imagine that the amount of information needed to reconstruct > you would be beyond our comprehension, definitely exceeding > a starship's ability to store. Yet by just passing the information > along, one can deliver this abundance of information. > > Tim Rock AT&T IS Holmdel NJ mtung!tar In the episode "The Day of the Dove", when Scotty beams everyone up from the planet, he leaves the Klingons 'in' the transporter until enough security personal can be summoned to ensure a 'safe' materialization. So at least in DoD the transporter can 'store' several people. resident trekker, -- edward {ucbvax,unmvax,boulder,research}!anlams! -| {mcvax!qtlon,vax135,mddc}!qusavx! -|--> ukma!edward {decvax,ihnp4,mhuxt,clyde,osu-eddie,ulysses}!cbosgd! -| "Well, what's on the television then?" "Looks like a penguin." () | |-- Support barrier free design /|--- | \ _ \___/ \=