Sonic Shower?

Discussion in 'Trek Tech' started by mythme, Jun 14, 2014.

  1. mythme

    mythme Commodore Commodore

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    Any real science behind this notion? Watching the end of Juggarnaut (VOY) and I don't see how sonic pulses can dissolve/remove sweat, dead skin cells, grime, grease, etc. At least it certainly doesn't seem as relaxing as a real hot shower.
     
  2. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

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  3. varek

    varek Commander Red Shirt

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    I read one book, or on a website, that some alien races' ships have sonic toilets that use air rather than paper or water for cleansing. If that works, it would eliminate a lot of potential plumbing problems.
     
  4. Timo

    Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Paper doesn't create plumbing problems, though: it adds very little to feces in terms of mass or volume. The trick is in putting the feces (and the paper) somewhere, and unless it can be dissolved on the spot, it has to be transported. Water or some other solvent is needed for moving it in pipes, but it could also be packaged in a container that is then moved along some sort of a tube or set of rails or whatnot, without expending any solvent.

    Naturally, transporter tech would take care of either dissolving or relocating or both. Whether it would be too "expensive" or "complex" or not is probably not the question, as water toilets are hellishly expensive today (not the porcelain, but the piping, and never mind the end processes!) and still eagerly purchased - and TNG era people use transporter technology for trivialities such as making coffee or dissolving dishes anyway, so it must be dirt cheap in those futuristic terms.

    Timo Saloniemi
     
  5. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

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    You don't know how much toilet paper I use. :)
     
  6. Crazy Eddie

    Crazy Eddie Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It's basically a full-body application of a sonic screwdriver.
     
  7. USS Triumphant

    USS Triumphant Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Go ahead, caller. I'm listening...
    Our bridge crew simply has such waste products beamed away to be recycled on a subatomic level whenever sensor readings on them detect that it is needed. No fuss, no muss, and it extends to the rest of the crew if we're at Condition Yellow or Red. Not that it is an issue for yours truly at all. ;)

    Sonic showers are just silly, too. I mean, sure, that might have been necessary back before the 24th century, but we can pretty much effectively replicate and unlimited water at whatever temperature desired. Unlimited enough for the crew to shower all they want, anyway. :)
     
  8. HIjol

    HIjol Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Midwest, USA
    Moi, Aussi!

    ...but can they not simply transport the waste out of each and every one on the ship?...a targeted transporter beam would just beam and clean...fresh as a Betazed Chameleon Rose ;)

    ...'course, it would take away that bathroom "Quality Time", where a Man and his Coffee and Newspaper can sit, uninterrupted...

    ...remember, if you do not have the lingering red area on the inside of each leg, next to the knee, from the pressure of your elbows, you were not in there long enough!

    :guffaw: :rofl: :techman: