Holodeck query
- Thread starter Listerlad
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M
marlboro
Guest
The strawberries smell like strawberries. The snozzberries smell like snozzberries. And the Klingons smell like...well...sort of an earthy, peaty aroma with a touch of lilac.
Nobody ever confessed to smelling anything much in a holodeck. Except for holofood or holodrink, but perhaps that would be replicated for real? Then again, nobody complained of the holodecks being sterile and odorless. And several times the heroes mistook a holosimulation for the real deal, for extended periods of time. Wouldn't happen without smells. But then again, the heroes themselves would provide some..
Timo Saloniemi
Timo Saloniemi
I would think so since there were multiple comments about the realism of the holodeck.
If there were no smells nobody would ever not realize they are on a holodeck.
In at least one instance, yes. See this quote from The Big Goodbye in which Picard describes his experiences on the holodeck (TNG, S1, E12):
PICARD: From that window, I could see an entire, er
DATA: City block.
PICARD: That's right. Sounds, smells.
CRUSHER: You make it sound so real.
PICARD: That's how it felt.
CRUSHER: Incredible.
I would assume the holodeck to do this in many cases.
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M
marlboro
Guest
Does the EMH have a scent?
I can imagine him tweaking his programming to experiment with various kinds of b.o.
I can imagine him tweaking his programming to experiment with various kinds of b.o.
The Doctor probably smells like bleach mixed with formaldehyde.
I always imagined he smelled faintly of pine aftershave.
^I always pictured him to smell after fractal algorithms.
M
marlboro
Guest
Man #1: My doctor has a holographic nose.
Man #2: How does he smell?
Man # 1: Terrible.
Man #2: How does he smell?
Man # 1: Terrible.
Since food eaten in the holodeck is replicated food not holofood. Then smells are just replicated molecules floating in the environment.
M
marlboro
Guest
So if you eat replicated food on the holodeck, it is the same as eating replicated food in the real world and it would stay with you when you leave the holodeck.
So, I would assume that these replicated odor molecules would do the same, no? That could get a bit awkward.
So, I would assume that these replicated odor molecules would do the same, no? That could get a bit awkward.
The smells would have be replicated, and not be holographic.
For smells to work, they must interact with the olfactory cells in the nose. Just like molecules in the food must interact with the taste buds in the mouth.
To a degree, the holodeck will be able to cheat with forcefields, e.g. using those to create sensations of heat or cold without actually altering the temperature in conventional ways (a forcefield-based invisible miniature fan or fridge ought to be doable, say). Getting something as small as molecules consistently right would probably be too much to ask, though: better give those some permanence, through replication.
Although the holodeck will probably cheat there, too, whenever convenient. It is the master of optical illusion, after all: it can hide everything it does from the eyes of the user. Including the otherwise telling sparkling of replication or beaming.
Timo Saloniemi
Although the holodeck will probably cheat there, too, whenever convenient. It is the master of optical illusion, after all: it can hide everything it does from the eyes of the user. Including the otherwise telling sparkling of replication or beaming.
Timo Saloniemi
Not to mention you could potentially be getting in some very weird territory. Smelling holographic molecules seems to suggest interaction between normal and holographic matter in sophisticated ways. If we take that one step further, could someone get infected by holographic flu viruses, get sick there, and get better soon after leaving the holodeck since all the viruses have suddenly disappeared, for example ?
The EMH probably doesn't have a smell, since, unlike most holograms, he's not really supposed to fool the user. He announces he's a hologram, afterall.
He looks like Zimmerman, and has the same brash personality, but otherwise was only intended to be used in an emergency in a sterile environment much of the time. Replicating or simulating any type of body odor or deodorant would be medically unnecessary and a potential hazard, since he goes through medical forcefields without a suit.
As stated above, the holodeck uses its sensory deprivation techniques to hide 90% of its internal mechanisms from the users. The EMH doesn't have that luxury, being generated in Sickbay or wherever. He and his uniform are probably strictly hard-light holograms. Nothing replicated whatsoever, since we never hear or see replication taking place.
He looks like Zimmerman, and has the same brash personality, but otherwise was only intended to be used in an emergency in a sterile environment much of the time. Replicating or simulating any type of body odor or deodorant would be medically unnecessary and a potential hazard, since he goes through medical forcefields without a suit.
As stated above, the holodeck uses its sensory deprivation techniques to hide 90% of its internal mechanisms from the users. The EMH doesn't have that luxury, being generated in Sickbay or wherever. He and his uniform are probably strictly hard-light holograms. Nothing replicated whatsoever, since we never hear or see replication taking place.
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