What exactly is a sonic shower?
- Thread starter ToddKent
- Start date
I imagine it uses finely tuned sonic frequencies to vibrate any dirt and grime off the body more thoroughly than a regular shower could, though both showers seem to be very relaxing.
Similar tech exists in real life. My husband takes my jewellery into work to clean them. Gets the stones up a treat.
That is where Gene Roddenberry got the idea.
Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
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You'd think they'd just use the transporter. Rematerialize minus all the nasty stuff--dead skin flakes, dust mites, urine...
kitsune
Captain
The TNG and later series had biofilters that did this for known viruses, etc.
It's a major problem of knowing what to look for, I guess.
The biofilter would probably be good for a small number of known diseases, but powerless against slightly mutated versions; it must have very exact parameters for what it is allowed to remove.
Removal of major dirt on the outside of the body is probably fairly easy in theory, at least compared with filtering out microbes or viruses. Yet we never see our heroes getting cleaned up when they beam out of a burning, sooty building or a dusty cave or a soggy swamp in the nick of time.
I'd assume, then, that the biofilter isn't always active, any more than the dirt remover is. There's merely an alarm connected to the scanners, so that when a known disease tries to sneak aboard, the transporter operator has the option of halting rematerialization, placing the victim in limbo for a minute or two, and activating the biofilter program to decontaminate the victim. Or then he can bypass that and proceed with the transport.
Clearly the biofilter is more theory than practice in TNG or DS9. It only gets mentioned when it fails, of course - but there's no known case of it succeeding, either. Perhaps in the 25th century, they'll have it finally down pat?
Until then, sonic showers still probably trump transporter trickery.
Timo Saloniemi
The biofilter would probably be good for a small number of known diseases, but powerless against slightly mutated versions; it must have very exact parameters for what it is allowed to remove.
Removal of major dirt on the outside of the body is probably fairly easy in theory, at least compared with filtering out microbes or viruses. Yet we never see our heroes getting cleaned up when they beam out of a burning, sooty building or a dusty cave or a soggy swamp in the nick of time.
I'd assume, then, that the biofilter isn't always active, any more than the dirt remover is. There's merely an alarm connected to the scanners, so that when a known disease tries to sneak aboard, the transporter operator has the option of halting rematerialization, placing the victim in limbo for a minute or two, and activating the biofilter program to decontaminate the victim. Or then he can bypass that and proceed with the transport.
Clearly the biofilter is more theory than practice in TNG or DS9. It only gets mentioned when it fails, of course - but there's no known case of it succeeding, either. Perhaps in the 25th century, they'll have it finally down pat?
Until then, sonic showers still probably trump transporter trickery.
Timo Saloniemi
I don't know much about sonic showers but I know I want one with a naked lady.
Depending on the vibration setting chosen one didn't seem to care how effective they were at removing dirt.
I was wondering what a sonic shower used for its medium, but thanks to VOY, it is clearly air. Well, fine.
Also, I don't get why it's always "sonic shower." I don't call mine the "hydro-shower."
Also, I don't get why it's always "sonic shower." I don't call mine the "hydro-shower."
Nervous sweats?
