Issues With Replicator Technology

[Mr Silver]

How exactly does a Replicator, Replicate Organic Matter?

We know that the Replicator works in a similar way to the Transporter, it converts Energy into Matter, however for their to be Replicator Energy in the first place, there must be Matter

The way I see it, I think that foodstuffs such as Chicken, Beef, Pork, etc have their genome and a sample of their matter converted into the Replicator, so when someone orders a Chicken Sandwich for example, the Replicator takes a microscopic piece of the Solid Chicken Matter, uses Energy to Enlarge, Shapen and Flavour it and then produce the aforementioned Sandwich

This method would be the same with all forms of Organic Matter, however this brings up another problem, why can't the Replicator simply Replicate lost body parts? All it would need is a sample of the individuals DNA, a few scans and viola a new arm or leg, from what we've seen, when an individual in Trek loses a body part, they either have a bionic replacement (Nog) or a Transplant (Neelix,) sure we've seen Worf undergo a Spinal Replication, but this was very experimental and it was due to Worf's Klingon Endurance that it was successful

What do you think about how the Replicator works?

 

[Timo]

I'd wager organic matter is no different from inorganic matter in terms of replication difficulties. It's a misleading name in the first place: "organic" simply means "it's got carbon-hydrogen bonds in it", and has nothing to do with whether the stuff is alive or dead. Although if you do complex organic stuff, you may actually benefit from its self-organizing properties, so that there's less work for the replicator to do.

I guess the replicator can create matter out of pure energy (it was said in TNG "Night Terrors" that a starship could in normal conditions produce elements out of nothing, and this probably meant via replicator), but seldom will do so, if simply rearranging existing matter will do. Depending on what the user desires, the rearranging can happen on many levels. Preexisting sources of proteins and fats might simply be mixed with preexisting sources of water and assorted spices, beamed into the replicator station, and called "soup". Or then individual proteins might be adjusted so that pork becomes salmon. The bigger lumps of preexisting stuff you use, with the less modifications, the less costly your replication process becomes in terms of energy and time and computing power, all of which probably matter more than the consumption of bulk stores of, say, proteins or fats.

On the issue of replicating body parts, that'd be something you would be ready to pay for, in terms of energy and so forth. And indeed it is possible to replicate body parts. In VOY "Emanations", the EMH replicates some new neural tissue to bring back to life a dead alien; and as you say, in TNG "Ethics", it appears a visiting doctor replicates a new spinal chord for Worf.

Nog got his new leg very quickly in DS9 "It's Only a Paper Moon". No, he didn't get a "bionic replacement", whatever that means - he got a new leg that was the same as the old leg. Might have been grown in a vat at high speed, like those clones in "Up the Long Ladder" or "A Man Alone", or grown in situ for all we know (it sure would be weird to watch a new leg growing). Might have been replicated just as well, though. Nobody ever comes out and says it would not be possible to replicate new limbs, or that the limbs our heroes or villans get would not be of the replicated sort. That Picard got a machine heart rather than a new flesh one might simply be because machines are better, more durable and more reliable (the failure in "Samaritan Snare" came as something of a surprise), and Picard wanted to live forever...

The obstacles to replicating entire lifeforms are probably more ethical than technological. "Can I get a puppy, Dad, pretty please?" ought to be doable if one wants to spend the necessary computing resources, but is considered bad form or something. There was much anxiety about the replication of supposedly simpler lifeforms already, such as the Exocomps of "Quality of Life" or the thing from "Emergence".

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Lorna]

I don't see why they can't just replicate an entire ship. Sure there's probably certain things they can't replicate but it's a simple case of leaving that out during the replication phase and then fit that stuff in later.

All they need to do is get all necessary raw material and then have the shipyard sized replicator put it together.

Instead of months to construct a starship it should only take minutes.

Imagine the investment that such a piece of technology would represent. A Nova Class ship is needed ASAP, just load that baby up with the raw materials and presto a new Nova in minutes.

 

[Nightfall to-Ennien]

I don't see why they can't just replicate an entire ship.

If you want my theory, there are a number of contributing reasons.

1. Energy efficiency: Double the size of any given object, and it's mass will not double, but increase by a factor of eight(corrected from two), and thus so would the energy going into replicating it. If I recall my TNG tech manual correctly, transporters and, by extension, replicators, are some of the most energy-intensive things in the whole of Star Trek, thus you would want to reserve their use for smaller, less massive objects.

2. Data storage limitations: It has been estimated that storing the data covering the disposition of every atom in the body of one person would already exceed the entire data storage capacity of mankind at this point. To replicate a starship you're talking about nigh-on-exponentially more mass, therefore more complexity, therefore greater data storage requirements. Even taking into account the possibility for compression due to large uses of one given compound, say the hull materials, this would be prohibitive.

3. Quality Control: Having a complex object such as a starship assembled from smaller assemblies rather than in one massive chunk allows for each component to be inspected as it is produced, however many times you want during storage and handling, and again as it is installed. Sure, you could possibly put it all together and then scan it later, but that takes people out of the loop, not something they seem to be fond of doing even in the twenty-fourth century. People just tend to be more comfortable when they know that all the pieces have had actual eyes on them.

4. Ease of maintenance: As someone with a background in design, there is a tendency for conservation of detail. Having a starship be assembled from smaller pieces prevents ship-in-a-bottle or sealed box situations, where for the sake of packaging efficiency, maintenance access for a given component assembly is made difficult, or even impossible.

5. Finally, busywork. At least in the twenty-fourth century, actually having to work is considered a bit outmoded, but most people do, believe it or not, have the innate urge to do something productive. Not everyone has the skill or ability required to join Starfleet, and for those people putting the ships together can be one of those outlets.

 

[Vance]

Factor of eight (two-cubed), not two.. a factor of two -is- double. :P

 

[Nightfall to-Ennien]

Factor of eight (two-cubed), not two.. a factor of two -is- double. :P

Thanks. I should really learn to wait to post until I wake up entirely.

 

[Timo]

I guess replicating is slow business in general. A glass of water is fast because it's small, but a starship-sized object might keep on sparkling for months upon months before finally attaining the desired form. Think baking an entire a brick house all at once, vs. baking the bricks and then making the house out of them... The situation with replicating could be very similar to baking (and nicely in keeping with our food-preparing context for everyday replicator use!). Other technologies would be highly competitive, then.

I have no doubt that a large part of a starship is replicated anyway. It's just replicated piecemeal and assembled, because that's cheaper, faster, easier on the tooling and so forth.

If replicating of starship-sized objects were practical, it would indeed be a waste of time to use it for replicating starships. Far better to replicate things that outdate starships.

Timo Saloniemi