Replicator and Sonic Shower basics

[DangerLRobinson]

I have thought a lot about the basic idea of the replicator and sonic shower technology. The replicator as it was explained creates food and other things from matter storage. My thought about the basic principal of that is the ice cube and its atomic metamorphosis into water upon heating up. Then that same water through heat and wind friction physics vaporizes into a gas. Also mercury has some of these elemental principals existing as a solid and liquid. This would be the start I think to the research for actually inventing the replicator. The next step may be to apply that with the aforementioned elements and their forms to all other things composed of matter.

Next the sonic shower. The sonic shower episode where it goes haywire and had to be repaired because of the screeching noise was entertaining. The sonic shower was shown to be a wavy silky translucent mist that cleans you. Micro cellular exfoliation is what I call it. In auto shop class in high school I used a silicon and sand blaster machine that made a rusty brake drum look restored and useable. It took bits of silicon and sand with high pressure air constantly chipping away all the fine particles of rust. Some soaps have little specs in them to help scrub dirt and dead skin. If there was a way to reduce the size o f a fine solid like sand so that through sonic speed air passes over the epidermal layer called skin removing any dirt or dead skin cells then it would be achievable to have a sonic shower.

Discuss!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I have always been wary of sonic showers. I thought they could never be pure sonic waves (and nothing else) since even though that might get the dirt off, what about the sweat, the stink, etc.? You'd have to have some kind of water hitting you, to get those things off.

Although the only two times I ever remember the sonic shower being used onscreen (ST:TMP, and one Voyager episode) it didn't show any water. Maybe that was understood, for the above reason.

 

[Egger]

The sonic shower was shown to be a wavy silky translucent mist that cleans you.

I think that was the actual dirt taken away by some kind of "force beam".

And regarding the replicators: I always thought that the toilets should also use replicator technology to "recycle" the ... remains of another replicator's work.

 

[DangerLRobinson]

Egger you said something about the replicator being used on the toilets. The thing is I don't remember ever seeing any toilets in any star trek. Seems nasty however it may be a true thing that may happen. My view on that is for exrement and urine two things should happen. All those molecules or atoms should be used on things other than the reproduction of food. Simple carbon based matter should be used to replicate food and waste should be rereplicated into something else. Its either that or genetically engineer ourselves away from having to drop loads or take a whizz.

The sonic showers translucent blue wave stuff may be the dirt and dead skin mixed in with possibly something with a pleasant scent. I think the idea may be to not need that because all of it is whisked away and since it does not waste water it can be done more often and quicker. When an endurance runner that of many normal starfleet officers body type sweats it is miles down the road. When an overweight out of shape person tries to run down the block they break a big sweat. 300 years from now they will be in the best shape and burn most calories and have great blood oxygen intake lessening the amount they sweat. Perhaps

 

[Albertese]

Regarding toilets and human waste, The TNG Tech Manual makes it plain that those wastes are recycled back into the food stuff. The material is cleaned and sanitized on a molecular level. The harmful elements that are truly waste are disposed of and the rest can be recycled through the replicators.

Regarding the sonic shower, In Voyager, wasn't there a scene with B'Lana Torres is the shower where there was a bunch of moisture in the air? Like a steam bath or something? Also don't forget the cool Jetson's feature of the sonic shower in TMP where it could instantly dress you in a very short length robe...

--Alex

 

[HIjol]

Thought they did away with urinating and defecating, along with money and mistrust and corruption and drugs and such, by the 23rd century

Wonder if Kirk or any of the other Captains sneaked a "one-cheek-sneak" in the Captain's Chair...

...from time to time...

"Internal (funny!) sensors are picking up an unknown, possibly dangerous gaseous anomaly, emanating from here on the bridge...recommend we go to Brown Alert..."

 

[Egger]

Regarding toilets and human waste, The TNG Tech Manual makes it plain that those wastes are recycled back into the food stuff. The material is cleaned and sanitized on a molecular level. The harmful elements that are truly waste are disposed of and the rest can be recycled through the replicators.

There was the TNG episode "Night Terrors" where it was implied that replicators can replicate elements. Here's the dialogue:

RIKER: Couldn't we replicate the elements that Tyken used?
DATA: No, sir. We no longer have the power to reproduce complex elements in the replicator. We must find a way to generate a violent energy release without using conventional means.

If a replicator reproduces elements, all the waste matter could be recycled because there would be no "true" waste.
But maybe the replicater only can make elements, but normally doesn't because that process needs too much energy. Then all the waste that has not been recycled yet will be when the ship reaches the next starbase (where the use of so much energy would be affordable).

Regarding the sonic shower, In Voyager, wasn't there a scene with B'Lana Torres is the shower where there was a bunch of moisture in the air? Like a steam bath or something? Also don't forget the cool Jetson's feature of the sonic shower in TMP where it could instantly dress you in a very short length robe...

--Alex

Regarding the shower:

That was the scene I meant, here's a video and an image (which has better resolution):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRmqNewzX1g

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:B'Elanna_in_sonic_shower.jpg

"Internal (funny!) sensors are picking up an unknown, possibly dangerous gaseous anomaly, emanating from here on the bridge...recommend we go to Brown Alert..."

And the alarm sound would be the "Brown note"

 

[T'Girl]

In the movie Andromeda Strain, part of the decontamination procedure was a chamber where the outer most layer of your skin was zapped off, you were left with a fine powder that then had to be showered off.

If the sonic shower used sound waves to remove you outer most layer, this would take care of dirty and sweat and smell. It would basically be a light weight decontamination.

It would either have to be programmed to avoid places where you wanted to retain hair, or those areas would have to be covered.

I imagine it would leave the legs nice and silky smooth.

 

[Drone]

But how much would one miss the delicious feeling of having steaming hot water do its work on aching muscles after having spent a numbing shift scrubbing plasma conduits?


Given what's been described about its operation, what would the sensation of the sonic shower most likely approximate?

 

[DangerLRobinson]

I would imagine it feeling like compressed air with a tingling feeling and just as you turn your faucet on more expect the sonic showers to be fitted with higher settings in particular for rougher skinned aliens like Klingons.

Also there is the industrial replicator. My thought is that maybe it is easier or more efficient to take a base carbon supply of stones and rocks to make metallic replications. As with liquids as with gases. Also synthale is an interesting thing because i remember episodes where captain Picard kept bottles of real alcohol as gifts he received. When someone drank it they couldn't handle the real deal. As most are used to synthetic replicated alcohol.

Doesnt it seem like the microwave is our introduction to the future of the replicator technology. Remember the one second pizza in back to the future.

 

[HIjol]

In the movie Andromeda Strain, part of the decontamination procedure was a chamber where the outer most layer of your skin was zapped off, you were left with a fine powder that then had to be showered off.

If the sonic shower used sound waves to remove you outer most layer, this would take care of dirty and sweat and smell. It would basically be a light weight decontamination.

It would either have to be programmed to avoid places where you wanted to retain hair, or those areas would have to be covered.

I imagine it would leave the legs nice and silky smooth.

and leave you with that just-showered freshness...wow!

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

A dead skin cell thread! Yes!

 

[Albertese]

There was the TNG episode "Night Terrors" where it was implied that replicators can replicate elements. Here's the dialogue:

RIKER: Couldn't we replicate the elements that Tyken used?
DATA: No, sir. We no longer have the power to reproduce complex elements in the replicator. We must find a way to generate a violent energy release without using conventional means.

If a replicator reproduces elements, all the waste matter could be recycled because there would be no "true" waste.
But maybe the replicater only can make elements, but normally doesn't because that process needs too much energy. Then all the waste that has not been recycled yet will be when the ship reaches the next starbase (where the use of so much energy would be affordable).

Forgive me, I wasn't referring to atomic elements in my comment, but, rather, was using the word "elements" with it's meaning of "constituent components." While it does seem possible to replicate atomic elements, it seems to take a lot of juice to do so. I imagine breaking it down to its molecular components is probably far enough. I expect there would be a point where the remainder was not useful enough to warrant the amount of energy required to convert it into another atomic structure. Basically the principle of diminishing returns would make it so there likely is still waste that needs to be disposed of.

Without bothering to take the time to look it up, I recall the TNG Tech Manual goes into this. IIRC, the waste waste is incinerated and the ash is compacted into very small cubes that get dumped at some point. But whether they eject it into space or use a starbase's lavatory vacuum, I don't recall...

--Alex

 

[HIjol]

...forgive ME, but my 4th Grade Self has taken over!!!

As to the post above, I smell (funny!) a new Roddenberry/Barrett Game, "Poop Cubes"

<announcer>...move the cubes around the board to get your "Poop" safely home, but, Watch Out!!!...better do it before they reconstitute!...

<family around the table all shouting> "...eeeeewwwww!...POOPY!!!"

...must get them in the stores for Christmas...or Ascension Day...

 

[Drone]

In the movie Andromeda Strain, part of the decontamination procedure was a chamber where the outer most layer of your skin was zapped off, you were left with a fine powder that then had to be showered off.

If the sonic shower used sound waves to remove you outer most layer, this would take care of dirty and sweat and smell. It would basically be a light weight decontamination.

It would either have to be programmed to avoid places where you wanted to retain hair, or those areas would have to be covered.

I imagine it would leave the legs nice and silky smooth.

and leave you with that just-showered freshness...wow!

Does the sonic shower then, take the place of our quotidian ablutions such as using deodorant, skin care aids, IcyHot and the like? Perhaps it can be custom programmed for all these and more.


Of course, one might still be left to apply those personal add-ons that impart an individual touch (fragrances). One of the few instances I recall of dialogue regarding this kind of enhancement is Neelix mocking Tom's aftershave in Paturition.

 

[HIjol]

^^

 

[HIjol]

^^ I do think T is on to something regarding the relative effect of the whole thing...however, you do raise a good question, Drone, in reference to the whole "after-shower" experience...I suppose it would be up to the showeree...

...perhaps the subject of another thread, but might I just muse a bit on personal products in the time of the Federation?!

"Hyper Hair Spray...for a hold that will take you from Hydroponics to Stelar Cartography"
I am thinking here that we have a tie-in with Facial-Hair Riker?!?!

"Ferengi Floss...if it works for them, imagine how clean YOUR gums will be!"
Tie-in: Quark for the Grups, Nog for the kids?...flavors and thicknesses TBD...

"Worf Warnog Wash...we're not sure what Klingons use it for, but, Damn!"
Any number of tie-ins and uses here...the mind boggles...klips of K'Ehleyr?

Ok...ya'all contribute!...have a laugh...

 

[T'Girl]

"Worf Warnog Wash...

Swimming is too much like BATHING !!!!

A true Klingon never cleans himself, thereby preserving his natural masculine scent.

 

[HIjol]

"Worf Warnog Wash...

Swimming is too much like BATHING !!!!

A true Klingon never cleans himself, thereby preserving his natural masculine scent.

...smiling, I stand corrected!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Klingons may not like to bathe, but I'm sure they still shower. There's no "honor" in stinking up the room.