Dilithium Crystals

[All Seeing Eye]

Seeing as I don't have access to any TOS episodes I figured i'd ask the question here.

In another thread in another forum I said that in TOS they didn't use Dilithium crystals and they in fact referred to them as Lithium crystals. Now it got only one reply and the reply basically said "no they've always been Dilithium".

Now i'd usually just accept an answer like that but i've just got the painful nagging feeling that I am right and they were at least in the early part of TOS referred to as Lithium crystals rather than Dilithium.

Am I right or not?

I've just got the voice in my head of Scotty saying Lithium Crystals.

 

[Michael]

You are correct.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

I love it when i'm right.

So does anyone have any idea of just when it got changed to Dilithium? I know it was Dilithium in the TOS films but did it change during the series of TOS?

 

[Christopher]

They were only called "lithium crystals" in the second pilot and "Mudd's Women" (episodes 2 and 4 in production order). The next time they were referenced after that, which I believe was "The Alternative Factor" (episode 20, late in the first season), they were dilithium crystals, and that term was used from then on. The change was made because lithium is a real substance and the producers realized it was a mistake to give it fictional properties that could be proven wrong (the same reason they changed the first pilot's "lasers" into the fictional "phasers" afterward).

 

[iguana_tonante]

I love it when i'm right.

Rare instances are precious things.

 

[Gorn Captain]

That's all good, Tachyon, but how do you not have access to TOS episodes? You can watch them for free online.

 

[USS Mariner]

That's all good, Tachyon, but how do you not have access to TOS episodes? You can watch them for free online.

Legally, I might add, courtesy of CBS.

 

[Cakes488]

That's all good, Tachyon, but how do you not have access to TOS episodes? You can watch them for free online.

Legally, I might add, courtesy of CBS.

That's right! And I just got a new internet phone the other day and Verizon has them part of their Vcast service...I was innocently checking out what shows they offered and it was like Trek galore...this is sad, but it made my night .

 

[Michael]

That's all good, Tachyon, but how do you not have access to TOS episodes? You can watch them for free online.

No, not everywhere.