Check out the comments regarding Star Trek. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenreBusting
Hard Star Trek
- Thread starter Autistoid
- Start date
"Final Frontier" by Brian Clegg. Mentioned that Miguel Alcubierre (inspired by Trek) established that a warp drive is possible in principle.
Clegg stated that a NASA physicist, Harold "Sonny" White, has been studying warp drive theory. White thinks that there may be ways to overcome some of the practical problems to realizing such a drive.
By devising an alternative version of the drive, White decreased the needed energy by orders of magnitude. Down to a level where a ship could carry sufficient energy if in the most compact form possible.
Clegg stated that a NASA physicist, Harold "Sonny" White, has been studying warp drive theory. White thinks that there may be ways to overcome some of the practical problems to realizing such a drive.
By devising an alternative version of the drive, White decreased the needed energy by orders of magnitude. Down to a level where a ship could carry sufficient energy if in the most compact form possible.
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Ehm, we talk about science-fiction. There is no "real science" for how warp drive works and yet the franchise has come up with a fairly decent and consistent in-universe explanation for it. And contrary to your claim it is not all bullshit. For example fusion and matter-antimatter reactors are in principal possible and stuff liek the inertial dampers adresses a physical problem which most sci-fi movies and shows ignore.
So make up your mind. Either you want your chief engineer to sometimes talk about subspace field distortions and plasma flow regulators or you don't.
What we can discuss and what I think Trek has not done particularly well is to have technobabble more in the background. It's like when you watch a movie with a submarine and the characters use technical terms the audience might not immediately understand naturally with the emphasis being on naturally.
Background of Harold White, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_G._White
Then you're not getting the difference. Yes, warp drive as presently understood is largely made up and serves as one of those gimmes that most SF has. Yet now we have real scientists investigating the possibilities as our understanding of physics continues to evolve.
And as I mentioned upthread Hard SF is not relegated strictly to that which is presently known, but also allows for things that are theorized and speculated in a credible way even though we presently don't have the means to prove it. Many things we have today were at one time only discussed as theory and speculation until the means were developed to test and exploit the ideas.
There are examples of hard SF written many decades past that have since been proven incorrect, but they were valid in their time based on what was then known. In his day Jules Verne would have been considered a hard SF writer because he gave a great deal of thought to his ideas and based them on what was known at the time.
So to say all technical and scientific terminology expressed in SF is "made up" is not correct and does a disservice to the writers who made the effort to be as credible as possible.
Including, I might add, Gene Roddenberry himself who talked with local science professors when coming up with many concepts with Star Trek. This is one of the reasons we have phasers instead of lasers, and dilithium instead of lithium, etc.
Not sure why there cannot be a balance between "no tech talk" and "all tech talk, all the time, regardless of how ridiculous."
Hard sci-fi doesn't preclude extrapolating upon technological advancements, and possible fictional creations. It doesn't mean you have to ignore basic scientific principles and utilize them as well.
In other words, be aware of the consequences of a technological advancement, regardless of how mundane. Even if it doesn't make it in to the show, it will make so much easier to write.
Whom are you talking to, yourself? You are the one who called technobabble "made-up bullshit" whereas I explicitly acknowledged that for soft sci-fi Trek is quite hard, that its energy sources make sense and that even fairly wonkish issues like getting splashed at the wall at high acceleration get adressed.
I don't know if warp drive, or any other form of FTL is possible. If it is, will it require the far future science of a super civilization?
And what time scale would be involved? How long will it take? Consider the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci-scroll down. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_inventions_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci
And what time scale would be involved? How long will it take? Consider the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci-scroll down. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_inventions_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci
Review of the different subgenres:
www.writing-world.com/sf/genres.shtml
www.bookcountry.com/ReadAndReview/Books/GenreMap/ScienceFiction.aspx
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScienceFiction
www.cuebon.com/ewriters/genres.html#subgenres
http://kathrineroid.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/science-fiction-subgenres-list/
www.writing-world.com/sf/genres.shtml
www.bookcountry.com/ReadAndReview/Books/GenreMap/ScienceFiction.aspx
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScienceFiction
www.cuebon.com/ewriters/genres.html#subgenres
http://kathrineroid.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/science-fiction-subgenres-list/
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I'm sorry T'girl for my late respond.
I'm defending the idea that you oppose (my idea)
The multi polar world doesn't mean that they can't work together. Well, yes. I like your idea about every major power on Earth have their own colonies, mining stations, etc. But without control, it will become the old colonization age rebirth. War will eventually erupt between the major power on Earth. Say, who claim Mars? Everyone can claim. But what if somebody claim the entire Mars, and the others oppose? It will cause conflict. And without a "brake" to avoid it, it will become a new world war, or a space war.
Because Star Trek premise is a better future, then I create a brake that suppose to prevent any country to claim a piece of land on the other planet for themselves. And that brake suppose to be a kind of United Nation space organization. A kind of NASA that formed by all major power in this world. This new NASA will prevent US and China to continue their arm race to the outer space. Instead, they force everyone to work together in the name of humanity. But this NASA thing won't have any jurisdiction inside the Earth. They'll administrate the colonies on behalf of the countries who participate at that program. And no colonies create by a single country. Every colonies outside our world will be a join venture by several countries. So they are belong to no body but the people of Earth.
If my memory serve right, there is already a treaty about "nobody can claim Mars or Moon, or the other planets" in real world. A treaty between USA and Uni Soviet. If somebody know about this treaty can give use the link to it.
But, there is no Federation in my idea. Because "Federation" is a nation that formed by a collective of smaller nations. Like United State of America or Russia Federation. That's mean, this new country that we call Federation will rule over the entire Earth. So every countries in this world will become a mere province, ruled by a single government entity called the Earth Federation. To be honest, I don't like my country degraded into a mere province of another country. it just a principle of a man who love his country, sorry.
While in my idea, the international NASA thing won't rule over Earth. They work for the governments of Earth. If they have any diplomatic issue with some alien race, then it will be conducted by another United Nation organization. Maybe... like United Nation Extra Terrestrial Afair? Or United Nation Outer Space Affair Department? Just like a foreign affair Department? I don't know.
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I agree with this
There is another franchise from Japan that actually oppose your idea of cake in here.
Why do we call it Star Trek if it's no longer Star Trek?
In Japan, there is a long franchise that is very famous too. I think, this franchise has a lot of fan, just like our beloved Star Trek. It's call Gundam. I don't know if you haven't watch it, but there are a lot of Gundam Series out there. and many of them are drastically different from one to another. Including the universe, the "technology" and even the mecha design. The only thing that justify that the story is called Gundam is only because the protagonist ride on a big white robot that has similarity design to the other Gundam Series.
So what about Star Trek? As long as it has a ship that has similarity to the previous Star Trek, and it's actually doing some exploring, and has a setting in the outer space, we actually can call it Star Trek. We don't have to stick into the old established universe. We can create a new universe, new universe history, new technology, etc. But as long as it has an Enterprise that has a design that similar to TOS or TNG, it's a Star Trek. That's what I see from "Star Trek".
Maybe that was the idea behind the naming of the United Earth Probe Space Agency referred in a TOS episode.
In that line of thinking, it reminds of the Department of Homeworld Security that was established by Stargate SG-1 and was eventually overseen by an international committee that was privelaged to know of the Stargate. The Russians eventually had their own space ship as well, and served in a joint task force.
So, if you have first contact with the Vulcans, and then you start having humans serve on Vulcan ships and be trained that way, while a united Earth begins to build their own interstellar program.
Yeah, I know about that Stargate SG-1. I like their idea about homeworld security that was overseen by an international committee.
And what about United Earth Probe Space Agency? There was no Federation in TOS?
Logic failure, as was stated before one of the reasons making trek harder is for appealing to a wider audience.
One of the reasons people love HBO "dark and gritty" shows is that they make sense.
People behavel like people and things tend to have actual consquences.
I was thinking that "impulse" might actually be a rocket powered by antimatter. This was discussed in "Mirror Matter" by Dr. Robert Forward. Anti-matter rockets would be the ultimate rockets, more capable than nuclear powered rockets
The late Dr. Forward mentioned other possible uses, such as treating cancer. (He himself succumbed to cancer).
However, Dr. Forward was sceptical about using anti-matter as an explosive. He thought that the anti-matter would fizzle instead of creating a big explosion.
The late Dr. Forward mentioned other possible uses, such as treating cancer. (He himself succumbed to cancer).
However, Dr. Forward was sceptical about using anti-matter as an explosive. He thought that the anti-matter would fizzle instead of creating a big explosion.
One thing about an antimatter rocket. Yes, you do get a 100 percent release in energy, but you don't get a 100 percent release of usable energy. You get a lot of gamma radiation so you'd better have damned good shielding.
I've always liked the idea of impulse actually being an antigrav drive, Given we don't see starships with forward facing exhaust ports how do they reverse with a reaction drive that only faces rearward? And an antimatter rocket is a reaction drive.
I've always liked the idea of impulse actually being an antigrav drive, Given we don't see starships with forward facing exhaust ports how do they reverse with a reaction drive that only faces rearward? And an antimatter rocket is a reaction drive.
