Is the Enterprise symmetrical?
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
I assume the shuttered windows would look something like this (model shown is from The Cage)
I think that for whatever reason the lines outlining the shuttered windows were too faint to be picked up by the camera as I've not seen them even on close up passes even on the HD version. But yeah, effectively any shuttered windows would be invisible because of the lack of camera or film resolution.
You can faintly see those rectangles in the screencap here (but not really when watching the shot and never on the TVs of the day):
https://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/screencaps/season1/100-the-cage/the-cage-br-022.jpg
Well spotted!
I just happened to recollect an earlier discussion about those 'windows'. But don't ask me when that was. Or what thread.
which one ? thanks
This would suggest the interior is not symmetrical
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/kirks-television-enterprise-deck-plans-wip.195496/page-4
7th from top
9th from the top here might fix things
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/kirks-television-enterprise-deck-plans-wip.195496/page-6
If Kirk’s Enterprise had a flatter, rounder secondary hull like Picard’s Ent-D, the sets work out.
If I had to do a big cardboard replica, I’d scale it up to fit two turbolifts side by side with staggered landings…the curved hallways to either side of curved deuterium tankage to have the sets and fuel reserves square.
What sticks in my crop is the First Contact cube having an inner torus…the sphere yes—but not the cube.
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/kirks-television-enterprise-deck-plans-wip.195496/page-4
7th from top
9th from the top here might fix things
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/kirks-television-enterprise-deck-plans-wip.195496/page-6
If Kirk’s Enterprise had a flatter, rounder secondary hull like Picard’s Ent-D, the sets work out.
If I had to do a big cardboard replica, I’d scale it up to fit two turbolifts side by side with staggered landings…the curved hallways to either side of curved deuterium tankage to have the sets and fuel reserves square.
What sticks in my crop is the First Contact cube having an inner torus…the sphere yes—but not the cube.
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Well, although the analogy isn't perfect for many obvious reasons, the exteriors of modern USN vessels are not symmetrical. The clearest example, of course, is the aircraft carriers. But I once went down a rabbit hole not too long ago wondering whether, say, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are symmetrical. I concluded, based on non-exhaustive research, that most people think they are not (and I imagine a definitive answer is not possible because it's classified).
But USN ships probably are symmetrical, or close, under the waterline, for reasons involving fluid dynamics and seaworthiness. And that's where this analogy reaches its imperfection. The Enterprise isn't sailing in water, so it may not matter if the ship is symmetrical, even though my natural inclination is to think it would be. (And of course we can always handwave any inconveniences caused by modern physics or spatial dynamics with the wonders necessarily inherent in FTL spaceship construction and operation.)
Even though Starfleet is much more advanced than early sailing vessels or even modern USN ships, some things don't change - for the most part, as far as we know, Starfleet's vessels are operated by bipeds who can see ahead of them but not behind, and who have a dominant hand, mostly on the right side. This would affect Starfleet ship construction just as it affected construction of the organization's forebears.
My guess is that Starfleet vessels are roughly symmetrical on the exterior, but not perfectly.
But USN ships probably are symmetrical, or close, under the waterline, for reasons involving fluid dynamics and seaworthiness. And that's where this analogy reaches its imperfection. The Enterprise isn't sailing in water, so it may not matter if the ship is symmetrical, even though my natural inclination is to think it would be. (And of course we can always handwave any inconveniences caused by modern physics or spatial dynamics with the wonders necessarily inherent in FTL spaceship construction and operation.)
Even though Starfleet is much more advanced than early sailing vessels or even modern USN ships, some things don't change - for the most part, as far as we know, Starfleet's vessels are operated by bipeds who can see ahead of them but not behind, and who have a dominant hand, mostly on the right side. This would affect Starfleet ship construction just as it affected construction of the organization's forebears.
My guess is that Starfleet vessels are roughly symmetrical on the exterior, but not perfectly.
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I spent a lot of time studying naval designs, including subs and carriers. Getting the booklets of general plans of the Midway (CV-41) and Saratoga (CV-60) helped in my analysis of other carriers, including the Enterprise (CVN-65). You can figure out a lot about internal arrangements once you understand the whys behind them.
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Enterprise (CVN-65) engines & reactors
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