^ Specifically, warp driven spaceships.
Planetside application of Matter/Anti-Matter Reactors.
- Thread starter RobFox
- Start date
I think it'd be cheaper to just build a bunch of ground-based fusion reactors.
We do have reference that warp reactors could be used on planets.
In one Voyager episode ('The Thaw' if I'm not mistaken - the one that involved a computer manifestation of 'fear' from the 3 surviving aliens in stasis) Kim mentioned that there was evidence of an advanced civilization on the planet that was struck by a Solar flare.
Kim mentioned 'Warp reactors' on the planet surface.
One could extrapolate that those reactors were in fact an equivalent of a warp core (although we cannot confirm that - still the name indicates in that direction).
In the case of TNG when Picard dealt with the Umbridges (was that their last name?)... we had in fact a colony.
Now, we have no reason to think that colonies would have a planetary grid like Earth.
After all, Earth would have a planetary grid due to the fact it had the infrastructure to support it (one that evolved over centuries).
Colonies might employ a different strategy when it comes to power generation (at least temporarily until a much larger community is established).
Or it depends from colony to colony.
Not every colony has to have a power grid on which homes would be connected to.
I think the point was that the circumstances were different in that one TNG episode.
Specifically, a mass attack occurred.
The house might have been previously connected to a planetary power grid and had an auxiliary fusion reactor to use in case of a power failure.
Or this specific house was not connected to the power grid (if one existed).
In one Voyager episode ('The Thaw' if I'm not mistaken - the one that involved a computer manifestation of 'fear' from the 3 surviving aliens in stasis) Kim mentioned that there was evidence of an advanced civilization on the planet that was struck by a Solar flare.
Kim mentioned 'Warp reactors' on the planet surface.
One could extrapolate that those reactors were in fact an equivalent of a warp core (although we cannot confirm that - still the name indicates in that direction).
In the case of TNG when Picard dealt with the Umbridges (was that their last name?)... we had in fact a colony.
Now, we have no reason to think that colonies would have a planetary grid like Earth.
After all, Earth would have a planetary grid due to the fact it had the infrastructure to support it (one that evolved over centuries).
Colonies might employ a different strategy when it comes to power generation (at least temporarily until a much larger community is established).
Or it depends from colony to colony.
Not every colony has to have a power grid on which homes would be connected to.
I think the point was that the circumstances were different in that one TNG episode.
Specifically, a mass attack occurred.
The house might have been previously connected to a planetary power grid and had an auxiliary fusion reactor to use in case of a power failure.
Or this specific house was not connected to the power grid (if one existed).
....or it could have been an artificial construct created by an alien with near-Q-like powers.....
Which it was by the time the Enterprise-D arrived.
I was referring to possibilities BEFORE the Hushnock attack took place.
That colony may have been engaged in some energy-intensive industrial stuff, requiring the high-energy output of a M/ARC, with the rest of the colony taking advantage of the excess energy.
The Enterprise crew certainly didn't seem surprised to learn the house had its own generator, and it wasn't expressly used as evidence of anything fishy going on.
Ahem.
This of course makes abundant sense, given that fusion reactors are powered by the rarest
of all substances in the Star Trek universe ... deuterium.
Flashover
Lieutenant Commander
Actually after five years the containment generators would need to be refurbished, the conversion blanket lining would need to be replaced and any number of bits and pieces would need servicing.
Consider a modern fission power plant goes 18 months between service calls, 5 years is a long time to operate non stop.
Consider a modern fission power plant goes 18 months between service calls, 5 years is a long time to operate non stop.
Comparing a contemporary power plant to the one from centuries into the future could easily be an exercise in futility.
I would personally avoid making such comparisons.
Voyager's Warp core was stated to be able to run continuously for 3 year before being 'refilled'.
The actual 're-fit cycle' of the core itself was never mentioned, however, there was an episode in which the ship settled down on a deserted planet and did a major overhaul of all ship systems (a big re-fit)... 'Nightingale' I think was the episode name (early season 7 if I'm not mistaken).
Anyway, in TNG, Enterprise-D received a brand new warp core in 2370 (in the ship's 7th year of operational life-span).
The old warp core was running for over 6 years by that point.
Voyager beats that record since it's been using the same core for 7 years.
When you take into consideration all kinds of maintenance protocols involved on SF ships (which are effectively happening every day), a warp core that's been installed from the get go can easily remain operational until the the ship has been effectively placed into mothballs (though it's likely to be replaced by a newer, more powerful and efficient version to accommodate new SF parameters and systems).
If Enterprise-D is any indication, it's possible that star-ships regularly receive new warp cores after about 6 or 7 years (within or after each decade of service).
Not because the old cores are beginning to break down and whatnot... but more along the lines of 'we created a new core design that will improve efficiency and power output by say 50%).
This of course makes abundant sense, given that fusion reactors are powered by the rarest
of all substances in the Star Trek universe ... deuterium.
Deuterium is not the rarest substance in the Trek universe.
It's been stated you can find it virtually anywhere.
Voyager's situation in 'Demon' episode was actually an exception rather than a rule given the given the circumstances it was in (hostile species from virtually every direction with no chance to refuel any-time soon).
Though, given their technology in the first place, any SF ship in the 24th century has the ability to be completely self-sufficient (an aspect conveniently set aside to further the drama).
Flashover
Lieutenant Commander
I use my understanding of modern nuclear technology to form the basis of my understanding of Treknology.
In the distant 24th, I suspect they will have nanotech repairing the core along with all kinds of high-tech self-repair technology. To actually get the core to the point where it becomes a danger to the ship takes some extraordinary work.
Replacement of a core would only happen when technology improves or the core is damaged beyond the self-repair ability of the ship's systems.
In the distant 24th, I suspect they will have nanotech repairing the core along with all kinds of high-tech self-repair technology. To actually get the core to the point where it becomes a danger to the ship takes some extraordinary work.
Replacement of a core would only happen when technology improves or the core is damaged beyond the self-repair ability of the ship's systems.
Indeed.
Nanotech was an aspect not so easily touched upon by the Feds.
It began general use in the medical field though by the end of TNG (nanites to be exact).
As I said though, with the regular maintenance that occurs on star-ships, actual replacement of the core is not likely unless a new one was designed that puts the old one to shame, the old one was damaged beyond repair (as you yourself eloquently put it).
Though if you noticed, the self-repair abilities of Federation ships in the 24th century (although have been mentioned as existing) were in fact set aside for the purpose of drama.
There is something to be said about not taking the on-screen presentation as 100% accurate (besides, 'absolute' is an utterly useless term and has no place in science).
Nanotech was an aspect not so easily touched upon by the Feds.
It began general use in the medical field though by the end of TNG (nanites to be exact).
As I said though, with the regular maintenance that occurs on star-ships, actual replacement of the core is not likely unless a new one was designed that puts the old one to shame, the old one was damaged beyond repair (as you yourself eloquently put it).
Though if you noticed, the self-repair abilities of Federation ships in the 24th century (although have been mentioned as existing) were in fact set aside for the purpose of drama.
There is something to be said about not taking the on-screen presentation as 100% accurate (besides, 'absolute' is an utterly useless term and has no place in science).
Did it? In mid-TNG, it was already used in a school science project... It would seem natural to assume that it had been in medical or perhaps construction use for several decades at that point.
Of course, the TNG era already has access to better things than nanotech - they have femtotech in the form of replicators. And femtotech doesn't need to be inserted into the target in the form of physical goo. Instead, it can be teleported directly in place. Perhaps nanotech was completely outdated by the time of TNG, except in educational science demonstrations?
Let's remember that McCoy already used devices that sutured wounds and seemed to restore skin when brought to the general vicinity of a wound, not even touching it. Replicator-based material repair technology at work in the 2260s, perhaps? Similar technologies could repair seemingly inaccessible innards of active (and radioactive) machinery. They could also be the technology behind the ablative armor of the Defiant. After all, if the armor ablates, it has to be replaced somehow - and a system that replicates new hull where the old one has been ablated away would be a credible defense especially against Trek beam weaponry, which is famous for disintegrating target material, essentially doing the reverse of this postulated ablative armor sustaining machinery.
If such repair and reapplication technologies were in widespread use, it would be easy to understand how so much of LaForge's "repair" work seems to consist of pushing buttons, even in combat conditions. Physical damage to machinery could indeed be repaired by punching in commands...
Timo Saloniemi
Flashover
Lieutenant Commander
I have a feeling that the ships make use of transporter and replicator systems coupled with nanotech to fix issues like hull breaches and stuff of that nature. Nanotech would be used to correct minor issues like cracked power conduits and seal warp-core micro-fractures.
A planet-based matter antimatter reactor would have to have one essential feature: Positive shut off. You can't eject a planet-based reactor. No matter where you launch it there is going to be a huge burst of gamma and neutrons... and frankly I do not want that in MY back yard.
The core would be engineered to shut down no matter the circumstances. In fact it would be far far easier to deactivate the core than it would be to start it back up.
A planet-based matter antimatter reactor would have to have one essential feature: Positive shut off. You can't eject a planet-based reactor. No matter where you launch it there is going to be a huge burst of gamma and neutrons... and frankly I do not want that in MY back yard.
The core would be engineered to shut down no matter the circumstances. In fact it would be far far easier to deactivate the core than it would be to start it back up.
But you have to keep in mind that core-breaches usually occur on star-ships under very straining circumstances (battles and anomalies in the area).
Experimentation could result in a breach (for example, we are brought to the attempt at when Voyager tried to open up a TW conduit with 7 of 9 help after she first joined the crew), but planet-side cores would likely be in a heavily shielded location that could absorb most if not all of the explosion (if it occurs).
Shut-down procedure would likely be possible in such a scenario, and labs would probably be heavily isolated even though they shared power from another source - or they could have dedicated mini cores for example.
