As discussed at length in another thread, the material composition of the sliding doors aboard the Enterprise-D is a thing shrouded in mystery and confusion. In some episodes, the doors are flimsy affairs that shatter when a human being is thrown through them; in others, they are indestructible, impervious barriers that not even the strongest android or most determined Klingon warrior can overcome. Their ability to transmit sound also seems to vary - we've seen situations in which Commander Riker is getting thrown all around his quarters, causing huge explosions of furniture, while oblivious crew walk by undisturbed, unable to hear what's going on behind the closed doors. In others, a muffled scream is so audibly heard from behind those same doors that an entire security contingent descends on the scene and seals off the deck.
It's for these reasons that I have to wonder what makes the doors to the bathroom (called the 'head' in naval parlance and labeled as such on the set) on the bridge of the Enterprise-D so acoustically impervious. In no episode do we ever hear the musical flatulence of a visiting ambassador or the grunts and screams of a prune juice-deprived Worf emanating from the bridge bathroom. Could it be that Starfleet engineers meticulously record the bathroom habits of Federation member species and subject them to a comprehensive auditory analysis? After all, a Vulcan's suppressed gas may emit an entirely different frequency than a Klingon's boisterous bellow.
If so, I cannot even begin to imagine the composite materials that must go into constructing such a soundproofed door. I would wager that Starfleet uses applied knowledge of xenoscientific acoustics to perfect the construction of the bathroom doors and to ensure that there will never be an embarrassing breach of protocol during delicate diplomatic negotiations. It's also entirely possible that the soundproofing is augmented by a secondary mechanism, such as a white noise machine or a particle field generator of some sort within the room itself.
Given how groundbreaking Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard were in pushing the envelope of edginess during their runs, I'm really surprised that we never gained insight into how this mundane yet fascinating aspect of everyday life is handled in the far-flung future. What do you think? Have any secondary sources, like the Typhon Pact novels or Star Trek Online, boldly gone where none seem to have gone before and pulled back the curtain on this decades-old mystery?
It's for these reasons that I have to wonder what makes the doors to the bathroom (called the 'head' in naval parlance and labeled as such on the set) on the bridge of the Enterprise-D so acoustically impervious. In no episode do we ever hear the musical flatulence of a visiting ambassador or the grunts and screams of a prune juice-deprived Worf emanating from the bridge bathroom. Could it be that Starfleet engineers meticulously record the bathroom habits of Federation member species and subject them to a comprehensive auditory analysis? After all, a Vulcan's suppressed gas may emit an entirely different frequency than a Klingon's boisterous bellow.
If so, I cannot even begin to imagine the composite materials that must go into constructing such a soundproofed door. I would wager that Starfleet uses applied knowledge of xenoscientific acoustics to perfect the construction of the bathroom doors and to ensure that there will never be an embarrassing breach of protocol during delicate diplomatic negotiations. It's also entirely possible that the soundproofing is augmented by a secondary mechanism, such as a white noise machine or a particle field generator of some sort within the room itself.
Given how groundbreaking Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard were in pushing the envelope of edginess during their runs, I'm really surprised that we never gained insight into how this mundane yet fascinating aspect of everyday life is handled in the far-flung future. What do you think? Have any secondary sources, like the Typhon Pact novels or Star Trek Online, boldly gone where none seem to have gone before and pulled back the curtain on this decades-old mystery?
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