The Tranpsorter Pad

[Crewman47]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but what do you suppose is the reasoning behind the pads on the Transporter? I mean there raised domes which means that your feet are slanted when you get on them. It must also be considered a hazard if you don't expect it and you slip cause you've just up from a slimy or muddy planet.

What was wrong with just having a flat surface?

 

[Jeri]

Do they stand on the domes? I don't remember that.

 

[Sabataage]

Do they stand on the domes? I don't remember that.

I remember that Spock is on the down while he's in the "crouching tiger" position just before beaming down to Vulcan. .

 

[Jeri]

Yeah, ostensibly that lower center of gravity is supposed to help his stability. If I were standing there, I'd probably put my feet on the edges of it. I wonder if you have to be in contact with it.

 

[Sector 7]

Screencaps, people! We need screencaps.

 

[Jeri]

Ok, ok. I just got back from Target with the ordinary vanilla DVD so I can make screen caps. In the meantime, here's one of Spock. The pads are pretty flat; they don't look hard to stand on.

http://screenmusings.org/StarTrek/pages/Star-Trek-0976.htm

Here's the Vulcans on the pads:

http://screenmusings.org/StarTrek/pages/Star-Trek-1017.htm

It doesn't look hard to balance on them.

 

[KirkusOveractus]

But it looked like Amanda had a hard time balancing on one...

 

[Jeri]

^ Is that a joke? She had a hard time balancing on thin air.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but what do you suppose is the reasoning behind the pads on the Transporter? I mean there raised domes which means that your feet are slanted when you get on them. It must also be considered a hazard if you don't expect it and you slip cause you've just up from a slimy or muddy planet.

What was wrong with just having a flat surface?

I caught that too. I thought they looked curved (while i watched the movie yesterday) and now looking at those caps JERI left links for, they DO look curved. You can see the curve better on the pad behind Spock and to the right.

I was wondering if the floor of the transporter use to be the ceiling of a previous transporter. I remember reading they had done that with a TOS transporter for a TNG transporter pad.

 

[KirkusOveractus]

^ Is that a joke? She had a hard time balancing on thin air.

Yeah, I was just joking. But it's funny, because ever since I first saw the movie, I was wondering why the pads had the slight dome to each of them.

 

[BillJ]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but what do you suppose is the reasoning behind the pads on the Transporter? I mean there raised domes which means that your feet are slanted when you get on them. It must also be considered a hazard if you don't expect it and you slip cause you've just up from a slimy or muddy planet.

What was wrong with just having a flat surface?

To look more realistic. Because a flat pad just didn't offer enough detail for the big screen.

 

[m.lp.ql.m]

I remember that Spock is on the down while he's in the "crouching tiger" position just before beaming down to Vulcan. .

Spock is on the "down-low"?!

 

[Nowhere Man]

It looks to me like they are just raised up a little like standing on a giant beer bottle cap. I think the bubble in the middle is the only rounded thing there.

 

[Johnnymuffintop]

They were probably made that way so you know whether or not you're standing on it.
That way you wouldn't have to constantly be checking your footing.

 

[Jeri]

^ Now, that is an excellent idea. In one of the novels, the author said Uhura installed toggles on her board so she'd hear the click.