Transporter invented when?
- Thread starter JJohnson
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It depends. Transporters were developed by various civilizations long before ENT, but Emory Erickson is credited for developing Earth's first transporter sometime around 2120 or so. Even though NX-01 Enterprise was the first Starfleet vessel to be equipped with a transporter in 2151, it really wouldn't be until a decade or more later that it would become more commonplace throughout the fleet.
Before Enterprise came along, there was no definitive indication as to when the transporter was developed. And for what it's worth, Berman and Braga did not want to have the transporter in Enterprise, but UPN overruled them and said "it's not Star Trek if there's no transporter." The compromise they got to was the transporter was there, but would be used sparingly.
It's not canon now but I always thought the Spaceflight Chronology had an interesting take on transporter development.
According to the timeline, human transporters are still fairly new in TOS. Significantly, human transporters didn't happen until Daystrom's duotronics breakthrough (presumably, super-computer ability needed to store quantum-level human patterns or some such).
In any event, this is the timeline they present (years may be off, but rate of progress is interesting)
2135 first successful experiments with organic matter transport
2171 duotronics computer breakthrough
2174 first human transport is successful
2207 Kirk's five year mission begins
So this interpretation has human transport starting about 33 or 34 years before Kirk's mission in TOS.
Take it as you will.
According to the timeline, human transporters are still fairly new in TOS. Significantly, human transporters didn't happen until Daystrom's duotronics breakthrough (presumably, super-computer ability needed to store quantum-level human patterns or some such).
In any event, this is the timeline they present (years may be off, but rate of progress is interesting)
2135 first successful experiments with organic matter transport
2171 duotronics computer breakthrough
2174 first human transport is successful
2207 Kirk's five year mission begins
So this interpretation has human transport starting about 33 or 34 years before Kirk's mission in TOS.
Take it as you will.
Why bother with a prequel if you're not willing to... well, prequel.
They should have featured transporters in Enterprise, just not on the titular ship itself. Instead, just have a bunch of aliens out there with way better tech than humans, and have them do the beaming thing.
The NX-01 seemed to level up fairly quickly. They were hopelessly outmatched in the first few episodes, but seemed about an even match (perhaps still slightly weaker) to most alien ships they met after a year or so.
Even though I can understand they gathered a lot of experience in deep space and they perhaps saw the design on those Klingon photon torpedoes and perhaps learned a few things from other aliens, I'm not sure how realistic that quick leveling-up was.
So even if they hadn't started out with transporters, they'd probably still have had them after 2 years or so.
Even though I can understand they gathered a lot of experience in deep space and they perhaps saw the design on those Klingon photon torpedoes and perhaps learned a few things from other aliens, I'm not sure how realistic that quick leveling-up was.
So even if they hadn't started out with transporters, they'd probably still have had them after 2 years or so.
They effectively did anyway. In Y1, transporters were emergency only. By Y3 or 4, pretty routine.
The more technology you have, the more technology you get. Conjecture, something about the ongoing development of warp drive or subspace communication lead to the discovery of the transporter.
Or, Emory Erickson bribed some alien for the blueprints, and then developed one using Human tech.
IIRC, Vulcans had transporter technology way before Humans did. The Vulcan transporter may have been Erickson's initial motivation to invent Earth's own, especially if it wasn't a technology the Vulcans didn't want to just freely give away to Humans...
In John Ford's 'The Final Reflection', - the Klingon Ambassador is being shown around Starfleet Headquarters and is shown their latest achievement/development, which they've been working on for the last thirty or so years and is now safe for intelligent life to use, the transporter. The Klingon Ambassador laughs and says that the Klingon Empire has had transporters installed on their ships for the last fifty years.
Enterprise treated the transporter as though it was a really new invention. In The Andorian Incident, Andorians are completely shocked by the existence of the transporter, which you wouldn't think they would be given their conflict with the Vulcans. Granted, season 2 of Picard does show Vulcans had transporters in the 20th century.
I can believe a long development time with transporter tech.
Early use, only inanimate objects, cargo purposes. This is standard use for years.
Living organic matter transport years after that. Human transport decades later?
I don't think first use, first time out would be human transporters.
Early use, only inanimate objects, cargo purposes. This is standard use for years.
Living organic matter transport years after that. Human transport decades later?
I don't think first use, first time out would be human transporters.
And according to the novels set after the series, they left Malcolm and Jonathan serile
^Still preferable to transporter psychosis that also would have afflicted people during that era, according to realm of fear.
That's what the transporter was originally called in TOS, specifically in "Where No Man Has Come Before."
SCOTTY: Materializer ready, sir.
The later term transporter may have derived from the use of the word transport used a couple of times to describe coming and going from the Enterprise in "The Cage," IMO. In-universe, transporter may be just a common colloquialism. but there are many other names for the same system that even predates Earth's version...
I'm reminded of 'Blake's 7' when Blake, Avon and Jenna are exploring the Liberator for the first time and they discover the ship has a working teleporter.
Blake says that he worked with a team of scientists for years on such a project and Avon replied that he worked on the same project as well.
Avon says, "Small world."
To which Blake replies, "Big project."
Blake says that he worked with a team of scientists for years on such a project and Avon replied that he worked on the same project as well.
Avon says, "Small world."
To which Blake replies, "Big project."
The transporter was invented on January 5th, 2021.
But it can only move an individual molecule across 150 nanometers. Nothing on the level of "Beam me up, Scotty!"
But it can only move an individual molecule across 150 nanometers. Nothing on the level of "Beam me up, Scotty!"
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