How Are The Replicators Supposed To Work On Star Trek?

Model of the Enterprise

Coffee, black, or Earl Grey, hot? If you're a "Star Trek"  fan, you've probably heard a character or two say these words. You might think of Captain Kathryn Janeway of "Star Trek: Voyager" and Captain Jean-Luc Picard from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Picard" are just big breakfast drink fans, and they are, but they're also busy leaders of working space starships. They needed a way to get their favored drinks fast. So they turn to their replicators.

Replicators are essential machines in the "Star Trek" universe. This device can reproduce food, tools, and sometimes even random viruses. Depending on the writer's imagination, it can make almost anything. In times of need, the replicator is the only thing that can feed the crew. And being so far from Federation ports and basses, replicators were their best bet in getting that one part they need to fix their warp core containment.

While the replicator has made many appearances on the shows — Janeway even took hers apart in one episode — it's remains a tool of mystery to many. It acts a lot like a transporter, because it kind of beams food. So how are these things imagined to work in the first place? Of course, this is a starship, and the explanation is very sci-fi.

It's kinda gross, really

According to the  "Star Trek" website , the reason some people see replicators as mini-transporters is because, well, it technically is one. In "Star Trek," transporters "beam" people and items to different places. They dematerialize matter and reconstitute it somewhere else. The replicator essentially acts the same way. So what matter does it work with? Comic Book  reported the not exactly appetizing news. An episode of "Star Trek: Discovery" explained the material comes from fecal matter.

Replicators cannot make new matter because physics simply doesn't allow for that. In the "Trek" universe, scientists had developed a mixture of different materials specifically for food replicators, but it was a finite resource. And so the resource-poor Federation of Planets used something humanity never runs out of: Its own waste. The episode suggests that this sacrifice doesn't come at a human cost, which means the Federation can still claim the moral high ground against their enemies.

Replicators have been in use since the 24th century in the "Trek" universe , though very little has changed around the technology. No matter how advanced, a replicator will only make food programmed into its system. Even so, it beats having to sacrifice a lot of cargo space just to bring thousands of boxes of popcorn. Replicated food will taste mostly the same as the food it mimicked and will also have the same nutritional density. However, that has never stopped intrepid starship captains from bringing the real thing.

Real-life version

Having a replicator certainly means an ability to reproduce just about anything you can think of, provided it's programmed into the machine. So it's very easy to fall into the trap of featuring it in every episode. Bleeding Cool wrote that "Star Trek" writer and producer Ron D. Moore hated the replicator, and so did most people in the writer's room.

Moore said the replicators made everything too easy. If they were stuck somewhere, a character could just replicate something to get them out of a jam. So the writers sometimes avoided using replicators altogether in their episodes.

Fine, in a narrative sense, replicators may make things too easy. But imagine if there was a real-life replicator available. Then, we'd maybe get rid of food deserts once and for all. Fortunately for us, scientists have been working on recreating replicator technology. Per SyFy , researchers at the University of California, Berkeley invented a machine that projects light onto resin to produce an object in minutes. It doesn't re-materialize matter from subatomic particles, but it sure beats waiting hours watching a 3D printer squeeze out plastic.

The technology is based on computed technology, the kind of thing used in medical 3D imaging. The scientists call their new process computed axial lithography. It's not yet fully commercially available, so until then, we're stuck watching our favorite characters eat food replicated from poop.

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Published Mar 23, 2013

Trek Class Blog: Inventing The Replicator

replicator technology star trek

Inventing the Replicator by Professor Anthony Rotolo

Star Trek ’s replicator is an amazing technology concept that has fascinated us for decades. Working at the molecular level to synthesize materials, the replicator is able to instantly produce nearly any object, food or medicine on demand. It is easy to imagine how the replicator would quickly change the world. Such a device could dramatically reduce or even eliminate the cost of most products. Hunger and poverty would be stamped out worldwide, and much of the time and energy spent working for a living could be used instead for pursuits of education, exploration and the advancement of society.

replicator technology star trek

Star Trek envisions the future of humanity to be one of incredible achievements made possible by evolved philosophies as well as technologies. This hopeful view of tomorrow is perhaps the reason so many have dreamed of inventing real-life versions of Star Trek tech --  from the transporter to the tricorder -- and the replicator is one of the most coveted.From a scientific perspective, aspects of the replicator are theoretically uncertain. Researchers have made slow progress working in this area, but a true breakthrough on the scale of a Star Trek replicator seems centuries away. The day when we will prepare dinner or produce complex equipment at the push of a button (or with a voice command) could be as far away as our own 24th Century.

replicator technology star trek

Even if the full vision of the replicator remains beyond our capabilities, perhaps some version of this technology is possible today. After all, the real appeal of the replicator is not in its molecule-synthesizing abilities, but in the value of instant, custom objects made on demand. This is a reality that some are working toward right now using new technologies that could eventually bring us much closer to making the replicator a reality.A process called “additive manufacturing,” or its more popular nickname, “3D Printing,” has captured the imagination of the tech industry. These machines work much like the two-dimensional printer you may have on your desk, but instead of printing a layer of ink, a 3D printer extrudes many layers of melted plastic to form a physical object. You can imagine this as similar to a hot glue gun, where the heated glue stick is carefully extruded from a nozzle. In the case of a 3D printer, that nozzle is controlled by software and digital design files that tells it how to form a shape.

replicator technology star trek

Some have compared 3D printers to modern-day replicators, and it’s easy to see how. Watching one in action is a wondrous experience, with objects that once had to be produced on a factory line fabricated in minutes by a machine not much larger than a microwave. Even complex objects with moving parts can be designed and created one-by-one with a little knowhow. It hardly seems like a coincidence that one of the more popular 3D printer models currently available is actually named the Replicator.The comparisons between 3D Printing and the Star Trek replicator don’t end with plastic. Other materials like wood, metal and even some foods are now being extruded in similar ways to make on-demand creations. This has led to excited speculation that soon we may see the beginnings of a new era of manufacturing in America and around the world, where small-scale production is possible at very low costs. We may even “print” biotechnologies and human organs one day.

replicator technology star trek

______________Anthony Rotolo is a professor at Syracuse University where he teaches “Trek Class.” He is also the founder and “Captain” of the “Starship NEXIS,” a lab that explores new and emerging technologies.

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Could star trek replicators exist.

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a microwave-type machine has a cheeseburger inside it; the background is a purple and red starburst

It’s not quite a replicator, but maybe future space travelers will be able to 3-D print dinner on demand.

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By Deborah Balthazar

September 5, 2023 at 6:30 am

Let’s say you’re hungry. Wouldn’t it be great to walk up to an appliance, tell it what food you want and have that food appear magically in front of your eyes? In the TV franchise Star Trek , this is possible with a piece of technology known as a “replicator.” Getting to a future where this tech exists, though, might take a bit of imagination and invention.

The Star Trek replicator is used to make all kinds of objects, from a hot cup of Earl Grey tea to spare parts for spaceships. Biowaste and other recycled material is broken down into basic parts: water, carbon and other molecules , explains Erin Macdonald. She’s an astrophysicist and science advisor for the Star Trek franchise. Those molecules are then fed into the replicator. When a person asks for an item, lasers reassemble the bits according to a recipe in the computer until it looks like that cup of tea, a dish of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream or a piece of a warp coil.

What, exactly, is the biowaste that goes into the machine? It will probably include poop, says Macdonald. “We don’t want to think about that too much.”

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The replicator’s superfast lasers convert incoming matter into energy. Then, they change it back into matter . “On a fundamental level, there is nothing that prevents you from building a replicator-like machine,” says Gianluca Sarri. He’s a quantum physicist who works with lasers at Queen’s University Belfast in the United Kingdom.

But a replicator is just not a top priority at the moment, he says. All that conversion of matter to energy back to matter again would require a lot of energy. Plus, there’s no way to currently make an object appear within seconds. What’s more: Right now food can be generated in a much simpler way — by cooking.

Let’s print a meal

For now, astronauts eat food sent up from Earth. To make sure they get the food they need, future space tourists and crews might rely on hydroponics — growing plants without soil. Cooking that food in space like you do at home might be an option. But it might not always be practical inside the tight fit of a spaceship. So spacefarers might instead print that meal with a 3-D printer.

Today’s 3-D printers are similar to regular printers, notes Jonathan Blutinger. Just as normal printers must be fed cartridges of ink, 3-D printers must be fed cartridges of printing material. Blutinger is a design engineer.

While at the Creative Machines Lab at Columbia University in New York City, he helped create a 3-D printer that acts like a digital chef. “The printer will not allow you to make something from nothing,” he says. “You need to start with the right base ingredients.”

Blutinger’s group recently started with ingredients for a “cake.” They put graham-cracker paste, strawberry jam, peanut butter, Nutella, cherry drizzle, banana puree and frosting into the food printer. The printer assembled and cooked the ingredients with lasers to make a slice of cake.

The cake tasted great, Blutinger says, but it was definitely a unique experience because the flavors came in “waves.” The group’s paper about the cake appeared March 21 in npj Science of Food .

a row of seven transparent upside down nozzles are full of different ingredients, such as Nutella (brown) and frosting (pink)

Appetizing or off-putting?

The 3-D printing robot chef can only assemble the ingredients it’s given and then add heat to cook the food. It cannot create foods from pure energy made from biowaste, like the fictional Star Wars replicator does. But people may not yet be comfortable eating even this relatively simple version of machine-made meals, Blutinger says.

Most people are comfortable with items like flour and peanut butter because we know where they come from. As science moves food away from the source, though, people could get grossed out. That 3-D printed cake might be easier for some to eat than 3-D printed meat, for instance. And people who did not grow up with 3-D printers in the kitchen might prefer food from the grocery store, Blutinger says.

“But pretty soon…kids will be growing up with these kinds of food robots in their kitchen,” he predicts. “Then that’s all they’re going to know.”

Macdonald agrees. “It’s just one of those things that people will have to come to terms with.”

a cake-shaped wedge of 3-D printed brown batter is being topped with pink frosting by a 3-D printing nozzle

Food printers might be on our kitchen counters within the next 10 to 20 years, Sarri says. These printers could be like “having a personal chef and nutritionist all in one,” Blutinger adds. The machine could someday recommend and create healthier food that’s customized to your diet.

A Star Trek replicator might be possible, but not nearly as soon, says Sarri — maybe 100 years down the line. Those replicators of the future could be useful in areas in beyond outer space. They could provide food in places where putting a chef might be dangerous, such as a war zone.

“There’s a feedback loop,” Macdonald says, “of scientists being inspired by Star Trek and then making that science. And then that continues to feed into the science fiction of, ‘Well this is what we can do now, so what’s next?’”

The next tech to materialize might just be a replicator.

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Replicator (Star Trek)

In Star Trek a replicator is a machine that can create (and recycle ) things. Replicators were originally seen to simply synthesize meals on demand, but in later series much larger non-food items appear. The technical aspects of replicated versus "real" things is sometimes a plot element.

Origins and limitations

In the real world, external links.

Although previous sci-fi writers had speculated about the development of "replicating" or "duplicating" technology, [1] the term "replicator" was not itself used until Star Trek: The Next Generation . In simple terms, it was described as a 24th century advancement from the 23rd century "food synthesizer" seen in Star Trek: The Original Series . In Star Trek: The Original Series , food was created in various colored cubes. In Star Trek: The Animated Series (1974), various types of realistic-looking food could be requested, as in the episode entitled " The Practical Joker ". The mechanics of these devices were never clearly explained on that show. The subsequent prequel series, Star Trek: Enterprise , set in the 22nd century, featured a "protein resequencer" that could only replicate certain foods, so an actual chef served on board who used a hydroponic greenhouse where fruits and vegetables were grown. Additionally, that ship had a "bio-matter resequencer" which was used to recycle waste product into usable material. [2]

According to an academic thesis: "The so-called 'replicators' can reconstitute matter and produce everything that is needed out of pure energy, no matter whether food, medicaments, or spare parts are required." [3] A replicator can create any inanimate matter , as long as the desired molecular structure is on file , but it cannot create antimatter , dilithium , latinum, and (in the case of at least federation replicators) living things of any kind; for the last case, non-canon works such as the Star Trek: the Next Generation Technical Manual state that, though the replicators share the same technology with transporters , the resolution used is too low to create living tissue. However, other replicators, such as the ones used by the aliens in the TNG episode " Allegiance ", could create living things, including the brain's many trillions of dendritic connections where memory is stored.

One of the most important pieces of technology in the Star Trek universe, the replicator is used primarily to provide food and water on board starships , thus eliminating the need to stock most provisions (though starships, starbases, and other installations still stock some provisions for emergencies, such as in cases of replicator failure or an energy crisis.) On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , it was established that as long as there is an energy source to power life support, replication is used to provide breathable air on ships and starbases (and to disassemble the carbon dioxide exhaled by the crew ), thus providing a seemingly endless supply of oxygen and eliminating the need to carry air tanks.

The technology is also used for producing spare parts , which makes it possible to repair most ship damage without having to return to a starbase. Other applications include replication of Starfleet uniforms and everyday objects such as toys and souvenirs. Replication is also used by the Holodeck program to allow food , clothes , and other objects belonging within a simulation to be used or consumed by the participants.

Starfleet 's safety protocols prevent unauthorized replication of dangerous objects, such as weapons and poisonous substances. [4]

Replicators can also convert matter into energy. Following that principle, the device can dismantle any object into subatomic particles. The ensuing energy can then be stored for future use or immediately applied in a subsequent replication. This process is referred to as "recycling", and is applied to everything from dirty dishes [5] to outgrown children's clothes.

Replicator technology, even if produced on a larger scale, had not been able to be used to create complex objects such as shuttlecraft or starships (the production staff felt that being able to replicate entire starships "at the push of a button" would severely impact dramatic potential). However, in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "For the Cause" , industrial replicators are used to replicate large components of ships, shuttlecraft , and other pieces of this sort, which are later used in shipyards to construct such vessels. In this manner, as few as 15 industrial replicators are enough to replicate the components needed to build a fleet of starships or to help a civilization recover from a planet-wide natural disaster.

This ability to reproduce complex machines is furthered during the first season of Star Trek: Prodigy . A replicator is shown to have the capacity to replicate an entire starship in the second episode, "Lost & Found", when Gwyn is attempting to escape the Protostar. When she reaches the shuttle bay, she finds a replicator with the technology to manufacture a complete ship. The process by which it is replicated takes minutes rather than seconds though, and behaves more similarly to a 3D printer than a traditional replicator. [6]

By virtually eliminating material scarcity, replicator technology plays an important role in the moneyless human economy within the Star Trek universe.

When the USS Voyager was pulled to the Delta Quadrant , it became clear that replicator technology was unknown to some of the indigenous peoples of that region. Throughout the first seasons, the Kazon and other races tried repeatedly to obtain the technology.

In the Voyager episode " State of Flux ", how the Kazon aliens obtain the technology from the USS Voyager, is a major plot point in the episode. [7]

Captain Janeway feared that if this technology were acquired by a civilization before they were ready, disastrous consequences could ensue. For this reason, and because of the Prime Directive , Janeway refused to give away the technology at any price.

Also on Voyager , the ship's energy constraints on the journey back to the Alpha Quadrant meant that replicator supplies had to be strictly controlled, leading to "replicator rations" becoming an unofficial ship currency. This is also the reason Neelix (aside from providing the crew with a morale boost through the preparation of fresh food) became employed as the ship's chef. Some ingredients came from the ship's hydroponics laboratory.

In 2014, researchers at Nestlé were reported as working on technology comparable to the replicator, with the goal of providing food tailored to an individual's nutritional requirements. [8]

Imperial College London physicists have discovered how to create matter from light — a feat thought impossible when the idea was first hypothesized in the 1930s. In just one day in Imperial's Blackett Physics Laboratory, three physicists worked out a relatively simple way to physically prove a theory first devised by scientists Breit and Wheeler in 1934. [9]

BeeHex, an Ohio startup company, received a grant in 2013 from NASA intended for developing long-spaceflight food 3D printing technology. They now build food printing robots for eventual public use. [10]

Cemvita Factory Inc., a biotech startup based in Houston, TX, is also developing a photobioreactor that converts carbon dioxide that's captured from air along with hydrogen from hydrolyzing water to nutrients and pharmaceutics. [11] [12] [13]

A 2016 article in The New Yorker noted that replicators may be a "metaphor for the distant endpoint of the Industrial Revolution". [14] They point out that technology as presented in Star Trek: The Next Generation changes the moral equation of being human, because nearly anything you want can be created with a request. [14]

They note that Captain Picard's favorite beverage, Earl Grey tea , is created by the replicator, and the character often states "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot" during the television show. [14] The beverage is then seen being produced in the replicator with a special visual and sound effect. [14]

  • Molecular assembler
  • Santa Claus machine
  • Forever Peace , a 1997 novel by Joe Haldeman that features a similar device called the Nanoforge
  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (film) , a 2009 film that features a similar device called the "Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator"
  • Station of Extreme Light
  • Ai computer aided design (CAD)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Janeway</span> Character in Star Trek: Voyager

Kathryn Janeway is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. She was the main character of the television series Star Trek: Voyager , which aired between 1995 and 2001. She served as the captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager while it was lost in the Delta Quadrant on the other side of the galaxy. After returning home to the Alpha Quadrant, she is promoted to vice admiral and briefly appears in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis . She is seen again commanding the USS Dauntless in Star Trek: Prodigy , searching for the missing USS Protostar which was being commanded by Captain Chakotay, her former first officer on Voyager , at the time of its disappearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chakotay</span> Character from Star Trek: Voyager

Chakotay is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager . Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager , and later promoted to Captain in command of the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy . The character was suggested at an early stage of the development of the series. He is the first Native American main character in the Star Trek franchise. This was a deliberate move by the producers of the series, who sought to provide an inspiration as with Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series for African Americans. To develop the character, the producers sought the assistance of Jamake Highwater who falsely claimed to be Native American. Despite first being named as a Sioux, and later a Hopi, Chakotay was given no tribal affiliation at the start of the series, something that was later resolved in the episode "Tattoo".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Paris</span> Fictional character from Star Trek

Lieutenant Thomas Eugene "Tom" Paris is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager and is portrayed by Robert Duncan McNeill. Paris is the chief helmsman, as well as a temporary auxiliary medic, of the USS Voyager , a Starfleet ship that was stranded in the Delta Quadrant by an alien entity known as the Caretaker.

Star Trek: Voyager is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor. It originally aired from January 16, 1995, to May 23, 2001, on UPN, with 172 episodes over seven seasons. It is the fifth series in the Star Trek franchise. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy.

In the Star Trek fictional universe, shields refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that provides starships, space stations, and entire planets with limited protection against damage. They are sometimes referred to as deflectors , deflector shields , or screens . Types of shields include navigational deflectors .

Transporter (<i>Star Trek</i>) Teleportation device installed on starships in Star Trek

A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. Transporters allow for teleportation by converting a person or object into an energy pattern, then sending ("beaming") it to a target location or else returning it to the transporter, where it is reconverted into matter ("rematerialization").

The Star Trek fictional universe contains a variety of weapons, ranging from missiles to melee. The Star Trek franchise consists mainly of several multi-season television shows and a dozen movies, as well as various video games and inspired merchandise. Many aspects of the Star Trek universe impact modern popular culture, especially its fictitious terminology and the concept of weaponry on spacecraft. The franchise has had a widespread influence on its audiences from the late 20th to early 21st century. Notably, Star Trek 's science fiction concepts have been studied by real scientists; NASA described it in relation to the real world as "entertaining combination of real science, imaginary science gathered from lots of earlier stories, and stuff the writers make up week-by-week to give each new episode novelty." For example, NASA noted that the Star Trek "phasers" were a fictional extrapolation of real-life lasers, and compared them to real-life microwave based weapons that have a stunning effect.

USS <i>Voyager</i> (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional spacecraft in Star Trek

USS Voyager (NCC-74656) is the fictional Intrepid -class starship which is the primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager . It is commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway. Voyager was designed by Star Trek: Voyager production designer Richard D. James and illustrator Rick Sternbach. Most of the ship's on-screen appearances are computer-generated imagery (CGI), although models were also sometimes used. The ship's motto, as engraved on its dedication plaque, is a quote from the poem "Locksley Hall" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: "For I dipt in to the future, far as human eye could see; Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuvok</span> Fictional character in Star Trek: Voyager

Tuvok is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise and a main character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager . Tuvok is a Vulcan who serves as the ship's second officer, Chief of Security, and Chief Tactical Officer. He was portrayed by Tim Russ throughout the show's run from 1995 to 2001, as well as in subsequent portrayals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holodeck</span> Star Trek device

The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise Star Trek which uses "holograms" to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imaginary setting, in which participants can freely interact with the environment as well as objects and characters, and sometimes a predefined narrative.

" Caretaker " is the series premiere of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager . It was first broadcast as a double-length episode on January 16, 1995, as the first telecast of the fledgling UPN network. It was later split into two parts for syndication, but released in its original one-episode format on DVD and streaming services. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet and Maquis crew of the starship USS Voyager after they are stranded in the Delta Quadrant far from the rest of the Federation.

" State of Flux " is the eleventh episode of Star Trek: Voyager , which was a science fiction television show that ran from 1995-2001. Recurring Voyager characters Seska and Lt. Carey star, along with the show's main cast, in an episode that sees the return of the Kazon aliens previously introduced in "Caretaker".

" Relativity " is the 118th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager airing on the UPN network. It is the 24th episode of the fifth season.

" Non Sequitur " is the 21st episode of Star Trek: Voyager , the fifth episode in the second season. Harry Kim is enigmatically stranded back on Earth, only to discover the lives of his companions have been radically altered. Much of the episode takes place on Earth in the same era as Voyager , but in alternate timeline caused by an anomaly.

" Shattered " is the 157th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager , aired on the UPN network. It is the 10th episode of the seventh season.

" Maneuvers " is the 27th episode of Star Trek: Voyager , and the 11th episode in the second season. In this science fiction television show, the spacecraft USS Voyager encounters the Kazon and former crew member that defected, Seska. The episode features many scenes with Chakotay, Seska, and various guest stars in the role of the Kazon. It also features several special effect sequences with various spacecraft.

" Alliances " is the 30th episode of American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager airing on the UPN network, the 14th episode in the second season.

" Night " is the 95th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager , the first episode of the fifth season.

String Theory: Cohesion is a 2005 novel by American author Jeffrey Lang, the first book of the Star Trek: Voyager series, a sci-fi series set in the Star Trek universe. It was released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the television series Star Trek: Voyager and takes place between the 4th and 5th seasons.

  • ↑ Star Trek: Enterprise : " Breaking the Ice "
  • ↑ Mieke Schüller (2 October 2005). Star Trek - The Americanization of Space . GRIN Verlag. p.   5. ISBN   978-3-638-42309-0 .
  • ↑ " Death Wish ". Voyager Season 2. No. 18. UPN . February 19, 1996
  • ↑ Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, episode Hard Time .
  • ↑ "Star Trek: Prodigy Gives Starfleet a Major Upgrade" . 4 November 2021.
  • ↑ "Star Trek: Voyager's Must-Watch Episodes" . io9 . 28 April 2020 . Retrieved 2021-02-13 .
  • ↑ "Nestle plans to create 'Star Trek-like food replicator' " . BBC. 24 June 2014.
  • ↑ "Scientists discover how to turn light into matter after 80-year quest" .
  • ↑ "NASA-Funded 3D Pizza Printer Now Works at Tourist Attractions" . 11 August 2016.
  • ↑ "Deep Technology Based on Cognitive Chemistry" . www.cemvitafactory.com . Retrieved March 4, 2019 .
  • ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Cemvita Factory NASA iTech - Moji Karimi" (video) . CemVita Factory Inc. September 1, 2018 . Retrieved March 4, 2019 .
  • ↑ Tonar, Ellis Talton and Remington. "Space Tech Startups Are The Key To Making Life On Mars Possible" . Forbes . Retrieved March 4, 2019 .
  • 1 2 3 4 Saadia, Manu (2016-09-08). "The Enduring Lessons of "Star Trek" " . The New Yorker . ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 2019-07-24 .
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In Star Trek, You Eat Your Own Poop: Or, Replicators Explained

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

It took a long time for the writers of "Star Trek" to codify the technology on screen, so food replicators have been known by many names over the years. Sometimes it was called a molecular synthesizer, or a food synthesizer. Sometimes it would merely be referred to as a "food slot," which sounds less like a marvel of technology and more like an old-timey coin-operated automat . By the days of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," however, the name "replicator" finally stuck, and viewers could rest assured that a starship populated by over a thousand people has efficient means of feeding its denizens. 

On-screen, replicators are perhaps one of the more magical technologies in "Star Trek." Replicators are small alcoves on the wall, equipped with a giant computer, usually located inside crew quarters. A crew member can walk up to the alcove, speak the name of a food or a beverage, and said object will instantaneously materialize. Provided the food or drink in question is programmed into the ship's database, anyone can have whatever meal they want at any time. Hunger is a thing of the past. All the replicator needs is information about cells and proteins, and the raw energy to make something. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) regularly ordered cups of Earl Grey tea during his shifts. 

It turns out, though, that Picard might technically be drinking his own bodily waste. The dark secret of replicators is that they convert energy into matter, very much the same way the Enterprise's transporters do. That means, of course, that spare matter needs to be transformed into energy first. And where do you think that matter comes from? Longtime "Star Trek" technical advisor Michael Okuda confirmed that at least some of the replicators' energy store comes from matter salvaged from the ship's toilets. 

The ship's galley

Of course, replicators weren't standard equipment on "Star Trek" until the days of "Next Generation." Prior to that, Federation starships seemed to have a few replicators that provided a few meals here and there, but most foods were still prepared in a galley, largely kept off-screen until "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." In that film, several senior officers had a conversation in the Enterprise's galley, and one of them even vaporized a steel cooking pot with a phaser. Comedically, the gluey porridge-like substance inside the pot was not vaporized and even kept its shape. 

In the original series, however, it was always a little canonically hazy as to how widespread the replicator technology was. Generally accepted among Trekkies — but not necessarily canonical — is that chefs on the Enterprise could replicate small dishes or specific ingredients, but tended to use ingredients stored in an outsize pantry. If the Enterprise seems large, consider how much of its volume may be stocked with provisions. Doubtless, every space-saving measure is in play, but still, that's a lot of food. The original Enterprise's complement was over 400.

Replicators weren't yet invented in the days of "Star Trek: Enterprise," as that show saw humans encountering the technology for the first time. There was also a lot of talk on "Enterprise" about a character called Cookie, the show's unseen galley chef. Cookie would eventually be play-acted by Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) on the holodeck, and the character became strangely important in the show's final episode. Given the limitations of technology, one can imagine that the food on "Enterprise" wasn't very good. Luckily, Cookie only had to cook for 83 people.

But, yeah, you eat your poop

In the pages of the invaluable "Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual," co-author Okuda noted how the Enterprise's replicators are tied directly into the ship's sewage system. Toilets aren't really seen much on "Star Trek," but Trekkies who have ogled blueprints all know where they are located. Okuda wrote that the crew's organic waste is "pumped to treatment and recycling units located in the environmental support complexes on Decks 6, 13, and 24." Via the ship's filtration process, "resulting water is superheated to 150°C for biological sterilization." Once sterilized, the urine is "returned to one of several freshwater storage tanks for reuse." Yes, there is a store of fresh water on the Enterprise-D. Yes, it's made from pee.

As for the solid waste — or, in Okuda's words, "various waste sludges" — it is "electrolytically reprocessed into an organic particulate suspension that serves as the raw material for the food synthesizer systems." Then all of the "remaining byproducts are conveyed to the solid waste processing system for matter replication recycling." Matter replication recycling. They recycle poop into food. 

Yes, it's mere energy by the time it makes its way to the replicator's energy systems, and naturally, the bacteria have all been removed, but the people on "Star Trek" are such efficient recyclers that they do indeed eat their own poop. Also, all their other trash. All waste matter — old clothes, dated tech, or mere trinkets you don't want anymore — can be placed on a replicator and de-materialized back into energy at a moment's notice. It's then reused to make new foods and objects. However, the dematerialization process wouldn't be demonstrated on-screen until an episode of "Star Trek: Voyager." 

The limits of replicators

Of course, "Star Trek" technology requires limitations, otherwise a lot of dramatic tension would be broken. It's been implied many times over various Trek series that replicators require a lot of energy to operate. Hence, a prankster can't program a replicator to keep making food until the ship's hallways fill with SpaghettiOs and the hull begins to buckle. This notion was reinforced by the events of "Star Trek: Voyager," which saw its title ship stranded 70 years from home. To save energy, replicator access was rationed, a hydroponics bay was erected, and a galley was built. The ship needed a sustainable food source, and replicators weren't it. This became an issue when Captain Janeway's beloved coffee beans were nowhere to be found. 

It's also repeated throughout Trek that replicated food ... isn't that good. Several characters note that they can taste when food is synthesized, leading to many amateur chefs trying their hand at cooking in their quarters. It seems some galley equipment is always on hand, just in case. Replicators, though, seem to leave little room for culinary alteration of its programs.

As previously noted in the pages of /Film, alcohol cannot be produced by a replicator. Ancillary technical manuals also explain that poisons can't be replicated. Although whether or not benign ingredients for one species may be poisonous to another hasn't yet been addressed in canon. Perhaps the replicators make foods that are acceptable to every digestive system on the ship. 

Replicators are also only capable of replicating smaller objects. No one on "Star Trek" has ever been seen replicating anything larger than a coffee table book. One cannot replicate, for instance, an entire starship.

Of course, if you can replicate a starship, you'd likely be so powerful that you wouldn't need to.

We’ve just started work on the technology to power a Star Trek-style replicator

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replicator technology star trek

Who has never dreamt of having a machine that can materialise any object we need out of thin air at the push of a button? Such machines only exist in the minds of science fiction enthusiasts and the film industry. The most obvious example is the “replicator” that Star Trek characters routinely use to generate a diverse range of objects, helping them escape from even the most impossible of plotlines.

However, scientists might have found a way to build such a dream-like machine. The trick will be to exploit the ever-famous E=mc 2 equation, known as Einstein’s energy-matter equivalence principle. This equation tells us that mass (the amount of matter a body is made of) is just another form of energy. This means it should be possible to take some mass and directly convert it into pure energy.

This phenomenon is supported by uncountable experimental evidence. For instance, it provides the energy that keeps atomic nuclei together. If you “weigh” the nucleus of an atom, you will find that it is slightly lighter than the sum of its components. The missing mass is converted into energy, which holds everything together. So far so good, but the equals sign in the equation tells us something even more exciting. We can, in principle, take pure energy and materialise it into mass.

Vacuum – not so empty

How might that be possible? In order to grasp this idea, we need to change our concept of pure vacuum. Classically, vacuum is nothing but a completely empty (and rather boring) region of space. Quantum mechanics instead tells us that vacuum is an extremely busy region of space, where ultra-tiny particles come into existence for extremely short periods of time (shorter than 10 -21 s, or a thousandth of a billionth of a billionth of a second).

The particles are quickly annihilated when they collide with a corresponding (anti)particle made from antimatter. Together, these particles and antiparticles, usually referred to as “virtual particles” because they exist for such short periods of time, are a direct consequence of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle .

Now, imagine sending a super-intense laser beam (which is pure electromagnetic energy) into a vacuum. If the laser is intense enough, it could rip these virtual particles away from their antiparticles to such a distance that they will not collide and annihilate. This means you have sent energy into a void region and end up with some real particles with mass.

replicator technology star trek

There’s only one drawback: you would need to send enough energy to separate the virtual particle-antiparticle pair before they would naturally annihilate each other (remember the 10 -21 s?). This appears to be a Herculean task, but recent developments in laser technology are now giving us the opportunity to do so.

Lasers are now able to produce bursts of light that last for tiny periods of time, periods comparable to the time it takes an electron to perform one revolution around the nucleus in the atom. They can also be focused on a region of space smaller than the width of a human hair. To bring things into a bit more perspective, these laser bursts are thousands and thousands of times more powerful than the whole UK electrical grid (although they require relatively small amounts of energy) and billions and billions of times more intense than solar irradiation on Earth.

Ramping up the power

Scientists are notoriously never satisfied, however, and are pushing this limit even further. A major European project is now building the most powerful laser ever generated, the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI). This unprecedented project will result, in the next few years, in the creation of a laser system that provides beams with a power of 10 PW (10,000,000,000,000,000 watts). That’s 10 times more powerful than existing state-of-the-art laser facilities.

Theoretical calculations indicate that such a laser is able to “produce” a handful of particles out of a pure vacuum and provide the first experimental evidence that energy can be directly transformed into tangible matter.

We might still be a long way from producing a polished finished object from vacuum but the first step is now being taken. Once the wheel is set in motion, it will only be a matter of time before a replicator will be an essential appliance in every household. The only problem remaining then will be what to do with the anti-objects that will unavoidably be generated beside the requested objects?

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Implications of Replicator Technology

replicator technology star trek

Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced an amazing piece of technology, the replicator . These devices work by the same principle as transporters – making matter out of energy (or reorganizing existing matter into new forms , depending on which technical specs you’re reading). They were mainly added as a curiosity, something that would allow the show to use futuristic special effects on a regular basis. From time to time the writers used them for plot-critical points, to produce whatever material or McGuffin was needed to move the plot forward.

The show never tackled just how much replicators would change lives and culture. The writers would have characters invite someone to their quarters for a home-cooked dinner, as if they were going to take steps more involved than asking the computer to materialize a pot roast from thin air. *

When we add new technology into our day-to-day lives it changes what we do, how we prioritize, even how we think about the tasks that technology is used for. If replicators were invented tomorrow, what problems would they solve for us, what aspects of our lives would be changed? Answering these sorts of questions takes worldbuilding to the next level.

No Animal Cruelty

Vegetarianism has been growing in popularity for the past several decades. More restaurants offer vegetarian or vegan options than ever before. And while some are motivated by the belief that a vegetarian diet is healthier, many people cite either environmental or animal welfare concerns as the top reason for a vegetarian diet. Those concerns disappear when replicators are involved. A replicated steak was never part of a cow, and the only impact is the energy it takes to produce. No death or mistreatment of animals * required.

No Preservatives

The modern food industry has all sorts of creative ways to preserve its products and prolong shelf lives. From the basics of drying and flaking herbs and spices, to adding partially hydrogenated oil, we make sacrifices to quality for longevity’s sake. But when we can replicate food there’s no reason not to set all ingredients to “fresh.” Why replicate curry with dried basil and chili powder when you can replicate fresh basil leaves and chilies?

Reduced Food Allergies

Food allergies or sensitivities are a nuisance for some and potentially deadly for others. Once we can replicate food, it should be easy to eliminate the risks associated with them. Identify the particular protein that triggers a peanut allergy, and you can safely enjoy peanut butter by excluding it during replication. Sure this may change the taste or texture slightly, but it would be much closer than conventional substitutes.

“Soulless” Food Movement

Of course replicating our food may bring out new problems. Today we see plenty of concern trolls raising alarm bells about food production and processing that betray their scientific illiteracy. * The Food Babes of the future may decide that food which isn’t grown is somehow unwholesome for you. * Big Replicator could replace Big Agro as the villain that is supposedly poisoning the world .

Waste Disposal and Pollution

Replicators would revolutionize waste disposal. We could say goodbye to separating recyclables and compostables. No more landfills or incinerators either. All of our trash simply gets put back in the replicator and broken back down to its component atoms.

Replicators could also be used to remove pollution by acting like a water or air filter. Pump air or water into one side of the replicator, dematerialize any pollutants and toxins, then pump it out the other side. The pollution is converted into energy and stored for future replication. Purifying water supplies and reducing greenhouse gases to safe levels would become simple. The only factor to consider is how many replicators would be needed to accomplish it quickly.

From Ownership to Access

Even how we consume goods would be transformed by replicators. There would be a shift from paying for ownership to paying for access. We are already seeing a shift to an access economy for entertainment with services like Netflix and Hulu. With replicators we will see this happen for physical goods as well.

Instead of needing to own a set of dishes, they can be replicated with the food in question. So people won’t need to spend time deciding which dish set fits their everyday style or is fancy enough to pull out for special occasions. Rather than purchasing your dishes and being locked into that one expensive choice, you can pay for access to a multitude of dish patterns that can be selected to go with a particular meal. Having ownership of physical objects will seem a quaint notion when you have the ability to create them on demand.

Increased Importance of Energy

The ability to convert energy into matter in a highly controlled way would push a society a significant distance towards a post scarcity economy. Foods, construction materials, and luxury goods would all be available instantly so long as you have enough energy to replicate them. That of course assumes that the society with the replicator technology also has the energy needed to use them on demand.

In Star Trek, replicators are powered by fusion reactors. When a starship is operating at peak efficiency, the energy demand of the replicators is negligible compared to the rest of the ship’s systems. But what if the society operating the replicators doesn’t have access to such a massive power source?

Energy would then become the source of scarcity that limits the impact replicators would have on society. Energy prices would rise until replication reached an equilibrium with traditional means of production. * This would allow people of means to have instant access to goods, but the price inflation of energy would make it even harder for society’s poorest to afford electricity and heat without government regulation of energy prices.

The Limits of Space

But assuming that energy production keeps up with the needs of replicator technology, there would still be a use for money and private ownership. If you want a large home, a collection of classic cars, or a private plane, where can you put it? The further you go from city centers, the easier it is to find unused land that you can reshape to your heart’s content. But what if you want your mansion to be in the heart of your favorite city?

Star Trek has gotten rid of currency; for goods and services they have a post-scarcity economy. This works just fine for the characters we watch – their living quarters are assigned by Starfleet. For private citizens, though, how can one move to a larger apartment or build a dream home by the beach? Land that can be privately owned will always be a scarce resource, no matter what other goods you can create from thin air. And that means that there will be either rationing by a government entity , which we can infer happens in the Federation, or the continuation of a financial system within society.

Moving Beyond Direct Impacts

As we can see, replicators would bring about many economic and social transformations. These are first-order changes, the direct impacts that this technology would have on society when it is available. But when worldbuilding and writing, we can also explore the more subtle, indirect changes that new technologies have.

The average American spends about 10 hours per week shopping, cooking, and cleaning up . What impact would that have on how we live our lives if we could suddenly get that time for leisure or creative ventures? How much would that time be worth to us if the energy to use the technology was limited? The effects of a major technological innovation are profound and creep into many aspects of our lives that we wouldn’t predict when the technology is first introduced. * Play in your world for a while, and explore what these implications might be.

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Comments on Implications of Replicator Technology

It’s stated/implied in a few episodes that replicated food doesn’t quite taste as good as real food. In Voyager, replicators are restricted due to energy demands so the crew has to eat actual at a crew mess.

They do have some characters that prefer “real food,” but there is usually context that allows you to interpret that character as biased, ignorant, or paranoid. I suspect that in a blind taste test, Picard’s brother would not be able to tell the difference between a home cooked meal, and a replicated meal created from the original.

Realistic or not, one of the major aspects of the Federation is vastly improved general education. We may only be seeing the absolute brightest in Starfleet, but beyond that I don’t think we EVER see a Federation citizen portrayed as lacking a good education. Even the younger kids are shown doing super-science (by today’s standards) as basic school projects. Federation citizens love learning, apparently, and get taught plenty.

This could imply that the “Soulless” Food Movement would never get off the ground, if equivalent attitudes today are purely a matter of ignorance and poor science education.

On the other hand, if there’s a genuinely inherent psychological abnormality behind it (which I personally wouldn’t guess is the more likely reason), then Star Trek would be inaccurate for glossing over this.

Although we have seen Federation citizens with some really dumb ideas before. Remember the technophobes from Paradise? Or the fun police from His Way? Or the colonists who thought it would be fun to die while the Sheliack obliterated them from orbit in Ensigns of Command?

Paradise: Small number of isolated survivors, marooned by a crash (all engineered and manipulated by a lone zealot) for at least a decade. I’ll give you the Alixus character as an interesting anomaly, but not the whole colony as representative of normal Federation life.

His Way: I’m familiar with the episode, and just skimmed through it again, but I think I missed the “fun police” reference.

Ensigns of Command: Another example of ship-wrecked survivors, isolated from the Federation, in this case for a full century. I’d also say that the subjective issue of whether their homes are worth dying for (the crux of the episode) is not the same sort of question as something objective like “do vaccines make us healthier”.

In general, I’ll concede that you can find exceptions (and there’d be no plot without them), but you have to hunt well outside of the mainstream Federation, in isolated, under-resourced frontier pockets, just to find a tiny handful out of the trillions of citizens who don’t fit the educated and rational stereotype. This is pretty different from half your population rejecting natural selection or vaccines, as we see in some real modern societies.

Sorry, it was Let He Who is Without Sin, not His Way. They called themselves the New Essentialists, and went around yelling at people for having TOO MUCH FUN on Risa.

Then why are there restaurants? Sisko’s dad runs one and there are restaurants on DS9. A “soulless” food movement may insist that food prepped by real people tastes better because it can be personalized. Would you rather have a Big Mac or a homemade version of it? Same idea, replicated food will taste the same since it uses the same pattern. Maybe someone wants an extra dash of spice. Then you have the psychological benefits of creating, which includes cooking.

I bet you would also have the opposite of the Food Babe crazies too. Like, people that are so used to hermetically sealed space ships and replicated foods that they’re super germaphobes.

“You grew that in dirt? With like bugs and animal dung? Gross! Computer, put a level five containment field around this… ‘carrot.'”

Security, we have a rutabaga contamination on deck 10!

It seems like you would need rationing for goods and services too. Energy is not limiless after all. Perhaps every citizen would be given a number of credits they can use as they like, sort of a basic income as some have proposed? I don’t see how this wouldn’t be money though if it’s being exchanged for things. Star Trek is contradictory on that.

Energy in Star Trek is unlimited, quite literally. A single Warp Core power source is enough to light up all of the currently developed nations on Earth. USA, Russia, China, India, Europe all of it. And we are very close to producing Fusion power, as many as a dozen of these plants would be needed to supply a global replicator network. Very doable. Also the concept of replicators is in fact feasible, not the exact same thing as what we see in star trek, but very similar.

However we are missing that replicators are also an industrial tool as much as a culinary one. Voyager style replicators that allow them to build a craft like the Delta Flyer in a matter of a week is astounding. A similarly sized terrestrial aircraft would take an army of workers and robots in a massive facility a month to complete. Replicators would upend the global economy. If people have the ability to build whatever they want just by asking the magic box, why import it and spend a buttload of cash? Economies based on production of consumer goods like China and India, would collapse in less than a year. The only hope to avoid those in those countries is the replicators that started the problem. Otherwise, people would starve. One positive notion about this is that the Communist Chinese Government a would not likely survive this senario as it’s citizens would realize that they have access to a vast amount of resources previously unavailable. Communism only works on paper because the amount of resources is unlimited, but when unlimited resources are unleashed, there is no need for said government programs or control. As such, you would see a collapse of Communist and Dictatorship style governments worldwide. In the end, you do in fact have something remincient of a Proto-Federation. Gene Roddenberry’s thought process in a nutshell actually is… logical.

Small quibble: China doesn’t have communism, they have State Capitalism that uses communist buzzwords. The unlimited resources afforded by replicator technology would actually make true communism not only possible, but easy. Literally the only labor required by all of society would be the maintenance of the power grid. Everything else would be basically for funsies. In a post-scarcity universe, having an economy at all would be superfluous.

There were replicators prior in STOS. Check out Nurse Chapel giving sundaes to children, etc.

Afew pepople seem to forget the primary change that replicators would introduce according to the Star Trek world is NO more monetary economy. If You could create all the diamonds and gold or anything you could ever wantyou want, why would anyone need money? Talent, skills and knowledge would become the new value commodities…hence the stress on education.

Some physical objects might still have value in a replicator-based economy. If unreplicable Ferengi ‘gold-pressed latinum’ exists, then unreplicable unique or ‘limited edition’ artworks could also exist – and owning one would be a status symbol. Then there’s the question of ‘originals’ for the replicators to replicate; for example, a gourmet meal would (presumably) have to be cooked by an expert and talented chef before it could be scanned into a replicator. How is the chef rewarded for the years of training he must put in before reaching the level of skill required? And wouldn’t some people want to consume an ‘original’ unscanned gourmet meal and thus enjoy a unique experience denied to all others? Even in a post-scarcity economy, some things can be more valuable than others – at least in the minds of those that desire them!

My books often have scenarios that are close to post-scarcity worlds, as magic typically works like invisible replicators. At least, in theory, that’s how I want it. In practice, my first series is a lot like the darker Deep Space Nine than Next Gen, though my latest series is [hopefully] a comedic series, so there’s that to consider, too.

There are no wars in my invented omniverse, as if anyone deliberately harms another being, the damage backlashes on the attacker instantly. Since most of my stories focus on characters incarnating into deliberately challenging life situations, there is a lot they have to deal with even so.

There are, I am sure, loads of worldbuilding knots to untie in both my first series and my latest series. I feel that I’m far too much of a perfectionist to properly edit my own books.

I want to know more about your books. They sound cool.

A couple extra thoughts: – Whole industries and their jobs would be eliminated or replaced, from the original food generation (farming, ranching) and mining (salt, sea life), its processing (flour, sugar) and packaging, to its transportation, marketing and selling. No more grocery stores, no more ads for junk food (unless its akin to “buy this mod for your replicator!”), no more ranches or farms, fewer trucks – if any – on roads. – Replacing food-based land impacts with energy/?? collection for replicator use. It’d be technology dependent how it influences climate impact, but probably. – Stealing from “The Island”’s tracking of personal nutrient, I assume the replicators are designed in a way to provide the food you want, but with just the nutrients you need. Thereby helping manage ones nutrition, and reducing obesity and other nutrition-oriented health issues (diabetes, food allergies – per above, high cholesterol, etc). Interesting considerations!

I want to collaborate with you and others here to make a real life replicator. Care to help?

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The Influence of Star Trek and Science Fiction on Real Science

For Star Trek Day, learn about the relationship between sci-fi and real-life science in this excerpt from “Reality Ahead of Schedule”

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As with several other iconic Star Trek technologies, replicators are directly responsible for inspiring developments in real-life technology, which use 3-D printing to create food, meals, plastic and metal items, buildings, and even complex machine parts. Star Trek is far from being the only sci-fi source of inspiration for the dream of a device that can produce finished items from scratch.

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Reality Ahead of Schedule: How Science Fiction Inspires Science Fact

A rich visual history of science fiction's impact on real-world technologies, this book is perfect for lovers of H. G. Wells, Star Trek, Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, Aldous Huxley, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

To trace the roots of Star Trek ’s replicator, it is necessary to understand that it is essentially a repurposed form of the transporter—the teleportation or matter transmission device that “beams” the crew between starship and planet surface. According to legend, the transporter was invented only because the original series lacked the budget to film special, effect-heavy scenes of planetary landing shuttles, but Star Trek did not invent the concept of matter transmission. Its first appearance in science fiction dates back at least as far as 1877, in Edward Page Mitchell’s story “The Man Without a Body,” which prefigures George Langelaan’s much better-known 1957 story “The Fly,” by having a scientist experience a teleportation mishap when his batteries die while he is only partway through a transmission, so that only his head rematerializes. The replicator uses the same basic principle as the transporter, in which the atomic structure of a physical object is scanned and the information is used to reconstruct the object at the “receiving” end through energy-matter conversion. In practice, all transporters are replicators and matter “transmission” is a misnomer, because matter itself is not transmitted, only information. Every time Captain Kirk steps out of the transporter having “beamed up” from a planet’s surface, it is, in fact, a copy of him—the original has been disintegrated during the initial phase of the operation.

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In the world of the TV series, the replicators of Picard’s Enterprise are a development of food synthesizers— simpler machines present on James Kirk’s Enterprise in the original Star Trek series (known as The Original Series , or TOS). These closely resemble the later replicators but were conceived by the writers of TOS more as highly advanced, mechanical food preparation devices instead of matter-energy converters. They, therefore, represented a televisual outing for a concept long popular in science fiction: the automatic food preparation device. A machine that performs complex autonomous physical tasks can reasonably be described as a robot, and, as early as 1899, Elizabeth Bellamy’s novel Ely’s Automatic Housemaid features a robot cook, which might be seen as a precursor to later food synthesizers. Unspecified “mechanical apparatus” was at work in the automated cafeterias of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Mars. In his 1912 A Princess of Mars , Burroughs, probably inspired by the automat (a kind of vending machine café imported from Germany to the United States in 1902), describes “gorgeous eating places where we were served entirely by mechanical apparatus. No hand touched the food from the time it entered the building in its raw state until it emerged hot and delicious upon the tables before the guests, in response to the touching of tiny buttons to indicate their desires.”

Moving from Burroughs’s mechanical cafeterias to a Star Trek -style food synthesizer was simply a matter of miniaturization, and, by 1933, David H. Keller was imagining “a small but complete production laboratory, not much larger than [an] electric refrigerator … entirely automatic and practically foolproof.” In his story “Unto Us A Child Is Born,” Keller envisages a machine that can both create food and prepare it “for the table in any form desired by the consumer. All that was necessary was the selection of one of the twenty-five menus and the pressing of the proper buttons.” Only recently has this dream of a kitchen appliance-scale food synthesizer neared reality, with the launch of the Genie food replicator, explicitly inspired by Star Trek ’s replicator. The Genie, a device not much larger than a microwave with futuristic styling, claims to be “a kitchen in a box” that can make nutritious, freshly cooked meals in 30 seconds. However, it should be noted that the device relies on pods that contain dehydrated ingredients; in other words, the food preparation labor has simply been moved upstream in the process, and the Genie might be little more than a device for adding hot water to a cup of dried noodles.

None

So what is meant by today’s technology boosters when they talk excitedly about Star Trek -inspired, real-life replicators? The technology to which they refer is the 3-D printer, a device that lays down some form of plastic (in the sense of malleable) medium in layers to build up a three-dimensional form. Such printers are heralded as the drivers of a second Industrial Revolution, in which manufacturing is distributed and universal, available to all through desktop 3-D printing machines. These devices are already available, usually restricted to fabrication using quick-setting plastics or resins, but larger and more specialized machines can print in media varying from living cells and foodstuffs to metal to mud or concrete. Large-scale concrete printers, for example, are suggested as a solution to housing crises, such as those found in refugee camps, where rapidly assembled, cheaply erected structures are needed. Meanwhile, biological implants and replacement tissues can be printed by laying down layers of cells on organic scaffolding, and, in the near future, it may be possible to print entire organs for transplant.

Although the 3-D printing community often plays up the lineage of inspiration from Star Trek ’s replicators to desktop fabricators, in practice, the former has a completely different mechanism. The true conceptual forefather of the 3-D printer is a 1964 story by Italian writer Primo Levi, “L’ordine a buon mercata” (“Order on the Cheap”). A mysterious multinational enterprise of dubious intentions makes available a device called the Mimer duplicator, which can create exact replicas of anything from money and diamonds to food and humans. It works by extruding “extremely thin superimposed layers” of a multielement substance named “pabulum.” This is a concise and extremely accurate description of how a modern-day 3-D printer works.

Star Trek featured gadgetry and devices that have since become iconic, and that have been directly responsible for inspiring the gadgetry and devices that have come to dominate modern personal technology—including the smartphone and the tablet computer—and perhaps soon to include portable, personal medical devices. Science and technology sometimes progresses in mighty leaps, but more generally it advances incrementally, contingent on prior research.

Reality Ahead of Schedule:  How Science Fiction Inspires Science Fact  is available from Smithsonian Books. Visit  Smithsonian Books’ website  to learn more about its publications and a full list of titles. 

Excerpt from  Reality Ahead of Schedule  © 2019 by Carlton Books Limited

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Star Trek replicator finally replicated by real-life scientists

Star Trek Spock and Kirk via official website 2019

Credit: CBS Studios Inc.

Star Trek has been prescient about future technology ever since showing off a nascent cell phone in the pilot episode of the original series. But that doesn’t make the creation of this real-life replicator any less astonishing.

Throughout the incarnations of Star Trek , the replicator has produced a variety of human necessities to the good Starfleet folks exploring the outer reaches of space, primarily food and drink, but also spare parts, uniforms, and even breathable air. But as far as we know, they never instantaneously produced a miniature replica of Rodin’s “The Thinker.”

Intrepid researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley have done just that, and created a wholly different approach to 3D printing. Amazingly, it looks very much like Star Trek’ s replicator, but instead of fictionally dismantling objects into sub-atomic particles or actually slowly 3D printing something layer by layer, the new approach projects light into resin, which produces small objects in a matter of minutes.

The new technology is based on the principles of computed tomography (CT), frequently used in medical and industrial 3D imaging, but never before used in the process of fabrication. But where traditional 3D imaging takes multiple X-rays to produce a 3D map, this tech reverse engineers the 3D object into 2D components, which are then projected as slides of light into the gooey resin. 

"We saw that the underlying theoretical framework of CT could be adapted in a powerful way to generate arbitrary 3D geometries by building up a light dosage distribution within a volume of light-sensitive material from many different illumination angles," electrical engineer and UC Berkeley assistant professor Hayden Taylor told SYFY WIRE via email. "Once we had made the initial demonstration of the technology, the analogy with 'The Replicator' suggested itself to a couple of the students working on the project, and it stuck!"

“Our new process is called Computed Axial Lithography (CAL), and prints entire 3D objects into light-sensitive materials all at once,” Taylor told Digital Trends . “The process involves rotating a container of light-sensitive material, while projecting into it a sequence of computed light intensity patterns that are synchronized with the rotation. Over time, a 3D pattern of light energy is delivered to the material by more than a thousand different projections. Where the energy delivered exceeds a critical threshold, the material undergoes a chemical reaction and the part is formed.”

Check out the Nature Video  above to get a better understanding of the process, or read the paper, "Volumetric additive manufacturing via tomographic reconstruction," published via Science . 

This is impressive tech, no doubt, and will likely lead to a wide range of printable opportunities, including much larger objects.

"We expect (but have not yet shown experimentally) that it should be possible to print objects up to 0.5 meter diameter with features down to 0.1 to 0.2 mm at a rate of several liters per minute using a high-end 4K projector," Taylor told SYFY WIRE. "Of course there will no doubt be plenty of engineering challenges to be addressed on the way, but we have not yet identified an insurmountable limitation to scaling of the process."

So who knows, maybe they’ll be able to replicate that transporter we’ve all been hoping for.

  • 3D Printing

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All The Technology Star Trek Predicted Accurately

Enterprise flying through space

Since its debut in 1966, the "Star Trek" series has captivated audiences worldwide with its vision of the future. Its innovative and forward-thinking concepts have not only entertained but also inspired many people to pursue their interests in science and technology. The show's futuristic devices and technologies have been a source of inspiration for countless scientists and engineers who have subsequently developed real-world applications based on the show's fictional ideas.

For instance, the handheld communicators used by the characters in the show have served as a model for today's smartphones, while 3D printing technology was partly inspired by the show's replicator technology. The medical technologies featured in "Star Trek" have also had a significant impact on real-world healthcare, inspiring researchers to develop similar technologies for use in medical settings.

The influence of "Star Trek" on modern technology has been vast and far-reaching, inspiring generations of innovators to dream big and push the boundaries of what is possible. This has led to numerous technological advancements that have changed our lives for the better. Overall, the series' impact on popular culture and technology continues to be felt to this day — nearly six decades after its debut.

Communicators

The idea of handheld communication devices was first introduced in the original "Star Trek" series in the late 1960s, and it was a revolutionary concept at the time. Before then, long-distance communication required bulky and expensive equipment that was only available to the military or government agencies. However, "Star Trek" imagined a future where everyone could carry a small, portable device that could connect them with anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Today, we can see that vision has become a reality with the ubiquitous presence of smartphones. They are essentially advanced versions of the communicators featured in "Star Trek," with the added bonus of being able to access the internet, take photos, and provide GPS navigation. The versatility of smartphones has made them an essential tool in our daily lives, as we rely on them to stay in touch with family and friends, conduct business, and even entertain ourselves.

Perhaps the most significant impact of smartphones has been their ability to democratize communication. No longer is it just the wealthy or powerful who can afford to stay connected. Smartphones are now affordable and accessible to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, making it possible for anyone to stay in touch with loved ones, access important information, or even start a business.

Overall, the concept of handheld communication devices first introduced in "Star Trek" has had a profound impact on our society, and the continued evolution of technology promises to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

The introduction of PADDs in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a forward-thinking concept that predicted the development of modern-day tablets . PADDs were essentially handheld computers that allowed the crew to access information, communicate with each other, and perform a variety of tasks, all from a single device. They were small and lightweight, making them easy to carry around and use in any situation.

Today, we have tablets that are similar in design and function to PADDs. Tablets are thin, lightweight devices with large screens that can display high-quality graphics and video. They are ideal for reading books, browsing the internet, and watching movies or TV shows. They also come with a range of apps and features that allow users to perform a variety of tasks, from taking notes to playing games and even creating digital art.

The most significant benefit of tablets is their portability. They are smaller and lighter than laptops, making them easy to carry around in a bag or even your pocket. This makes them an excellent choice for people who need to access information on the go, whether for work or personal use. They also have a longer battery life than most laptops, meaning you can use them for longer periods without needing to recharge.

Overall, the concept of PADDs in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a visionary technology that predicted the development of modern-day tablets. Tablets have become an essential tool for many people, allowing them to access information and stay connected with the world around them, no matter where they are. With ongoing technological advancements, it's exciting to imagine what the future of portable computing might look like.

Voice-activated computers

The LCARS system featured in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a cutting-edge technology that allowed users to interact with the ship's computer using natural language commands. This was a revolutionary concept at the time, as most computer systems required users to input commands using a keyboard or mouse. LCARS made it possible to access information and control ship's systems quickly and efficiently, simply by speaking.

Today, we have virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa that operate on similar principles to LCARS. These virtual assistants can understand natural language commands and respond to user requests in a conversational manner. They can be used to access information, control smart home devices , and even make phone calls or send messages, all with simple voice commands.

Virtual assistants shine in their ease of use. These tools eliminate the need to type or click, which can be especially helpful for people with disabilities or those with difficulty using traditional computer interfaces. Additionally, they can be used hands-free, which makes them ideal for multitasking or when your hands are occupied.

Virtual assistants have become an essential tool for many people, both in personal and professional settings. They have made it easier to access information, automate tasks, and communicate with others. As technology continues to evolve, it's exciting to think about the possibilities of what virtual assistants might be able to do in the future. Perhaps they'll even be able to replicate the conversational abilities of the LCARS system from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" one day.

Medical tricorders

The tricorder was one of the most iconic pieces of technology featured in "Star Trek." It was a handheld device that could diagnose and treat injuries and illnesses by scanning a person's body and analyzing their health data. The device could provide detailed information about a person's vital signs, blood tests, and even DNA analysis, making it an essential tool for medical personnel in the "Star Trek" universe.

Today, medical technology has made significant advancements, and we have devices that operate similarly to the tricorder. MRI machines and CT scanners are used to scan and diagnose medical conditions, providing detailed images of the inside of the body. These machines are invaluable tools for diagnosing a range of medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders.

We also have handheld devices that can monitor vital signs like blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. These devices are portable and can be used in a variety of settings, from hospitals to homes. They can provide a preliminary diagnosis for certain conditions, making them a helpful tool for medical professionals and patients alike.

The development of medical technology has significantly improved the quality of healthcare and has revolutionized the way medical professionals diagnose and treat illnesses. While we may not yet have a tricorder that can provide a complete medical analysis with a single scan, the advancements in medical technology have made it possible to obtain vital health information quickly and accurately, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.

3D printing — Replicators

In "Star Trek: Voyager," the replicator was a fascinating technology that allowed the crew to create food, clothing, and other objects on demand. With a simple command, the replicator would use digital designs to create physical objects, making it an essential tool for the crew as they explored the vast expanse of space. The best example of this was seen in  "Extreme Risk," where Lt. Paris and Chief Engineer Torres used the replicator system to create parts for the Delta Flyer shuttle craft they were designing.

Today, we have 3D printing technology, which operates similarly to the replicator in "Star Trek" by using digital designs to create physical objects. This allows manufacturers, engineers, and even medical professionals to produce complex shapes and structures that were previously impossible to make with traditional manufacturing methods.

One of the most exciting applications of 3D printing technology is in the field of medicine. Medical professionals can use 3D printers to create replacement parts, such as bones or joints, or even to produce human organs. This has the potential to revolutionize the medical industry and save countless lives.

This technology has a wide range of applications, from creating prototypes and replacement parts to manufacturing consumer products and even food. With the ability to create custom designs quickly and inexpensively, 3D printing technology has the potential to transform various industries and improve the way we live our lives.

While we may not yet be able to create a full meal with a replicator, the 3D printing technology available today is a remarkable achievement that can potentially change the world as we know it.

Virtual reality has come a long way since "Star Trek" first introduced the concept of the holodeck in "Star Trek: The Animated Series." With the advancements in technology, we now have access to head-mounted displays, hand controllers, and even full-body tracking systems that allow us to fully immerse ourselves in virtual environments. These technologies work together to create a truly immersive experience that engages all our senses.

The most popular application of virtual reality technology is in gaming. VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive allow gamers to step into a virtual world and interact with it in ways that were previously impossible. In addition to gaming, virtual reality is also used in education to create immersive learning experiences. Students can use VR technology to explore historical sites, conduct science experiments, and even learn new languages.

Virtual reality is also being used in the field of training. For example, medical professionals can use VR technology to practice surgical procedures in a simulated environment without the risk of harming real patients. Similarly, the military can use virtual reality to train soldiers for combat situations and emergency responders can use it to simulate disaster scenarios.

Overall, virtual reality technology has revolutionized the way we experience digital content and has opened up new possibilities in gaming, education, and training. While we may not have fully functional holodecks like the ones featured in "Star Trek" just yet, virtual reality technology is certainly getting us closer to that reality.

Heads-up displays (HUDs)

Heads-up displays (HUDs) are seen throughout "Star Trek," and these devices have undergone significant advancements in the real world over the last few decades as they have become an increasingly popular component in aviation and automotive applications. HUDs allow drivers and pilots to maintain eye contact with the road or sky while the display projects important information directly into their field of view.

In aviation, HUDs have become an essential part of contemporary cockpit technology, enabling pilots to maintain situational awareness while controlling the aircraft by prominently displaying crucial data such as airspeed, altitude, and heading. By providing visual cues and warning indicators during critical flight stages, such as takeoff and landing, HUDs help pilots make split-second decisions.

HUDs have also become more common in the automotive sector, offering drivers a safer and more practical way to receive information. By projecting speed, navigational instructions, and other essential information directly onto the windshield, HUDs enable drivers to keep their eyes on the road and avoid distractions.

The use of HUDs has revolutionized how we interact with technology, making it easier and safer to access critical data. As technology continues to advance, we can expect to see HUDs incorporated into an increasing number of products and applications. For example, wearable HUDs are becoming more popular, providing users with hands-free access to important information in industries such as healthcare and logistics. As new features and applications are developed, it is clear that the future of HUD technology is bright.

Universal translator

The concept of a universal translator as depicted in "Star Trek" has been a source of inspiration for the development of real-world translation technologies like Google Translate . The universal translator was a revolutionary device that allowed the characters in "Star Trek" to communicate with alien species they encountered during their interstellar travels by translating any language instantly.

What once seemed like an unattainable idea is now a reality. Today there are several translation apps and devices that have made it possible to communicate with people from around the globe without the need for a human translator. Google Translate is one of the most popular translation tools available today, and its creation owes a lot to the universal translator from "Star Trek." This app utilizes machine learning to analyze text and provides real-time translations in over 100 languages. It can translate whole websites, documents, and even speech. Google Translate is accessible on desktops and mobile devices, making it easy to use from anywhere.

Skype Translator is another great example of real-world translation technology that allows people to have voice conversations in real-time in different languages, and iTranslate offers translations in over 100 languages and can even translate text from images. Translation technology has made significant progress, and we can now communicate with people from different parts of the world more efficiently than ever before. As technology advances, we can expect to see even more sophisticated translation tools emerge, bringing us closer to a world without language barriers.

Biometric identification

From its inception, the "Star Trek" franchise has showcased biometric identification as a critical aspect of its futuristic technology. The use of retinal scans, voice recognition, and other biometric technologies in the series has served as a catalyst for the development of real-world biometric identification systems used in various security settings such as border control, law enforcement, and consumer devices like smartphones .

Biometric identification systems rely on physical or behavioral traits unique to an individual to authenticate their identity. They provide a higher level of security than traditional identification methods like passwords or ID cards. Examples of biometric identification systems include fingerprint scanners, facial recognition technology, and iris scanners.

The most significant advantage of biometric identification systems is their accuracy. Biometric characteristics like fingerprints and iris patterns are unique to each individual and cannot be easily replicated or forged. This makes them an effective tool for preventing identity theft and other types of fraud.

Now biometric identification systems are being used in healthcare, banking, and other industries to verify identity and provide personalized services. Some hospitals use biometric identification to ensure patients receive the correct treatments and medications, while banks use it to prevent fraud and improve customer service.

Overall, these systems have revolutionized security, healthcare, banking, and other industries, providing higher accuracy and security than traditional identification methods. As technology continues to progress, the future of biometric identification looks promising, and we can expect even more innovative and exciting developments in the years to come.

Warp drive technology

Warp drive is a captivating technology in the "Star Trek" franchise. The idea of faster-than-light travel has fascinated scientists and researchers, and while a true warp drive has yet to be developed, the concept has led to new research and theories on propulsion systems.

The Alcubierre drive is one such theory. It is named after Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre, who proposed the drive based on the principle of warping spacetime . The theory suggests that it is possible to manipulate the curvature of spacetime to create a wave that can carry a spacecraft along with it. This would allow the spacecraft to travel faster than the speed of light relative to the rest of the universe without exceeding the speed of light in its own reference frame.

Although the Alcubierre drive is currently only theoretical, it has sparked renewed interest in faster-than-light travel. NASA has proposed a test mission to investigate the feasibility of the drive, which shows the theory's potential. Additionally, other researchers are exploring alternative propulsion systems, such as antimatter engines, wormholes, and black hole propulsion. These ideas may seem far-fetched, but they have been gaining increasing attention in the scientific community as our understanding of the laws of physics continues to evolve.

These ideas have the potential to revolutionize space travel and our understanding of the universe. As we continue to explore the boundaries of science and technology, it is exciting to think about what other incredible discoveries we may uncover in the future.

Star Trek: What Are The Limitations Of Replicator Technology?

Can these machines of the future really create anything, or are there limitations?

Out of all the amazing, influential technologies present within the Star Trek franchise, one of the most impressive is the replicators . Their ability to conjure almost anything with a simple command has the possibility to end world hunger in the blink of an eye. It can create any tool needed for any task without having to rummage around in endless toolboxes. They can even create material possessions such as clothing or furniture.

However, every piece of technology, no matter how remarkabe, has its constraints. While they may appear limitless, there are in fact a number of things that a replicator can not do. These are the biggest limitations of replicator technology, as shown in the Star Trek shows and movies.

RELATED: Star Trek: Exploring Klingon’s Unique Warp Technology

The first is their inability to create Dilithium crystals, the necessary ingredient for all warp travel in the galaxy ( especially if abiding by what Discovery preaches ). Replicating Dilithium goes against the fundamentals of how this technology works. A replicator does not simply magic up the things it produces. Rather, it takes energy and reconfigures it on a cellular level into whatever is requested. Different things take different amounts of energy based on their complexity. An apple, for example, is fairly simple on an atomic level. Meanwhile, a gold necklace is far more complicated, requiring not just a reconfiguration of atoms but various forms of fusion to combine them. Replicators can create a lot of difficult things, but Dilithium is so complex that there would not be enough power to create it.

Star Trek Replicators

The exception might be the use of Dilithium itself to create Dilithium, directly plugging the replicator into the warp core power. However, it is established that replicators still abide by the second law of thermodynamics: As energy is transferred, some will always be wasted. As such, energy will always be lost in the process of replication, no matter how much power is pumped in. This means that even if there was a way to use Dilithium to replicate more Dilithium, the user would end up getting far less than was used up in the process. Attempting to replicate Dilithum would be a waste of time.

This leads on to the second limitation for replicators: that of sustainable food sources. It’s true that the use of these nifty machines would easily eradicate world hunger , but not Quadrant-wide hunger. The Federation still relies on naturally grown food to support its massive population. The amount of energy required to produce ample food for everyone would be far too much to sustainably support. It could be possible, via growing something in abundance, converting that into energy, and using said energy to power replicators en-mass. However, it's much less practical when there are hundreds of vegetation-supporting planets all primed to be able to grow food. On a side note, though, replicators are still great for vegans and vegetarians in this regard. The technology can replicate animal products without ethical issue, converting vegetation into replicated meat.

Star_Trek: Spine

The next limitation is that a replicator, despite appearances, can only create inanimate matter. There is no way one could be used to create life. Now, life is an interesting topic in this regard, as it is specifically different from organic matter. A vegetable is different from a living, breathing being. The difference is that inanimate things can be replicated by using cellular and molecular reconstruction, taking energy and reassembling it to appear similar, if not identical, to the real thing. What they struggle to do, however, is anything on the quantum level. This is necessary for things relying on neural patterns or pathways to function and ‘live.’ While this is impossible for the majority of replicators, it’s not actually unfeasible. The biggest issue is that of storage potential. Most things take up little to no memory to replicate, their patterns being relatively simple. However, to replicate anything on the quantum level would be so complex that there wouldn’t be enough storage to contain that much information.

It’s not impossible, however, and already these devices started to sneak into canon. TNG featured a special replicator that was able to create and replace Worf's spine ’s spine after a terrible accident. However, this is where the technology seems to have reached its current limit, as it cannot create functional body parts yet. If they struggle to do, this it’s no wonder that the idea of creating sentient life is deep into the realms of impossibility, even with the technology available to those in the 24th and onward centuries. Even without the use of replicators, sentience and ‘life’ is hard to create. Characters such as Data and his evil twin Lore are unique.

Replicators seem to present a duality within the Star Trek universe. On one hand, they are a prime example of possible future technologies. Yet at the same time, they show that there are still massive limitations even to such advanced minds found within the Federation. Even in the far future, there are still some things humanity cannot yet do.

MORE: Star Trek: Why Ezri Dax Was So Unpopular

Memory Alpha

Industrial replicator

  • View history

An industrial replicator was a large-scale replicator that was typically used for construction purposes.

The United Federation of Planets gave Bajor several industrial replicators following the end of the Occupation . ( DS9 : " For the Cause ")

In 2372 , the Federation of Planets intended to provide Cardassia with twelve industrial replicators with the intention of the Cardassians using them to build new power plants and factories following the Cardassian-Klingon War . The Maquis were able to steal the industrial replicators after Michael Eddington staged their theft from Deep Space 9 . ( DS9 : " For the Cause ")

In 2373 , Pascal Fullerton claimed that Risa was an illusion created by industrial replicators, seismic regulators , and a weather control system . ( DS9 : " Let He Who Is Without Sin... ")

Deep Space 9 housed an industrial replicator on Level 17 . In 2373 a Changeling posing as Julian Bashir overrode the security blocks on the industrial replicator, and used it to produce a bomb consisting of trilithium , tekasite , and protomatter . Odo discovered the override by the saboteur, but was unable to determine what was replicated because the memory core had been wiped. With the explosive device, the changeling aimed to destroy the Bajoran sun , along with the combined Federation , Klingon , and Romulan fleets in the system . ( DS9 : " By Inferno's Light ")

In 2374 , following the outbreak of the Dominion War and the capture of Deep Space 9, the Cardassian Union gave fifteen industrial replicators to Bajor . ( DS9 : " Sons and Daughters ")

See also [ ]

  • Vehicle replicator
  • Food synthesizer
  • Class 4 industrial replicator
  • Protein resequencer

External link [ ]

  • Industrial replicator at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
  • 3 Starfleet uniform (2350s-2370s)

Screen Rant

10 star trek sequels to past episodes.

TNG, DS9, and Voyager have a surprising number of episodes that are sequels to earlier episodes of Star Trek.

  • Star Trek episodes occasionally feature sequels to earlier episodes, allowing for a cohesive continuity in the franchise.
  • The Berman era shows frowned upon serialization but had a surprising number of sequel episodes to maintain continuity.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager all have standalone episodes that can be enjoyed by new viewers.

There are a surprising number of Star Trek episodes that are essentially sequels to earlier episodes, either within the same show, or on other shows in the same era. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager , and earlier seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the common practice was that each episode of Star Trek was a single, stand-alone story that didn't require too much foreknowledge of earlier events in the Star Trek timeline . In a time before streaming, when it was harder to watch a show from the very beginning, any Star Trek episode could be someone's first, so this ensured that new viewers weren't lost.

While serialization was generally frowned upon in the 1980s and 1990s trio of Star Trek shows, episodes occasionally cropped up that directly referenced events of earlier episodes. Guest characters returned, sometimes years later, to tie up the loose ends that were left dangling in their earlier appearances. Characters' memories were triggered by being in similar situations. Unlike multi-part episodes or the miniature arcs that later happened on DS9 and Voyager , sequel episodes happen long after the consequences of earlier episodes have had time to develop , sometimes after years have passed.

Star trek enterprise archer the next generation picard captain burnham

How To Watch All Star Trek TV Shows In Timeline Order

10 star trek: voyager season 6, episode 17 - "spirit folk", sequel to star trek: voyager season 6, episode 11 - "fair haven".

In the 19th-century Irish town of Fair Haven, rumors abound that mysterious "Outsiders" may be magical spirit folk. Lt. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) controls the weather, Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) once turned Maggie O'Halloran (Henriette Ivanans) into a cow, and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) may have bewitched Michael Sullivan (Fintan McKeown). Of course, Fair Haven is Tom's holodeck program that ran constantly before a massive power drain erased all but 10% of its original code in "Fair Haven". "Spirit Folk" sees Fair Haven's residents witness a few too many "miracles" as their home is rebuilt, cluing them in to the truth of their existence.

With only six episodes between each installment, "Fair Haven" has the shortest amount of time until its sequel, "Spirit Folk".

9 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 19 - "Lessons"

Sequel to star trek: the next generation season 5, episode 25 - "the inner light".

Star Trek TNG Inner Light Picard

In Star Trek: The Next Generation 's outstanding "The Inner Light", an alien probe causes Captain Picard to live the life of Kamin, a family man on the dying planet Kataan, within the span of about 20 minutes. Picard's experience as Kamin is profound, but rarely addressed on-screen until "Lessons". Jean-Luc's romance with the musical head of stellar sciences, Lt. Commander Nella Daren (Wendy Hughes), prompts Picard to confess that he does know how to play the Ressikan flute. After bonding with Nella through musical duets, Picard reveals he acquired the flute from the probe, and knowledge of how to play it from living as Kamin , garnering Nella's sympathy.

8 Star Trek: Voyager Season 7, Episodes 9 & 10 - "Flesh & Blood"

Sequel to star trek: voyager season 4, episodes 18 & 19 - "the killing game".

janeway confronts hirogen voyager flesh and blood

The predatory Hirogen commandeer the USS Voyager in "The Killing Game", turning the holodecks into their personal playgrounds to hunt Voyager's crew as unwilling prey. Despite the fact that holodecks were used to harm Captain Janeway and Voyager's crew , Janeway believes that Starfleet hologram technology can actually help the Hirogen continue their sacred hunt without killing anyone else. The Hirogen believe the hunt is meaningless if their prey don't feel pain, so "Flesh & Blood" reveals that the Hirogen programmed their holograms to be sentient . Star Trek: Voyager season 7 explores the personhood of holograms, so it's up for debate whether that's any different than hunting organic people.

7 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 26 - "Descent, Part 1"

Sequel to star trek: the next generation season 5, episode 23 - "i, borg".

Jonathan Del Arco portraying Hugh in Star Trek TNG

Star Trek: The Next Generation closes its sixth season with "Descent, Part 1", the first half of a two-part episode that sees the USS Enterprise crew face off against a new type of Borg, detached from the greater Borg Collective. These new, emotional Borg call themselves as "I" instead of "we", and call each other by name -- in other words, they're individuals. A year earlier, in "I, Borg", Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) repaired and befriended a lone drone, Hugh (Jonathan del Arco). The concept of individuality was introduced to the Borg after Hugh returned to the Collective , but instead of becoming hopeful individuals, other Borg respond to liberation with vengeance.

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8 Star Trek Enemy Aliens Who Became Heroes

6 star trek: voyager season 5, episode 3 - "false profits", sequel to star trek: the next generation season 3, episode 8 - "the price".

Janeway and Tuvok talk to Ferengi in Voyager False Profits

In Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "The Price", negotiations over ownership of a stable wormhole near Barzan II attract the attention of Ferengi delegates Arridor (Dan Shor) and Kol (J.R. Quinonez). While the wormhole is said to connect to the Gamma Quadrant, a test flight finds Kol and Arridor stranded in the Delta Quadrant after the surprisingly un stable wormhole vanishes before they can turn around. Seven years later, in Star Trek: Voyager 's "False Profits", the similarly stranded USS Voyager crew is surprised to discover Arridor and Kol (Leslie Jordan) so far from home, but less surprised that the Ferengi are swindling the pre-warp Takarians by using replicator technology to pose as important religious figures.

5 Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 18 - "Course: Oblivion"

Sequel to star trek: voyager season 4, episode 24 - "demon".

Janeway's duplicate in the Star Trek: Voyager episode

Star Trek: Voyager' s "Course: Oblivion" opens with the long-awaited wedding of Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) , and the celebration of upgrades that will shorten the USS Voyager's journey home to only 2 years. All is not well for long, however, as a mysterious radiation sickness befalls Voyager's crew, and one by one they, along with the ship, suffer total cellular degradation. Over a year ago, in "Demon", Voyager encountered biomemetic "silverblood" organisms that were allowed to replicate the USS Voyager and its crew , but Voyager left the Demon-class natives on their home planet. Surely the silverbloods didn't forget that they're not the real Voyager crew and set a course for Earth ... right?

4 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 3, Episode 9 - "Defiant"

Sequel to star trek: the next generation season 6, episode 24 - "second chances".

Star Trek TNG Thomas Riker Second Chances

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's "Defiant", Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) pays a visit to the Deep Space Nine station while ostensibly on vacation, and befriends Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). Kira agrees to give Riker a tour of the USS Defiant, but as soon as they're aboard, Riker turns against Kira, revealing he isn't Will, but Thomas . Several years earlier, the USS Enterprise discovered a second Will Riker had materialized from a reflected transporter beam, who elected to rename himself Thomas Riker to pursue his own Starfleet career. DS9 reveals that hadn't worked out, so Thomas Riker joined the Maquis and intended to steal the Defiant by posing as Will.

3 Star Trek: Voyager Season 7, Episode 19 - "Q2"

Sequel to star trek: voyager season 3, episode 11 - "the q & the grey".

In "The Q and the Grey", Q (John de Lancie) comes to the USS Voyager with intentions to procreate with Captain Janeway, believing that a Q-human hybrid will reunite the fractured Q Continuum. Repulsed by the idea, Janeway convinces Q that the Continuum would be better served by Q's union with Miss Q (Suzie Plakson) . The product of that union arrives four years later in "Q2", as the intolerable adolescent Q Junior (Keegan de Lancie), who has only sown chaos instead of bringing peace to the Continuum. Bringing Junior to Voyager is a test, as most things are with Q, to see if Junior can learn anything from "Aunt Kathy" and Starfleet ideals.

That family resemblance is genuine: Q Junior is played by John de Lancie's actual son, Keegan de Lancie.

Star Trek John de Lancie Q TNG Voyager DS9 Picard

Every Q Star Trek Appearance Ranked Worst To Best

2 star trek: the next generation season 6, episode 12 - "ship in a bottle", sequel to star trek: the next generation season 2, episode 3 - "elementary, my dear data".

Lt. Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) accidentally releases the holographic Professor James Moriarty (Daniel Davis) from an unusual program that's been continually running within the ship's computer. Moriarty has been trapped inside the computer, fully conscious while awaiting the development of technology that would let him leave the holodeck. Moriarty insists on leaving the holodeck and the Enterprise, despite being acutely aware he's a hologram. This holographic Moriarty gained sentience four years earlier , when Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) solved Sherlock Holmes' mysteries too easily, and the holodeck altered Holmes' adversary Moriarty to become Data's intellectual equal.

1 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 15 - "Lower Decks"

Sequel to star trek: the next generation season 5, episode 19 - "the first duty".

Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "Lower Decks" shifts the perspective from the USS Enterprise's senior staff to four junior officers: the go-getting Ensign Sam Lavelle (Dan Gauthier), Vulcan engineer Ensign Taurik (Alexander Enberg), Nurse Alyssa Ogawa (Patti Yasutake), and Ensign Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill). Sito accepts a dangerous espionage mission as part of a personal redemption arc , after previously appearing as a Starfleet Academy cadet. Sito, like Cadet Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), was a member of the elite Nova Squadron, which collectively agreed to cover up the irresponsible actions of Cadet Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill) that led to the death of teammate Joshua Albert.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 10 "Old Friends, New Planets" could be considered the third installment of this arc, with the return of Nick Locarno and the memory of Sito Jaxa having a profound impact on Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome).

Although serialization was generally frowned upon in the Berman era of Star Trek shows, the surprising number of sequel episodes proves that there was still a relatively cohesive continuity in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and Star Trek: Voyager . DS9 embraced serialization, as the events of individual DS9 episodes built on each other, shaping the story of the Dominion War. Star Trek: Voyager also started to take on a continuity of its own, with character relationships progressing in miniature arcs. Thanks to the use of sequel episodes to maintain continuity, Star Trek showed that actions have consequences, intended or otherwise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and Star Trek: Voyager are streaming on Paramount+.

IMAGES

  1. How Replicators Work In Star Trek

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  2. replicator technology explained , star trek, how it works

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  3. Star Trek Replicator Technology Becomes Reality

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  4. 'Star Trek Replicator' May Turn Light To Matter

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  6. Star Trek Original Series Replicator Technology (Extended)

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COMMENTS

  1. Replicator (Star Trek)

    In Star Trek a replicator is a machine that can create (and recycle) things. Replicators were originally seen to simply synthesize meals on demand, but in later series much larger non-food items appear. The technical aspects of replicated versus "real" things is sometimes a plot element.

  2. Replicator

    Star Trek. A replicator, replicator system, replication system, or molecular synthesizer was a device that used matter-energy conversion technology similar to a transporter to produce almost anything from a ship's replicator reserves. (TNG: "Lonely Among Us", "Deja Q"; DS9: "Visionary"; VOY: "Virtuoso...

  3. How Replicators Work In Star Trek

    The plausibility comes into play when Star Trek makes a leap and then builds on that leap in a logical fashion as it does with replicators, which start with transporter technology. The device breaks matter down at the atomic level and restructures it according to existing or programmed patterns, much the way transporters use pattern buffers to ...

  4. How Are The Replicators Supposed To Work On Star Trek?

    Replicators are essential machines in the "Star Trek" universe. This device can reproduce food, tools, and sometimes even random viruses. Depending on the writer's imagination, it can make almost anything. In times of need, the replicator is the only thing that can feed the crew. And being so far from Federation ports and basses, replicators ...

  5. Trek Class Blog: Inventing The Replicator

    Star Trek envisions the future of humanity to be one of incredible achievements made possible by evolved philosophies as well as technologies. This hopeful view of tomorrow is perhaps the reason so many have dreamed of inventing real-life versions of Star Trek tech -- from the transporter to the tricorder -- and the replicator is one of the most coveted.From a scientific perspective, aspects ...

  6. Could Star Trek replicators exist?

    In the TV franchise Star Trek, this is possible with a piece of technology known as a "replicator.". Getting to a future where this tech exists, though, might take a bit of imagination and invention. The Star Trek replicator is used to make all kinds of objects, from a hot cup of Earl Grey tea to spare parts for spaceships.

  7. star trek

    A replicator can create any inanimate matter, as long as the desired molecular structure is on file, but it cannot create antimatter, dilithium, latinum, or a living organism of any kind; in the case of living organisms, non-canon works such as the Star Trek: the Next Generation Technical Manual state that, though the replicators use a form of ...

  8. Star Trek: How Do Replicators Work?

    For example, they would not allow replicators to recreate organs, or entire human bodies, despite it being theoretically possible. Replicators do not work like Star Trek's transporter technology ...

  9. Replicator (Star Trek)

    Although previous sci-fi writers had speculated about the development of "replicating" or "duplicating" technology, [1] the term "replicator" was not itself used until Star Trek: The Next Generation.In simple terms, it was described as a 24th century advancement from the 23rd century "food synthesizer" seen in Star Trek: The Original Series.In Star Trek: The Original Series, food was created ...

  10. In Star Trek, You Eat Your Own Poop: Or, Replicators Explained

    On-screen, replicators are perhaps one of the more magical technologies in "Star Trek." Replicators are small alcoves on the wall, equipped with a giant computer, usually located inside crew quarters.

  11. A Real World 'Star Trek' Replicator Is Now Possible Thanks To New

    A molecular factory is a long-predicted technology that, in theory, should be able to accomplish some of what the Replicator from "Star Trek" does, although not nearly as cleanly as on the show ...

  12. We've just started work on the technology to power a Star

    The most obvious example is the "replicator" that Star Trek characters routinely use to generate a diverse range of objects, helping them escape from even the most impossible of plotlines.

  13. Implications of Replicator Technology

    Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced an amazing piece of technology, the replicator.These devices work by the same principle as transporters - making matter out of energy (or reorganizing existing matter into new forms, depending on which technical specs you're reading).They were mainly added as a curiosity, something that would allow the show to use futuristic special effects on a ...

  14. The Influence of Star Trek and Science Fiction on Real Science

    As with several other iconic Star Trek technologies, replicators are directly responsible for inspiring developments in real-life technology, which use 3-D printing to create food, meals, plastic ...

  15. Scientists Have Built a Real Star Trek 'Replicator' That Builds Objects

    The replicator might have groundbreaking implications, but it does have some inherent limitations as well: the objects it produces are small, and require special synthetic resin to produce. But it's an exciting new technology - and one that could lead to a Star Trek future.

  16. Star Trek replicator finally replicated by real-life scientists

    Star Trek has been prescient about future technology ever since showing off a nascent cell phone in the pilot episode of the original series. But that doesn't make the creation of this real-life replicator any less astonishing.. Throughout the incarnations of Star Trek, the replicator has produced a variety of human necessities to the good Starfleet folks exploring the outer reaches of space ...

  17. Vehicle replicator

    A vehicle replicator was a large-scale replicator that was able to quickly "create any means of transport", including shuttlecraft. The USS Protostar was equipped with such a replicator in its shuttlebay. The vehicle replicator worked by stringing together individual replicated components at a time, providing audio updates for each ten percent of completion. (PRO: "Starstruck") It was capable ...

  18. All The Technology Star Trek Predicted Accurately

    The LCARS system featured in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a cutting-edge technology that allowed users to interact with the ship's computer using natural language commands.

  19. Do Star Trek's Replicators Break the Universe?

    #startrek #technology #lore The replicator is a ubiquitous technology in Star Trek's 24th century. A combination of 3D printing and matter-energy conversion ...

  20. Star Trek: What Are The Limitations Of Replicator Technology?

    Replicators seem to present a duality within the Star Trek universe. On one hand, they are a prime example of possible future technologies. On one hand, they are a prime example of possible future ...

  21. Star Trek Replicator is REAL: Turning Carbon into Anything

    In 2018, a press release from the company's Founder & CEO, Dr. Rob McGinnis, gave us a glimpse of insight into their process. "This technology gives us a level of control over the material ...

  22. Industrial replicator

    An industrial replicator was a large-scale replicator that was typically used for construction purposes. The United Federation of Planets gave Bajor several industrial replicators following the end of the Occupation. (DS9: "For the Cause") In 2372, the Federation of Planets intended to provide Cardassia with twelve industrial replicators with the intention of the Cardassians using them to ...

  23. Star Trek -like replicator creates entire objects in minutes

    A Star Trek-like replicator has arrived, but don't expect it to synthesize a cup of Earl Grey tea (hot) on the spot.Researchers have come up with a new 3D printing technology that rapidly makes whole objects appear, seemingly from nowhere. There is a wide array of 3D printing technologies out there. Most build objects by solidifying gels or plastics layer by layer, in many cases taking hours ...

  24. 10 Star Trek Sequels To Past Episodes

    In Star Trek: The NextGeneration's outstanding "The Inner Light", an alien probe causes Captain Picard to live the life of Kamin, a family man on the dying planet Kataan, within the span of about 20 minutes.Picard's experience as Kamin is profound, but rarely addressed on-screen until "Lessons". Jean-Luc's romance with the musical head of stellar sciences, Lt. Commander Nella Daren (Wendy ...