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USS Enterprise-D's transporter

A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern (a process called dematerialization), then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter (rematerialization). The term transporter accident is a catch-all term for when a person or object does not rematerialize correctly. Image File history File links Information. ... This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) (or Enterprise-D, to distinguish it from prior starships with the same name) is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. ... Teleportation is the movement of objects or elementary particles from one place to another, more or less instantaneously, without traveling through space. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. ...

According to The Making of Star Trek, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's original plan did not include transporters, instead calling for characters to land the starship itself. However, this would have required unfeasible and unaffordable sets and model filming; transporters were devised as a less expensive alternative. Transporters first appear in the original pilot episode "The Cage". The transporter special effect, before being done using computer animation, was created by mixing glitter with water, then agitating the solution. Eugene Wesley Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American scriptwriter and producer. ... The Cage is the original pilot episode of the original Star Trek science fiction series and resulting franchise. ... Computer-generated imagery (commonly abbreviated as CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically, 3D computer graphics) to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. ...

Gene Roddenberry in 1964 had not seen "The Fly" upon his first draft of the Cage, but it was brought to his attention, and this is how the transporter was considered.

According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, the three touch-sensitive light-up bars on the Enterprise-D's transporter console were an homage to the three sliders used on the duotronic transporter console on the original Enterprise in The Original Series.

Depiction

History

According to dialogue in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Daedalus", the transporter was invented in the early 22nd century by Dr. Emory Erickson, who also became the first human to be successfully transported. Although the Enterprise (NX-01) has a transporter, the crew does not routinely use it (Captain Jonathan Archer once said that he wouldn't even put his dog through it), generally preferring shuttlepods or other means of transportation before falling back on the transporter. The crew aboard the 23rd century USS Enterprise frequently use the transporter. By the 24th century, transporter travel was very reliable and "the safest way to travel", according to dialogue in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Realm of Fear". The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... Daedalus is the name of the 86th episode from the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. ... The 22nd century of the anno Domini (common) era will span the years 2101–2200 of the Gregorian calendar. ... In Star Trek chronology, Emory Erickson is the inventor of the transporter. ... The Enterprise (NX-01) is a starship in the Star Trek fictional universe commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer. ... Jonathan Archer is a fictional character and the main character of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. ... Porthos is a fictional dog in the Star Trek: Enterprise universe. ... The USS Enterprise, (NCC-1701) is a fictional starship in the television series Star Trek, which chronicles the vessels most famous assignment, its Five-Year mission. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Realm of Fear is a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode primarily centered around Reginald Barclays paralyzing fear of the transporter. ...

According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Homefront", Starfleet Academy cadets receive transporter rations, and the Sisko family once used a transporter to move furniture into a new home. Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ... Homefront is the title of an episode from the fourth season of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ... The official logo of Starfleet Academy, circa 2370. ... Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ...

Despite its frequent use, characters such as Leonard McCoy and Katherine Pulaski are reluctant to use the transporter, as the characters express in the Next Generation episodes "Encounter at Farpoint, Part II" and "Unnatural Selection", respectively. Reginald Barclay expresses his outright fear of transporting in "Realm of Fear". Dr. Leonard H. McCoy (nicknamed Bones), played by DeForest Kelley, is a character in the original Star Trek series, and the first six Star Trek films. ... Katherine Pulaski was the replacement chief medical officer for Beverly Crusher during the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Encounter at Farpoint was the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Unnatural Selection is the seventh episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation first broadcast on January 30, 1989. ... Lieutenant Reginald Endicott Barclay III is a recurring character in the Star Trek fictional universe, created by Sally Caves and played by Dwight Schultz. ...

Capabilities and limitations

The shows and movie do not go into great detail about transport technology. The Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual claims that the devices transport objects in real time, accurate to the quantum level. The episode "Realm of Fear" specifies the length of a transport under unusual circumstances would last "... four or five seconds; about twice the normal time." This calculates the length of a typical transport as between 2 and 2.5 seconds and possibly less. Heisenberg compensators remove uncertainty from the subatomic measurements, making transporter travel feasible. Further technology involved in transportation include a computer pattern buffer to enable a degree of leeway in the process. Quantum levels are fixed levels with a logarithmic, descending quantum pattern in the visible spectrum of light that can be observed through a spectrometer while looking at intense flows of electricity through the various halides on the periodic table in a vaccuum tube. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Heisenberg compensators are part of the Transporter system. ...

According to the The Original Series writers guide, transporters' effective range is 40,000 kilometers, although thick layers of rock can reduce this range (TNG: "Legacy"). Transporter operations have been disrupted or prevented by dense metals (TNG: "Contagion"), solar flares (TNG: "Symbiosis"), and other forms of radiation, including electromagnetic (TNG: "The Enemy" & TNG: "Power Play") and nucleonic (TNG: "Schisms"). Transporters have also been stopped by telekinetic powers (TNG: "Skin of Evil") and by brute strength (TNG: "The Hunted"). The TNG episode "Bloodlines" features a dangerous and experimental "subspace transporter" capable of interstellar distances. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Screenshot (from SSCX Star Warzone). ...

Starfleet transporters include a device that can detect and disable an active weapon (TNG: "The Most Toys"), and a bio-filter to remove contagious microbes or viruses from an individual in transport (TNG: "Shades of Gray"). The transporter can also serve a tactical purpose, such as beaming a photon grenade or photon torpedo to detonate at remote locations (TNG: "Legacy", Voy: "Dark Frontier"). This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... The Most Toys is a 1990 episode from the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and involves Lieutenant Commander Data being kidnapped by an effeminate and obsessive collector, who leads the Enterprise crew to believe that Data was killed in a shuttlecraft accident. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... Stop editing pages god ... Shades of Gray is the last episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Enterprise meets Ishara, Tasha Yars sister. ... The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

While several characters have asserted that transporters cannot transport through a ship's shields, there are instances of this "rule" being broken through a technobabble solution (TNG: "The Wounded") or disregarded by the show's writers (Voy: "Caretaker", Star Trek: First Contact). USS Voyagers shields in action In the fictional Star Trek universe, shields are defenses used to protect some starships in the 23rd and 24th centuries by absorbing or deflecting the energy of natural or artificial hazards. ... Technobabble (a portmanteau of technology and babble) is a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords and highly esoteric language to give an impression of plausibility through mystification and misdirection. ... The Wounded is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Caretaker was the first episode of the television series Star Trek: Voyager. ... Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount Pictures, 1996; see also 1996 in film), is the eighth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ...

In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Vice Admiral James T. Kirk and Lieutenant Saavik carry on a conversation during rematerialization. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Dr. Gillian Taylor jumps into Kirk's transporter beam during dematerialization, and rematerializes without any apparent ill effects. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Paramount Pictures, 1982; see also 1982 in film) is the second feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Vice Admiral is the third highest commissioned Starfleet rank in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner, is the main character in the original Star Trek television series and the films based on it. ... Lieutenant is a commissioned rank of the Starfleet in the fictional universe of Star Trek. ... Lieutenant Saavik is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. ... Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Paramount Pictures, 1986; see also 1986 in film) is the fourth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ...

People tend to face an appropriate direction when they rematerialize, although in "Manhunt" Lwaxana Troi rematerializes facing the back of the transporter platform. There is no canon explanation for how people maintain their footing when transporting from the evenly surfaced transporter platform to an uneven surface. Manhunt is an episode from the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... The Star Trek canon is usually defined as comprising the television series Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the ten motion pictures, and excluding everything else. ...

The "Mark VII" transporter is capable of handling unstable biomatter (DS9). Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ...

According to the TNG Technical Manual, the transporter cannot move antimatter, but this rule has been broken a few times. Such as in the Voyager episode Dark Fronter, when Voyager transported a photon torpedo (which contains anti-matter) onto a Borg ship. For other senses of this term, see antimatter (disambiguation). ...

Transporter room on Voyager

"It remains unclear why the transporter rooms exist. On numerous occasions, characters have been transported to and from various locations, such as the bridge or cargo holds of the ship, or any location on a planet or other vessel. This implies that there is no need for the transporter room, and also raises the question of why people on the ship must first walk to the transporter room instead of simply being transported from where they are. A possible explanation for this that was put forward in the Star Trek Deep Space 9 Technical Manual is that 'site-to-site transports', as the are referred to on the show, would probably use twice as much energy as would be required for transport to or from the transporter room. This is because the subject being beamed would first need to be beamed to the pattern buffers located in the transporter room before being shunted on to a secondary location. In addition, the 6 circles on the platform are generally used as targets for the subjects to stand on, but they do not appear to represent any limitation of the hardware to six or less people. People have been transported carrying others, in a coffin style transport, and once animals, hay, and other inanimate objects." This is explained in the TOS episode, "The Day of the Dove". Spock and Scotty had said that doing a transport like that could be risky. They could "beam into a deck" or an inanimate object and get stuck there. This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual is a description of the space station Deep Space Nine, the main setting of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in the Star Trek fictional universe. ...

For special effects reasons, in TOS, people generally appear immobilized during transport, with the exception of Kirk in the episode That Which Survives. However, by TNG, characters can move within the confines of the transporter beam while being transported. That Which Survives is a third season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast January 24, 1969 and repeated July 29, 1969. ...

In popular culture

The famous catch phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" refers to the transporter device, which was often operated by Montgomery Scott during the original series (although never actually uttered by anyone in the original series.) A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... Beam me up, Scotty! is a catch phrase that made its way into pop culture from the science fiction television series Star Trek. ... Scotty redirects here. ...

The 2002 action film The Transporter, while having no connection to the Star Trek universe, did feature a subtle homage to the film's sci-fi namesake. Its title and opening credits appeared on the screen in a manner resembling the visual effect of Star Trek transporters, slowly materializing amidst a brilliant array of lights. Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Transporter is an action/crime movie released in the United States on October 11, 2002. ...

See also

• Personal identity (philosophy)
• Physics and Star Trek
• Replicator (Star Trek)
• Quantum teleportation
• Teleportation

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for an encyclopedia. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, a replicator is a machine capable of converting energy into matter and vice-versa. ... In quantum information, quantum teleportation, or entanglement-assisted teleportation, is a technique that transfers a quantum state to an arbitrarily distant location using a distributed entangled state and the transmission of some classical information. ... Teleportation is the movement of objects or elementary particles from one place to another, more or less instantaneously, without traveling through space. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Transporter (Star Trek)

• Transporter article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• Transporter psychosis article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• The Duplicates Paradox
• "Transporters, Replicators and Phasing FAQ" by Joshua Bell
• startrek.com description