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The '''transporter''' is a device which allows for the movement of people or objects from one location to another. It has seen usage in every generation of Star Trek, though not without some changes.
[[File:Transporter tos.jpg|thumb|right|Transporter ([[TOS]])]]
 
The '''transporter''' is a device which allows for the movement of people or objects from one location to another via [[teleportation]]. It has seen usage in every generation of ''[[Star Trek]]'', though not without some changes.


== Nature ==
== Nature ==
There are several seemingly-conflicted accounts of how exactly the transporter functions. The basic theory as to the function of a transporter is something like this:
There are several seemingly-conflicted accounts of how exactly the transporter functions. The basic theory as to the function of a transporter is something like this:


#Determine the target object's location using sensors or manually specify coordinates.
#Determine the target object's location using sensors, manually specified coordinates, or a signal from a [[communicator]] or [[transporter armband]]. A "transporter lock" must be obtained to proceed.
#Scan the object to obtain a "pattern" (see below).
#Generate a "pattern" of the target's structure with "quantum-level resolution". This is not a scanning process, as targets have been transported with little or no sensor data on them; the pattern is somehow generated at the target's location.
#Disassemble the object into its constituent particles. This occurs at the quantum level.
#Disassemble the object into its constituent particles.
#Transmit the particles to a destination.
#Transmit the pattern and particles (or at least the pattern) to a destination.
#Using the pattern obtained earlier, re-construct the object from the constituent particles "at the quantum level".
#Using the pattern generated earlier, re-construct the object from the constituent particles (or locally available matter) "at the quantum level".
#The re-formed object is functionally identical to the original.
#The re-formed object is functionally identical to the original.


There is some doubt as to the second step in this process; some events suggests that a pattern is not needed. In ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' and in [[Star Trek: Voyager]] on numerous occasions, there are times when a complete scan of an object is not possible, but the co-ordinates of the object have been isolated and the beaming process could proceed from there. This seems to invalidate the need for a scan before transport, particularly since in the case of Star Trek 2, the item being beamed was the [[Genesis Device]] - for which a complete schematic or pattern was not known.
Note that on several occasions a transport has proceeded without a complete scan of the target, just an accurate knowledge of its location.<ref>''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'', [[TNG]] "The Hunted", [[VOY]] "Scorpion"</ref> Sensor detection is useful for determining the target's location, but not necessary for obtaining a lock, generating a pattern, or proceeding with transport.


However, in TNG's "Elementary, my Dear Data", when trying to beam a holographic object off of the grid, Geordi and Data indicated that the pattern-signal was not strong enough, and for ''this'' reason they tried to employ pattern-enhancers to aid with the beaming process.
However, in TNG "Ship in a Bottle", when trying to beam a holographic object off of the grid, Geordi and Data indicated that the pattern signal was not strong enough, and for ''this'' reason they tried to employ [[pattern enhancer]]s to aid with the beaming process. Exactly how pattern enhancers affect the transport process remains unexplained.


== Popular Acceptance ==
== Popular Acceptance ==
An important implication of the nature of transporters is that the original object/person is destroyed in the process, with the "transported" at the destination being an exact copy of the original. Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that transporter accidents have created extra replicas of their affected "targets"-- such as [[James T. Kirk]]<ref>TOS "The Enemy Within"</ref> and [[William Riker]]<ref>TNG "Second Chances"</ref>. Consequently, a whole host of ethical questions can be raised as to whether or not the transporter in effect murders its subjects.
[[File:Transporter tng.jpg|thumb|right|Transporter ([[TNG]])]]An important implication of the nature of transporters is that the original object/person is destroyed in the process, with the "transported" subject at the destination being an exact copy of the original. Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that transporter accidents have created extra replicas of their affected "targets"-- such as [[James T. Kirk]]<ref>TOS "The Enemy Within"</ref> and [[William Riker]]<ref>TNG "Second Chances"</ref>. Consequently, a whole host of ethical questions can be raised as to whether or not the transporter in effect murders its subjects.


In ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]] expressed his dislike of the transport system. Although it did exist and function at that time, it was not considered safe, quite like the first boiler-cars. Archer said that he wouldn't trust it with his life or the lives of his men.  This was perhaps a justified position, as more than one attempted transport produced horrific results, such as blending a man and his surroundings.
In ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]] expressed his dislike of the transport system. Although it did exist and function at that time, it was not considered safe, quite like the first boiler-cars. Archer said that he wouldn't trust it with his life or the lives of his men.  This was perhaps a justified position, as more than one attempted transport produced horrific results, such as blending a man and his surroundings.


In the next chronological generation, ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', the prevailing attitude has changed significantly. Though there are still cynics - among them the prominent [[Leonard McCoy|Dr. McCoy]] - who insisted that it was a "Crazy way to travel, spreading a man's molecules all over the universe", but the transporter was used widely, and we never heard mention of the ethical dilemmas involved in its use.
In the next chronological generation, ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', the prevailing attitude had changed significantly. Although there were still cynics -- among them the prominent [[Leonard McCoy|Dr. McCoy]], who insisted that it was a "crazy way to travel, spreading a man's molecules all over the universe" -- the transporter was used widely, and we never heard mention of the ethical dilemmas involved in its use.


By the time of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', transporters -- like warp-drive -- are considered to be a "proven technology". Commander William Riker even describes it as "the safest way to travel." It is notable that this same person was personally involved in the afore-mentioned transporter accident, which clearly showed that the transporter '''had''' in fact destroyed and copied him.
By the time of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', transporters -- like [[warp drive]] -- were considered to be a "proven technology". Commander William Riker even described it as "the safest way to travel." It is notable that this same person was personally involved in the afore-mentioned transporter accident, which clearly showed that the transporter '''had''' in fact destroyed and copied him.


==Limitations==
==Limitations==
Numerous natural and artificial phenomena interfere with transporter function.  Electromagnetic radiation<ref>TNG "Symbiosis"</ref>, electromagnetic fields<ref>TNG "Legacy"</ref>, severe weather<ref>TNG "The Enemy"</ref>, dense metals<ref>TNG "Hero Worship"</ref>, defensive shields<ref>TOS "Arena"</ref>, "inhibitor" fields<ref>''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]''</ref>, exotic radiation<ref>TNG "Ensigns of Command"</ref>, natural minerals<ref>''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]''</ref>, and various other conditions have all prevented transporter use, sometimes merely by their presence in the general vicinity.
[[File:Transport Inhibitor.jpg|thumb|right|A [[transport inhibitor]]]]Numerous natural and artificial phenomena interfere with transporter function.  Electromagnetic radiation,<ref>TNG "Symbiosis"</ref> electromagnetic force fields,<ref>TNG "Legacy"</ref> severe weather,<ref>TNG "The Enemy"</ref> dense metals,<ref>TNG "Hero Worship"</ref> defensive [[shield]]s,<ref>TOS "Arena"</ref> [[transport inhibitor|"inhibitor" fields]],<ref>''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]''</ref> exotic radiation,<ref>TNG "Ensigns of Command"</ref> natural minerals,<ref>''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]''</ref> tractor beams,<ref>TNG "The Chase", "Attached"</ref> and various other conditions have all impaired or prevented transporter use, sometimes merely by their presence in the general vicinity. It is usually easier to transport '''into''' an area with interference than it is to transport back out, meaning it is surprisingly easy for an [[away team]] to become trapped in a hazardous situation.
 
The pattern generation stage of the transport process is not particulary discriminatory. On multiple occasions, a person has managed to "stow away" on a transport by "hugging" the target of the transport.<ref>TOS "The Enterprise Incident", ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''</ref>
 
In the TOS-era, transporters were much safer to use for ship-to-planet or planet-to-ship transports than ship-to-ship transports or transports to another location within the same ship. Why it would be easier to transport someone from orbit to a location on the ground than from the ship's transporter pad to a compartment in the same ship was never clearly explained.
 
By the TNG-era, transporter targeting had progressed to the point that transporting from one location to another on a starship was no longer considered hazardous, and transporters were routinely used to transport people and objects from one location to another without materializing the subject on a transporter pad in between.  Nonetheless, under particularly hazardous conditions (such as in the presence of heavy interference), the safest course is to transport subjects directly from one transporter pad to another transporter pad at the destination (indicating that transporter systems can interact with each other to boost performance).<ref>TNG "Symbiosis"</ref>  Portable devices called [[pattern enhancer]]s can also be used to improve transporter function.
 
The transport process is mildly stressful on living subjects, making it unsafe to transport injured personnel who are not in a stable condition.<ref>TNG "Who Watches the Watchers", "Transfigurations"</ref> Similarly, it apparently affects the energy state of matter enough to trigger chain reactions in unstable materials.<ref>TNG "The Most Toys"</ref>
 
Transporters include a "biofilter" intended to remove potentially dangerous parasites and microbes from individuals undergoing transport, but this feature is highly unreliable. It appears to remove only known pathogens, so it regularly fails to remove organisms that have not been previously identified as hazards.<ref>TOS "Miri", "This Side of Paradise"; TNG "Angel One", "Brothers", "Shades of Gray"</ref> Even after a pathogen has been identified, they don't just send patients through the transport process again to remove infections, so the biofilter can't be very reliable.


==Combat Use==
==Combat Use==
Defensive [[shields]] block transporter function, but once an enemy's shields have been dropped with weapon fire, boarding parties generally transport themselves onto enemy starships, indicating that transporting unwilling opponents away from their ship would be more difficult.
Transporters can be used to capture unwary opponents,<ref>TNG "A Matter of Honor", "Rascals"</ref> and [[Federation]] transporter systems are capable of deactivating weapons carried by individuals undergoing transport, even if those weapons are actively discharging.<ref>TNG "The Most Toys"</ref> Subjects undergoing transport can also be "held" in the "transporter buffer" for a period of time before re-materializing them,<ref>TOS "Day of the Dove", TNG "The Hunted"</ref> allowing security personnel to prepare for their appearance; the time limit for keeping subjects "on hold" in the transporter buffer is not known specifically, although it is generally no more than a few minutes.
 
Defensive [[shields]] block transporter function, but once an enemy's shields have been dropped with weapon fire, [[boarding]] parties routinely transport themselves onto enemy starships, indicating that transporting alert, unwilling opponents away from their ship would be so much more difficult as to not be worth attempting. This tactical behavior may indicate that [[transport inhibitor]] technology is built into starships: routine use of transporters to rescue personnel from damaged starships indicates that an inhibitor effect is not inherent to a ship's structure. In ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'', the Enterprise activated "defense fields" when it went to yellow alert, but these were separate from the main [[shields]]: these "defense fields" may be transport inhibitor fields.
 
A ship using a [[cloaking device]] can still use transporters without significant risk of revealing its location.<ref>TNG "Unification"</ref> This would presumably make it easy to ambush an unwary enemy by beaming boarders or [[transporter bomb|weapons]] onto a target before the target is aware of a threat, but there is no example of such an attack being attempted.
 
== Alternative Uses ==
Transporters are occasionally employed in novel ways that are never repeated, giving the transporter a variety of "[[technology of the week]]" uses.
*Medical Applications
** The Enterprise crew once used a sample of [[Katherine Pulaski|Dr. Pulaski's]] [[DNA]] recovered from a hairbrush as a template with which to counteract changes induced by a [[disease of the week]] using the ship's transporter.<ref>TNG "Unnatural Selection"</ref>
** When a transporter malfunction during beam-up transforms several crew members into children (albeit with adult minds), the transporter is able to use patterns from previous transports to restore them to their adult forms.<ref>TNG "Rascals"</ref> This incident suggests the possibility of using the transporter to restore elderly individuals to a youthful state, but there is no indication that the Federation has tried to reproduce the event.
*[[Clone|Cloning]]
** A transporter accident once created a [[Thomas Riker|duplicate]] of [[William Riker]].<ref>TNG "Second Chances"</ref>  This event raises the possibility that transporters could rapidly generate copies of fully-trained personnel, but [[Starfleet]] has made no effort to duplicate the event.
* Material destruction
** In TNG "Captain's Holiday", Picard orders the ''Enterprise'' to use the transporter to destroy an alien artifact using "code fourteen". The object is surrounded by the transporter effect and then explodes.
 
==[[Trekkie]] Arguments==
In spite of all the things that can stop transporters, trekkies often argue that they represent a [[transporter bomb|huge advantage in battles]], using the idiotic idea that an opponent that doesn't ''have'' transporter technology can't stop them. This idiotic thinking leads to claims that [[Starfleet]] could easily defeat opposition from other settings such as [[Babylon 5]] and [[Star Wars]], even though relatively primitive civilizations without transporter technology have blocked transporters in ''Star Trek'' itself.
 
==New Trek==
In the [[Star Trek (2009)|''Star Trek'' reboot]], the transporters are shown to have a range of light-years using a futuristic targeting formula invented by [[Montgomery Scott|future Scotty]] and implemented by [[Spock|future Spock]]. The capability is still around in ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]'', but it appears to be a closely guarded secret of [[Section 31]]. The capability would allow the transporter to deploy troops or strategic weapons (part of the plot of "Into Darkness") from light-years away from a target.
 
Similar long-range transporter technology is seen in TNG "Bloodlines", but it's treated as a [[technology of the week]].
 
==See Also==
* [[Pattern enhancer]]
* [[Transport inhibitor]]
* [[Transporter armband]]
* [[Isolinear tag]]
* [[Transporter bomb]]


==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />
== Alternative Uses ==
*Restoration to Previous State* (TNG: Unnatural Selection, Rascals)


[[Category: Star Trek]]
[[Category: Star Trek]]
[[Category:ST Other Technology]]
[[Category:ST Other Technology]]
[[Category: ST Technology]]
[[Category: ST Technology]]
[[Category: Technology of the Week]]
[[Category: Trekkie Arguments]]

Latest revision as of 19:42, 20 November 2023

Transporter (TOS)

The transporter is a device which allows for the movement of people or objects from one location to another via teleportation. It has seen usage in every generation of Star Trek, though not without some changes.

Nature

There are several seemingly-conflicted accounts of how exactly the transporter functions. The basic theory as to the function of a transporter is something like this:

  1. Determine the target object's location using sensors, manually specified coordinates, or a signal from a communicator or transporter armband. A "transporter lock" must be obtained to proceed.
  2. Generate a "pattern" of the target's structure with "quantum-level resolution". This is not a scanning process, as targets have been transported with little or no sensor data on them; the pattern is somehow generated at the target's location.
  3. Disassemble the object into its constituent particles.
  4. Transmit the pattern and particles (or at least the pattern) to a destination.
  5. Using the pattern generated earlier, re-construct the object from the constituent particles (or locally available matter) "at the quantum level".
  6. The re-formed object is functionally identical to the original.

Note that on several occasions a transport has proceeded without a complete scan of the target, just an accurate knowledge of its location.[1] Sensor detection is useful for determining the target's location, but not necessary for obtaining a lock, generating a pattern, or proceeding with transport.

However, in TNG "Ship in a Bottle", when trying to beam a holographic object off of the grid, Geordi and Data indicated that the pattern signal was not strong enough, and for this reason they tried to employ pattern enhancers to aid with the beaming process. Exactly how pattern enhancers affect the transport process remains unexplained.

Popular Acceptance

Transporter (TNG)

An important implication of the nature of transporters is that the original object/person is destroyed in the process, with the "transported" subject at the destination being an exact copy of the original. Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that transporter accidents have created extra replicas of their affected "targets"-- such as James T. Kirk[2] and William Riker[3]. Consequently, a whole host of ethical questions can be raised as to whether or not the transporter in effect murders its subjects.

In Star Trek: Enterprise, Captain Jonathan Archer expressed his dislike of the transport system. Although it did exist and function at that time, it was not considered safe, quite like the first boiler-cars. Archer said that he wouldn't trust it with his life or the lives of his men. This was perhaps a justified position, as more than one attempted transport produced horrific results, such as blending a man and his surroundings.

In the next chronological generation, Star Trek: The Original Series, the prevailing attitude had changed significantly. Although there were still cynics -- among them the prominent Dr. McCoy, who insisted that it was a "crazy way to travel, spreading a man's molecules all over the universe" -- the transporter was used widely, and we never heard mention of the ethical dilemmas involved in its use.

By the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation, transporters -- like warp drive -- were considered to be a "proven technology". Commander William Riker even described it as "the safest way to travel." It is notable that this same person was personally involved in the afore-mentioned transporter accident, which clearly showed that the transporter had in fact destroyed and copied him.

Limitations

A transport inhibitor

Numerous natural and artificial phenomena interfere with transporter function. Electromagnetic radiation,[4] electromagnetic force fields,[5] severe weather,[6] dense metals,[7] defensive shields,[8] "inhibitor" fields,[9] exotic radiation,[10] natural minerals,[11] tractor beams,[12] and various other conditions have all impaired or prevented transporter use, sometimes merely by their presence in the general vicinity. It is usually easier to transport into an area with interference than it is to transport back out, meaning it is surprisingly easy for an away team to become trapped in a hazardous situation.

The pattern generation stage of the transport process is not particulary discriminatory. On multiple occasions, a person has managed to "stow away" on a transport by "hugging" the target of the transport.[13]

In the TOS-era, transporters were much safer to use for ship-to-planet or planet-to-ship transports than ship-to-ship transports or transports to another location within the same ship. Why it would be easier to transport someone from orbit to a location on the ground than from the ship's transporter pad to a compartment in the same ship was never clearly explained.

By the TNG-era, transporter targeting had progressed to the point that transporting from one location to another on a starship was no longer considered hazardous, and transporters were routinely used to transport people and objects from one location to another without materializing the subject on a transporter pad in between. Nonetheless, under particularly hazardous conditions (such as in the presence of heavy interference), the safest course is to transport subjects directly from one transporter pad to another transporter pad at the destination (indicating that transporter systems can interact with each other to boost performance).[14] Portable devices called pattern enhancers can also be used to improve transporter function.

The transport process is mildly stressful on living subjects, making it unsafe to transport injured personnel who are not in a stable condition.[15] Similarly, it apparently affects the energy state of matter enough to trigger chain reactions in unstable materials.[16]

Transporters include a "biofilter" intended to remove potentially dangerous parasites and microbes from individuals undergoing transport, but this feature is highly unreliable. It appears to remove only known pathogens, so it regularly fails to remove organisms that have not been previously identified as hazards.[17] Even after a pathogen has been identified, they don't just send patients through the transport process again to remove infections, so the biofilter can't be very reliable.

Combat Use

Transporters can be used to capture unwary opponents,[18] and Federation transporter systems are capable of deactivating weapons carried by individuals undergoing transport, even if those weapons are actively discharging.[19] Subjects undergoing transport can also be "held" in the "transporter buffer" for a period of time before re-materializing them,[20] allowing security personnel to prepare for their appearance; the time limit for keeping subjects "on hold" in the transporter buffer is not known specifically, although it is generally no more than a few minutes.

Defensive shields block transporter function, but once an enemy's shields have been dropped with weapon fire, boarding parties routinely transport themselves onto enemy starships, indicating that transporting alert, unwilling opponents away from their ship would be so much more difficult as to not be worth attempting. This tactical behavior may indicate that transport inhibitor technology is built into starships: routine use of transporters to rescue personnel from damaged starships indicates that an inhibitor effect is not inherent to a ship's structure. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the Enterprise activated "defense fields" when it went to yellow alert, but these were separate from the main shields: these "defense fields" may be transport inhibitor fields.

A ship using a cloaking device can still use transporters without significant risk of revealing its location.[21] This would presumably make it easy to ambush an unwary enemy by beaming boarders or weapons onto a target before the target is aware of a threat, but there is no example of such an attack being attempted.

Alternative Uses

Transporters are occasionally employed in novel ways that are never repeated, giving the transporter a variety of "technology of the week" uses.

  • Medical Applications
    • The Enterprise crew once used a sample of Dr. Pulaski's DNA recovered from a hairbrush as a template with which to counteract changes induced by a disease of the week using the ship's transporter.[22]
    • When a transporter malfunction during beam-up transforms several crew members into children (albeit with adult minds), the transporter is able to use patterns from previous transports to restore them to their adult forms.[23] This incident suggests the possibility of using the transporter to restore elderly individuals to a youthful state, but there is no indication that the Federation has tried to reproduce the event.
  • Cloning
    • A transporter accident once created a duplicate of William Riker.[24] This event raises the possibility that transporters could rapidly generate copies of fully-trained personnel, but Starfleet has made no effort to duplicate the event.
  • Material destruction
    • In TNG "Captain's Holiday", Picard orders the Enterprise to use the transporter to destroy an alien artifact using "code fourteen". The object is surrounded by the transporter effect and then explodes.

Trekkie Arguments

In spite of all the things that can stop transporters, trekkies often argue that they represent a huge advantage in battles, using the idiotic idea that an opponent that doesn't have transporter technology can't stop them. This idiotic thinking leads to claims that Starfleet could easily defeat opposition from other settings such as Babylon 5 and Star Wars, even though relatively primitive civilizations without transporter technology have blocked transporters in Star Trek itself.

New Trek

In the Star Trek reboot, the transporters are shown to have a range of light-years using a futuristic targeting formula invented by future Scotty and implemented by future Spock. The capability is still around in Star Trek Into Darkness, but it appears to be a closely guarded secret of Section 31. The capability would allow the transporter to deploy troops or strategic weapons (part of the plot of "Into Darkness") from light-years away from a target.

Similar long-range transporter technology is seen in TNG "Bloodlines", but it's treated as a technology of the week.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, TNG "The Hunted", VOY "Scorpion"
  2. ↑ TOS "The Enemy Within"
  3. ↑ TNG "Second Chances"
  4. ↑ TNG "Symbiosis"
  5. ↑ TNG "Legacy"
  6. ↑ TNG "The Enemy"
  7. ↑ TNG "Hero Worship"
  8. ↑ TOS "Arena"
  9. ↑ Star Trek: Insurrection
  10. ↑ TNG "Ensigns of Command"
  11. ↑ Star Trek: Insurrection
  12. ↑ TNG "The Chase", "Attached"
  13. ↑ TOS "The Enterprise Incident", Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
  14. ↑ TNG "Symbiosis"
  15. ↑ TNG "Who Watches the Watchers", "Transfigurations"
  16. ↑ TNG "The Most Toys"
  17. ↑ TOS "Miri", "This Side of Paradise"; TNG "Angel One", "Brothers", "Shades of Gray"
  18. ↑ TNG "A Matter of Honor", "Rascals"
  19. ↑ TNG "The Most Toys"
  20. ↑ TOS "Day of the Dove", TNG "The Hunted"
  21. ↑ TNG "Unification"
  22. ↑ TNG "Unnatural Selection"
  23. ↑ TNG "Rascals"
  24. ↑ TNG "Second Chances"
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