::LCARS Technical Database:: Misc. Technology

[Narsil Brozgal]

Replicators-



A replicator (or food slot) is a device that uses transporter technology to dematerialize quantities of matter and then re-materialize that matter in another form.

24th century Federation starships are commonly equipped with replicators because they allow for a wider variety of foods and beverages to be served to crew members, since the selection is limited only by the software and the number of options that have been programmed. Many people find replicated foods and drinks to taste exactly the same as "real" food, although some people claim to be able to tell the difference. This is due to the replicator manufacturing food and beverages at the molecular level rather than at the quantum level as used by most transporter systems.

Replicators can be used for replicating machine parts or clothing. They can even be used to replicate heavier machine parts, using a special type known as an industrial replicator.Replicators may be capable of producing replacement organs for lifeforms in the ship's database. At the very least they are capable of producing artificial organs as replacement for lost/diseased organs.Replicators sample an object at a molecular rather than quantum level. The computer then applies a loss compression algorithm to save computer memory. This gives the computer a pattern from which to produce copies.

Starships keep a small supply of recycled bulk material from which to create new objects. A waveguide conduit system sends bulk material to the replicator, which reforms it into the requested objects, then it transmits the new object to the terminal.

Quantum transformational manipulation allows the creation of new elements. Energy costs are high for all forms of replication, thus making practical alchemy, such as creating limitless latinum, impossible, but food (normally simple arrangements of water, proteins, and liquids) is more practical to replicate from bulk matter than to store.

The replicator is also capable of inverting its function, thus disposing leftovers and dishes - and presumably materials not created by a replicator, esp. the crews excrements - and storing the bulk material again.

Since 2430 however, advancements in energy to matter research have allowed ships to simply utilize their excess power as a source of material for replicators. Excess matter can also be recycled into pure energy that can be used as any other energy can. The Mk. VIV replicator first used on the Pioneer Class was the first replicator to use the M/E-E/M system and has so far proven itself with flying colors.

[Narsil Brozgal]

Transporters-



The transporter is a subspace device capable of almost instantaneously moving an object from one location to another. Transporters are able to dematerialize, transmit and reassemble an object. The act of transporting is often referred to as "beaming."

By the 24th century, most space faring civilization of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants employed transporter technology for short-range transport of personnel and equipment. There were many advantages to utilizing transporters.

On a planetary scale, small vehicles and spacecraft were no longer required to travel between locations. Traveling by transporter was essentially instantaneous and an individual's sense of time while transporting was effectively non-existent. Harry Kim, while training at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, frequently transported to South Carolina to see his parents.
In general, a Transporter Chief was responsible for the operational readiness, maintenance and repair of a ship or station's transporter systems. By the 24th century, transporter systems could also be operated from computer terminals other than those in transporter rooms.

Furthermore, emergency transporter armbands, transponders and combadges could be programmed to remotely activate a transporter. Normally, remote transporter activation was limited to emergencies or when the crew of a vessel was not on board.

A typical transport sequence began with a coordinate lock, during which the destination was verified and programmed, via the targeting scanners. Next, the life form or object to be beamed was scanned on the quantum level using a molecular imaging scanner.

At this point, Heisenberg compensators take into account the position and direction of all subatomic particles composing the object or individual and create a map of the physical structure being disassembled. Simultaneously, the object is converted into transmittable information, also called the matter stream. The person being beamed is now converted into billions of kiloquads of data.

The matter stream is then transmitted to its destination via a subspace frequency. As with any type of transmission of energy or radiation, scattering and degradation of the signal must be monitored closely. As such, an annular confinement beam (ACB) acts to maintain the integrity of the information contained in the beam.

The matter stream is briefly stored in a pattern buffer while the system compensates for Doppler shift to the destination and then transmitted through an emitter pad. Finally, the initial process is reversed and the object or individual is reassembled at the destination.

As with other Starfleet technology, the transporter had its own set of safety features, protocols and procedures. In an emergency, many of these safety systems could be modified or circumvented.

One safety feature protected the transport subject to a certain degree from external influences once the dematerialization process had begun. This protection extended to both high energy discharges (such as energy weapons fire) and physical incursions (such as projectile weapons fire).
Such protection was not infallible, however, particularly in the earlier models of transporter. "Foreign matter" could get caught up in the transport process and become imbedded or integrated into the subject.

Biofilters were uniformly used on all Federation transporters by the 24th century. These filters functioned to decontaminate transported objects and prevent harmful substances, pathogens, and even certain forms of radiation (including theta radiation), from contaminating the rest of the ship.Though biofilters performed a general contaminate removal with each transport, some novel contaminate removal required specific calibration in order for the filters to be effective. As such, biofilters were incapable of filtering out certain types of substances and pathogens, most notably psychic energy.Biofilters were also unable to detect and filter certain types of phased reality life forms without prior calibration. Biofilters also functioned to detect and disable weapons and explosives (remat detonators). Additionally pattern buffers were used to compensate for relative motion during transport, ensuring that transported matter materialized in the correct location.

The Heisenberg Compensator-



The Heisenberg compensator (or Subspace Field Compensator) is a component of the transporter system. The compensator works around the problems caused by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle (hence the name), allowing the transporter sensors to compensate for their inability to determine both the position and momentum of the target particles to the same degree of accuracy. This ensures the matter stream remains coherent during transport, and no data is lost.

A scan of the heisenberg compensators, to make sure they perform within the specified parameters, can be performed by raising the transporter pad.