Dilithium crystals
- Thread starter F. King Daniel
- Start date
In Assignment Earth the Enterprise traveled back in time to observe earth history. After that either ....
1. The Federation can still travel in time. (Oh, the problems they could avoid if this was the case.)
2. The Federation forgot how to travel in time. (Maybe Q wipped memories of this and now prevents other races from using high speed to travel in time.)
3. The writers thought "Oops. This was a mistake. We don't want every race with warp drives traveling in time. Let's pretend this never happened." (Maybe that episode was a dream.)
1. The Federation can still travel in time. (Oh, the problems they could avoid if this was the case.)
2. The Federation forgot how to travel in time. (Maybe Q wipped memories of this and now prevents other races from using high speed to travel in time.)
3. The writers thought "Oops. This was a mistake. We don't want every race with warp drives traveling in time. Let's pretend this never happened." (Maybe that episode was a dream.)
If I remember correctly, the Enterprise was thrown back in time by a mysterious black star and had to reverse the process to get home not that they were unexplainably time travelling on their own to study history. But breaking the time barrier as described in the cage does sound like time travel but I think it is just referring to space/time travel and the development of warp drive which breaks the speed of light barrier.
As for ENT, you have to evolve from something.
As for ENT, you have to evolve from something.
In "Tomorrow is Yesterday" from the first season the black hole sent them back in time and were discovered by the air force. They spend most of their time escaping from the Air Force with and trying not to to leave a weapon or communicator behind. Spock's caculations allowed them to use the slingshot effect to get back to their own time.
Later in season 1 they discover the time portal, Guardian, in the episode "City on the Edge of Forever."
In "Assignment Earth", the last episode of the second season they went back in time on purpose to study the history of the 20th century. What method they use is never mentioned but the entire ship went so we have to assume it did not fly through the portal. While there they intercept a transporter beam from across the galaxy and spend the eposide chasing after Gary Seven. Since they learned how to use the slingshot effect in "Tomorrow is Yesterday" they may have used it again here, but, the method of time travel is never mentioned. They treat it as a non-issue.
Later in season 1 they discover the time portal, Guardian, in the episode "City on the Edge of Forever."
In "Assignment Earth", the last episode of the second season they went back in time on purpose to study the history of the 20th century. What method they use is never mentioned but the entire ship went so we have to assume it did not fly through the portal. While there they intercept a transporter beam from across the galaxy and spend the eposide chasing after Gary Seven. Since they learned how to use the slingshot effect in "Tomorrow is Yesterday" they may have used it again here, but, the method of time travel is never mentioned. They treat it as a non-issue.
Really, then I apoligize. I haven't seen it in ages. That's interesting however. I thought it was the proximity to a black star but I could be wrong. Maybe the time barrier was broken after all if the Enterprise itself can just go back through time to study the past. Man, don't let me go back and watch it after twenty years. It couldn't have been voluntary since they had to figure out how to go back. Sense? Written by Dorithy Fontana yet never mentioned.. wierd..
It is such a fleeting statement that even though I have been watching TOS on blu-ray over the past month I decided to confirm my facts with the Episode Guide here before making my post. After seeing your post I went back to confirm that the episode guide says black hole. Then I decided to pull out season one and watch the beginning of the episode. There is was, in that fleeting statement..... black star.
As old timers would say, "Ya gat a mind like a trap."
Tommorrow is Yesterday was a black star and Assignment Earth was like you said, a slingshot effect. at least that's what I think. I just took a look at the beginning and it was fleeting as well but it did give the indication that the time travelling was deliberate. If you know what we are talking about anymore, Let me knoe. I'm not going to see it again.
Going back to topic, there's a moment at Rura Penthe during "Judgment", when a Klingon guard punishes Archer and Kolos with one of those handy-dandy cattle prods -- stating "Our ships run on Dilithium NOT talk!"
Probably logical to conclude that starships in the 22nd Century get through crystals faster than they do during Kirk's era. By TNG, they're regrowing them in something called the "articulation frame" -- according to "Relics", when Scotty was retreived from transporter stasis. Although he and Spock appear to have invented a similar process, during Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Enterprise seemed to focus more deuterium, warp plasma (assuming those aren't the same) and warp coils, whenever there was a crisis and a desperate need for something in Engineering. Probably should have made a fuss out of Dilithium being low too... unless that only became a serious factor at prolonged travel over Warp 5. In which case, not a problem for the NX-class.
Probably logical to conclude that starships in the 22nd Century get through crystals faster than they do during Kirk's era. By TNG, they're regrowing them in something called the "articulation frame" -- according to "Relics", when Scotty was retreived from transporter stasis. Although he and Spock appear to have invented a similar process, during Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Enterprise seemed to focus more deuterium, warp plasma (assuming those aren't the same) and warp coils, whenever there was a crisis and a desperate need for something in Engineering. Probably should have made a fuss out of Dilithium being low too... unless that only became a serious factor at prolonged travel over Warp 5. In which case, not a problem for the NX-class.
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I would like to know where they fist found Dilithium crystals, as they are not an Earth bound mineral?
Ah, but it is. According to the novels, much earthbound dilithium was mistaken for quartz until it's fourth-dimensional properties were discovered in the mid 21st century. There was a mad "dilithium rush" and many museums became rich overnight by tearing up their geology exhibits.
(Yeah, much from those old novels were "invalidated" by ENT's take on Trek's past, but I thought it was a pretty cool factoid nonetheless)
...Maybe the presence of absence of dilithium in one's native star system is what makes or breaks empires?
Perhaps Cochrane would never have invented anything if not for the fact that a mission to Saturn's moons brought back a substance that revealed the secrets of subspace? Perhaps Klingons would never have gotten starborne if not for Praxis?
Timo Saloniemi
Perhaps Cochrane would never have invented anything if not for the fact that a mission to Saturn's moons brought back a substance that revealed the secrets of subspace? Perhaps Klingons would never have gotten starborne if not for Praxis?
Timo Saloniemi
Which has always made me wonder if worlds that just don't have access to dilithium can ever hope to become warp capable.
Plasma is hot ionized gas, as I understand it, plasma is what they use on starships to move energy from the reactor to the warp coils. In the 24th century, they used plasma to move power elsewhere through out the ships.I think so....
Plasma isn't the source of energy in of itself.
Nor is antimatter, really. It can only be created by artificial means, by expending energy, some of which then gets "stored" into the antimatter - just like one can create electricity for a battery. But stating that "electricity is our power source" or "the battery is our power source" would both be a bit misleading if one wants to find out which natural resource you are exploiting for getting the power in the first place.
For all we know, starships are powered by wind, which creates the electricity that is used for creating the antimatter!
Timo Saloniemi
For all we know, starships are powered by wind, which creates the electricity that is used for creating the antimatter!
Timo Saloniemi
Capable, sure. Contenders, no way.
Edit: Heck maybe they could become contenders. For all we know a lack of quality dilithium is what led the rommie's into their blackhole powered ships.
Yet Romulans mine dilithium extensively from their very doorstep, from the depths of Remus. If that's low-grade stuff unfit for starship propulsion, why do they bother?
I guess dilithium might be exported in exchange for things the besieged Star Empire does not possess. Or it might have other applications besides antimatter-based power generation.
Or perhaps no degree of mining can really meet the demands of an expansionist empire? Which could explain why the Federation didn't balloon faster than it did, why Starfleet always is desperately short on ships despite its impressive manufacturing abilities, and why the Romulans would devote resources to the study of alternate power sources. The Feds eventually wouldn't need to, as they'd find ways to stretch their dilithium supplies through regeneration and perhaps synthesis as well.
Timo Saloniemi
I guess dilithium might be exported in exchange for things the besieged Star Empire does not possess. Or it might have other applications besides antimatter-based power generation.
Or perhaps no degree of mining can really meet the demands of an expansionist empire? Which could explain why the Federation didn't balloon faster than it did, why Starfleet always is desperately short on ships despite its impressive manufacturing abilities, and why the Romulans would devote resources to the study of alternate power sources. The Feds eventually wouldn't need to, as they'd find ways to stretch their dilithium supplies through regeneration and perhaps synthesis as well.
Timo Saloniemi
But the dilithium mines on Remus came from Nemesis, so I'm inclined to not think too much of them since Nemesis wasn't totally accurate to the ST universe in a lot of ways.
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