Dilithium crystals

[Timo]

Well, what part of Trek is?

One possibility left unlisted above is that Romulans make Remans dig up worthless dilithium out of sheer sadism only... On the other hand, no other type of mine on Remus is mentioned, yet the Senate in the teaser is concerned about the quotas from the Reman mines not being met, and apparently seeks alternate sources of whatever is being mined. So the dilithium would seem to be worth something after all.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Saturn0660]

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'd say ground based power systems are matter/antimatter based..

Hell, i'll even go a step farther and say maybe only Warbirds are powered by singularities. Everything else is M/AM I don't see shuttles being powered by singularities as you can't turn them "off".

 

[The Dominion]

Well, what part of Trek is?

Nemesis was very out of synch with the series to a stupid degree. Sure it's a TNG movie, and they were all pretty much like that, but Generations and Nemesis particularly excelled in the plot fuckery departments.

 

[Timo]

I'd say ground based power systems are matter/antimatter based..

But antimatter is not a power source - it's just a power storage medium. It's a compact one, and for that reason perfect for starships. But why would ground-based systems utilize it, when they can use a "primary" source (say, sunlight, geothermal energy or fusion) and then deliver that to the application via a grid?

I don't see shuttles being powered by singularities as you can't turn them "off".

But you can't turn antimatter "off", either (unless you are the Doomsday Machine). Any shuttle powered by that will continue to carry an antimatter bomb within, a bomb that will go off once the shuttle runs out of power and the containment collapses.

Shuttles might of course run on things like "ion power" as mentioned in "The Menagerie". (And hopefully that's not the same type of ion power that blew up entire cultures in VOY "Time and Again"!) And in "The Galileo Seven", a shuttle runs on phaser battery power, at least for a brief while. Those phaser batteries seem like a decently safe storage medium (except when one keys in self-destruct), so perhaps that's what they favor in ground applications?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Captain Rob]

Perhaps the antimatter containment bottle doesn't require power. Since it's supposed to be a magnetic containment system. Maybe the material lining the bottle naturally has the same charge as the antimatter. Like charges repell. So how to get the antimatter out of the bottle. Squeeze it like a giant mustard bottle? I'm assuming that the antimatter is anti-dueterium.

 

[Saturn0660]

I'd say ground based power systems are matter/antimatter based..

But antimatter is not a power source - it's just a power storage medium. It's a compact one, and for that reason perfect for starships. But why would ground-based systems utilize it, when they can use a "primary" source (say, sunlight, geothermal energy or fusion) and then deliver that to the application via a grid?

I don't see shuttles being powered by singularities as you can't turn them "off".

But you can't turn antimatter "off", either (unless you are the Doomsday Machine). Any shuttle powered by that will continue to carry an antimatter bomb within, a bomb that will go off once the shuttle runs out of power and the containment collapses.

Shuttles might of course run on things like "ion power" as mentioned in "The Menagerie". (And hopefully that's not the same type of ion power that blew up entire cultures in VOY "Time and Again"!) And in "The Galileo Seven", a shuttle runs on phaser battery power, at least for a brief while. Those phaser batteries seem like a decently safe storage medium (except when one keys in self-destruct), so perhaps that's what they favor in ground applications?

Timo Saloniemi

1st. Right, anti-matter isn't a power source. But who the hell knows what the power requirements are on Romulus. They may "NEED" m/am systems there..


2nd. While i agree you can't shut off antimatter i think your comparison is wrong. M/AM reactors can be shut down. The blackholes can't. As far as antimatter goes. The gas in my gas is always there. Even when the car is off. Now i understand my gas tank won't blow up. But i'd tend to think that you'd run your antimatter tank dry. I'd even say that shuttle in the bay are antimatter free. Heck matter free for that matter..
Much like aircraft carriers of today, they don't keep the jets loaded with fuel down in the hangers..

 

[Kemaiku]

For aged Warbirds, I could see the Romulans using a large natural singularity, sending the old unneeded ships in on impulse remotely and having the two merge, the tiny almost insignificant one from the warbird adding little to the natural one.

That of course is all well and good for an old ship, but one that needs repairs or a new engine core, no idea.

 

[Timo]

M/AM reactors can be shut down. The blackholes can't.

On what basis?

We don't know how the black hole provides energy for a Romulan vessel. It sounds likely that the machinery that extracts power from the black hole can be turned on and off and perhaps also ramped up and down, even if the black hole itself remains - just like antimatter reactors can be adjusted even though the fuel tank remains filled with the volatile substance.

For all we know, dilithium is a vital component of the machinery that extracts power from the black hole, hence all the mining.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Saturn0660]

M/AM reactors can be shut down. The blackholes can't.

On what basis?

We don't know how the black hole provides energy for a Romulan vessel. It sounds likely that the machinery that extracts power from the black hole can be turned on and off and perhaps also ramped up and down, even if the black hole itself remains - just like antimatter reactors can be adjusted even though the fuel tank remains filled with the volatile substance.

For all we know, dilithium is a vital component of the machinery that extracts power from the black hole, hence all the mining.

Timo Saloniemi

Was there not on screen saying of it never being able to be shut off? I need to go watch netflix.