Star Trek at 50 - Tractor Beam

A tractor beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. The concept originates in fiction: In Philip Francis Nowlan's Buck Rogers novel, Armageddon 2419 A.D. (1928), the enemy airships used "repellor beams" for support and propulsion, similar to the "eighth ray" beams used for support and propulsion of Martian airships in the Barsoom/John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first published 1912-1943.

The term "tractor beam" was coined by E. E. Smith (an update of his earlier "attractor beam") in his novel Spacehounds of IPC (1931). Since the 1990s, technology and research has laboured to make it a reality, and have had some success on a microscopic level.

Gravity impulse and gravity propulsion beams are traditionally areas of research from fringe physics that coincide with the concepts of tractor and repulsor beams..

This week, a look at tractor beams.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you or would you like to break some more furniture?" - Counselor Deanna Troi, to Commander Worf, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Birthright"

ST50 - Tractor Beam by fredwine

Star Trek at 50 - Communicator

The communicator is a fictional device used for voice communication in the fictional universe of Star Trek. In a twist of the science fiction future infliencing present day technology, Dr. Martin Cooper, inventor of the first handheld mobile phone, credits the Star Trek: The Original Series communicator as being his inspiration for the technology. Although the first "brick" mobile phones were much larger, modern flip phones like Motorola´s StarTAC strongly resemble the original series communicator.

This week, a look at communicators.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: Kirk: "My God, Bones, what have I done?" McCoy: "What you had to do; what you always do: turn death into a fighting chance to live." Doctor Leonard McCoy to Admiral James T. Kirk while witnessing the destruction of the Enterprise, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

ST50 - Communicator by fredwine

Star Trek at 50 - Phaser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.

Phasers are common particle-beam weapons first seen in the original Star Trek series and later seen or referenced in almost all subsequent films and television spin-offs. The phaser was originally a "PHoton mASER", because at the time of writing the laser was a relatively unknown. Masers, on the other hand, were already established and produced long-range coherent beams of electromagnetic radiation.

This week, a look at light amplified weapons.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "There are creatures in the universe who would consider you the ultimate achievement, android. No feelings, no emotions – no pain. And yet, you covet those qualities of humanity. Believe me, you're missing nothing. But if it means anything to you...you're a better human than I." - Q to Commander Data, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Déjà Q"

ST50 - Phaser by fredwine

Star Trek at 50 - Warp Drive

Warp drive is a faster-than-light (FTL) spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at fantasy speeds greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude.

Fantasy speeds? Hey, just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it can't. Some smart person will figure out how hyper-fast travel within General Relativity can occur. Maybe. Or, maybe not.

This week, a look at warp drive.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "One can begin to reshape the landscape with a single flower, Captain." - Spock to Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Unification, Part II"

ST50 - Warp Drive by fredwine

Star Trek at 50 - Natural Language Queries

A natural language query consists only of normal terms in the user’s language, without any special syntax or format. This type of computer human interface is where linguistic phenomena such as verbs, phrases and clauses act as UI controls for creating, selecting and modifying data in software applications.

Heck, I have enough trouble composing sentences with the correct grammatical form. And yet, a computer can manage to do it...most of the time, anyway. Take that, Siri.

This week, as look at natural language queries.

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” - Captain Jean-Luc Picard to Commander Data, Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Peak Performance” 

ST50 - Natural Language Queries by fredwine

Star Trek at 50 - Food Replicators

In history, most people prepared food for themselves. The rich and powerful had servants who made food for them. Then restaurants appeared, making the food for whomever could afford it. With a pocketful of nickles you could visit the automat, the original fast food restaurant where simple foods and drink were served by vending machines. The arrival of fast food served over the counter and with more payment flexibility than nickles came next and never looked back.

What could be easier, you say? How about printing your meal?

This week, a look at fast(er) food.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Your Honor, a courtroom is a crucible. In it, we burn away irrelevancies until we're left with a pure product - the truth, for all time." - Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Measure of a Man"

   ST50 - Food Replicators

Star Trek at 50 - Holodeck

There are times when we want to disappear into the mists and emerse ourselves in something, anything, besides reality. A good book, a movie, a game...the list is endless.

This week, a look at emerging yourself into that other reality.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Regret is one of the strongest emotions and one of the saddest." – Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker, Star Trek: Enterprise, “Fusion”

   ST50 - Holodeck