Thread: Science Fiction technology

I put this up in the science fiction section but that seems to be about the writing of science fiction. I was just hoping to get peoples ideas on some of the technology found in shows like Star Trek and the like. Is it theoretically sound, will we ever develop the technology and how far into the future do you think it will be before said technology is available. Here are just some i was wondering about.

1. Worm holes - artificially made and obviously stable enough to travel through
2. Warp drive - being able to travel faster than the speed of light
3. Hyposprays - a medical device that replaces needles altogether
4. Inertial Dampeners - some kind of miraculous device that prevents you from being atomized when you go from 0km/hr to light speed in seconds.
5. Gravity Plating - stops you from floating around on the bridge
6. Holodecks - Where i would likely spend most my time
7. Replicators - Able to make just about anything from energy.
8. Shields - Some form of magnetic (i think) barrier that stops things.
9. Phasers and photon torpedoes - nasty weapons
10. What about advanced alien races.
11. Lastly, the one that seems to appear in all the big Star trek stories, Time Travel

I could probably go to a site that has all the theory on this but i was hoping to get other peoples opinions and their ideas of when these things might be available, if ever. Hope to also get some of those Physics buffs in this forum too.

Worm holes to me would be similar to a black hole. I also believe that matter in the black hole is not left there. We know that matter cannot be destroyed, just altered in it's state, right? I think that the black hole sends the matter that it "eats" to different places that we have yet to discover. But I'm kinda crazy so heh.

Originally Posted by GrowlingDog

I put this up in the science fiction section but that seems to be about the writing of science fiction. I was just hoping to get peoples ideas on some of the technology found in shows like Star Trek and the like. Is it theoretically sound, will we ever develop the technology and how far into the future do you think it will be before said technology is available. Here are just some i was wondering about.

1. Worm holes - artificially made and obviously stable enough to travel through

While some theoretical work has been done in this area, it appears that wormholes require "exotic matter" to remain stable. This exotic matter has properties that has never been observed in matter, and may not even be possible.

2. Warp drive - being able to travel faster than the speed of light

Not through any modern understanding of Physics. A whole new understanding of physics would be needed. There is no way to predict if future physics will ever allow for this.

3. Hyposprays - a medical device that replaces needles altogether

We already have something simular to this called Jet-sprays, just not as compact.

4. Inertial Dampeners - some kind of miraculous device that prevents you from being atomized when you go from 0km/hr to light speed in seconds.

see number 2

5. Gravity Plating - stops you from floating around on the bridge

see number 2

6. Holodecks - Where i would likely spend most my time

Not likely to the degree you see int he show, with the abiilty to create solid objects, as that would require transporter/replicator technology

7. Replicators - Able to make just about anything from energy.

Not to complexity seen, maybe to the level of producing raw elements from energy.

8. Shields - Some form of magnetic (i think) barrier that stops things.

Not thorugh any fore-seeable technology.

9. Phasers and photon torpedoes - nasty weapons

Phasers are energy weapons, so that part is possible, But I reallt doubt you'll get a single energy weapon as versitile as phasers ar shown as being. (everything from Stun to disintergrate.)
Photon torpedos are just basically antimatter contained in a magnetic bottle, which is turned off upon reaching the target, leading ot a matter-antimatter explosion. Since antimatter in know to exist, this would be a matter of developing the technology to safely create and contain antimatter. At our present level of technology we are only capalble of producing very small amounts antimatter and it cost a lot of energy to do so.

10. What about advanced alien races.

How many alien civilization exist, if any, is still a quaetion that is very much up in the air

11. Lastly, the one that seems to appear in all the big Star trek stories, Time Travel

Not likely in the manner you see most times in the show. Though some solutions suggest that closed time-like curves are possible in Relativity, Any "time machine" built on this principle would only allow you to travel as far back as when the machine was first constructed. (the Guardian of Forever form The episode The City on the Edge of Forever might fit this bill.

I could probably go to a site that has all the theory on this but i was hoping to get other peoples opinions and their ideas of when these things might be available, if ever. Hope to also get some of those Physics buffs in this forum too.

Oh yea, i forgot about teleportation. I read somewhere that scientists had managed to "beam" a beam of light 1 meter and they claimed that teleporting a human was probably 500 years away. Is there any truth to this?