Star Trek features many computers which users can speak directly to and receive logical, sensible answers from a device that both understands human speech, and is able to respond in kind, without the need for any kind of viewscreen or other inputs. This could also prove the first steps towards being able to instantaneously transport items across vast distances, although for obvious reasons it’s hardly ready for human use just yet. While the experiments in quantum teleportation may well lead to the teleportation of larger objects in future, it also goes a long way to solving another technological challenge from Star Trek: the ability to communicate across vast distances instantaneously – radio waves are only capable of travelling at the speed of sound, after all, and are therefore unhelpful for communicating across the vast depths of space.įor a more practical form of teleportation, one German company has proposed an alternative solution: a 3D printer which scans an object and produces an exact replica at another location. Many different versions of teleportation have been explored – one key development is known as quantum teleportation, which involves sending information regarding atomic locations between two points. While human teleportation is still a long way from being feasible, scientists are making progress on the concept. Throughout this time, whenever the subject of teleportation comes up, it’s difficult to avoid thinking of the portrayal of the technology in Star Trek. Scientists have been working to create viable teleportation for decades – such technology would make transport of goods and even people across vast distances far easier. While flip phones have since been replaced with smartphones for most people, this evolutionary step for the technology comes straight from the world of Star Trek, and it’s worth wondering how phones might have developed differently without the show. As the technology further developed, Star Trek’s influence would grow, as phone developers went on to create flip phones that exactly matched the props used in the television series. Martin Cooper, the man often credited with the invention of the first viable cellular phone, has stated publicly that he was very much inspired by the version of mobile communicators put forward by Star Trek. To a certain extent, it’s difficult to separate where Star Trek’s prediction of phones ends, and its actual influence on the development of the technology begins. Probably the most obvious prediction that the original Star Trek series got right, the idea of personal communicators that could be used as portable telephones was a fantastical concept back in 1966 that is an often overlooked technological marvel today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |