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Here are a few major scientific achievements that led to the utopian future of Star Trek.
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00:00Hey folks, before we start, just want to say a really quick thank you to Squarespace who are
00:04sponsoring this video. The technology of Star Trek is where a lot of the wonder of the franchise
00:09comes from. Some tech is inspiring because it seems so realistic that it could actually exist
00:15in the future. Other devices like replicators are just interesting because of how ridiculously
00:20utopian they are. Now it is worth noting that the Vulcans actually invented many of the things on
00:26this list way before humanity did and just refused to hand it over because they didn't want humanity
00:32to become dependent on them. And with that in mind, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, here with the 10
00:39biggest advancements in Star Trek history.
00:51Hi, I'm Sean Blass from GTN, Galaxy Truth Network.
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02:21Number 10, Artificial Gravity.
02:34Most fans might not know this, but Starfleet's artificial gravity was actually reverse-engineered
02:40from recovered alien technology.
02:42In the animated series episode The Slaver Weapon, we learned that an ancient species known as
02:47the Slavers once ruled most of the galaxy a billion years before the 23rd century.
02:52The only remnants of their society that remained in the 23rd century was mysterious stasis boxes
02:57found randomly across the galaxy.
02:59These boxes contained technology that once belonged to the Slavers, including what Spock referred to
03:05as a flying belt.
03:06He explained that this device helped Earth find the key to creating an artificial gravity field.
03:11Once the humans learned the flying belt worked, they were able to incorporate the tech into their vessels.
03:17Now, it's never explained how artificial gravity functions,
03:20but we do know that it's generated through gravity plating that's spread throughout the vessel's interior.
03:27Earth-like gravity is so important for humans.
03:31Spending too much time in zero-gravity environments can be really damaging to our bodies,
03:36and so it was completely necessary for long-term space travel.
03:41Number 9, The Discovery of Subspace.
03:43Subspace is made of infinite pocket dimensions layered on top of our universe.
03:48The different laws of physics in these domains allow signals to travel faster.
03:53Without using a warp drive, a signal sent through normal space can only travel at a maximum of the
03:57speed of light, which is why Starfleet sends their communications through subspace.
04:02This method allows starships to instantly communicate with Earth while hundreds of light-years away,
04:07though past a certain distance the signal would need to be amplified by a subspace relay station.
04:13Subspace was also used to generate warp bubbles around starships to protect them from the effects
04:19of bending space. Warp travel would not be possible without subspace.
04:24It's unclear when exactly subspace was discovered, but it must have been before
04:28Zefron Cochran's first warp flight in 2063, unless he somehow was able to tap into subspace
04:34without fully understanding what it was.
04:36Now, subspace is entirely fictional, but it does share some similarities with the extra-spatial
04:42dimensions proposed in string theory.
04:45Now, if string theory were proven, it would be one of the greatest scientific achievements
04:50in human history, and a huge step towards a theory of everything.
04:55Number 8, Tractor Beams.
04:57For all of human history, we have been trying to find a way to move things without actually
05:03touching them.
05:04Tractor Beams are just that, energy projections that Starfleet ships use to hold objects in
05:09place or move them.
05:10These devices may seem mundane, but they've actually been very important for humanity.
05:16Prior to their invention, the NX-01 Enterprise used magnetic grapplers instead, but they were
05:21much less precise and more easily disconnected.
05:24Tractor Beams made it much safer to tow disabled vessels to safety.
05:28Tractor Beams also assisted with navigating shuttles in hangar bays, and could be used to deflect hazardous
05:33asteroids and hold fleeing enemy ships completely still.
05:37One thing that isn't mentioned very often, though, is how useful tractor beams could be
05:41for construction on Earth.
05:44Just think about the large, heavy components of a starship or a building that could be moved
05:49with ease into place without the use of cranes or large vehicles.
05:54Number 7, Self-Aware Artificial Intelligences.
05:58Machines created by humans had become self-aware as early as the 23rd century, including Veja
06:05and Nomad, but these were both accidents.
06:08The first sentient AIs created intentionally by humanity were the Soong-type androids Data,
06:15Lore, B4 and Juliana Taylor.
06:18Their positronic brains simulated real brainwave patterns and were able to grow and learn over
06:23time, though Dr Noonien Soong struggled to get the emotions perfect until later in his
06:28life.
06:29There is no question that a functional positronic brain is alive.
06:32Later, it was discovered that holographic programs could also become sentient if they were
06:36advanced enough.
06:38This was what happened to the Doctor from Voyager and the Moriarty Hologram from Next Gen.
06:43Exo comps were also recognised as sentient, and one peanut hamper was even accepted into
06:49Starfleet.
06:50Building sentient artificial lifeforms was banned for a short time following the synth attack
06:54on Mars we saw in Star Trek Picard, but the ban was lifted when it was revealed that the
06:58attack was actually carried out by the Romulan organisation the Jat Vash.
07:02At the end of the first season of Picard, we also learned of a whole new society of synths
07:07created by Bruce Maddox and Dr Noonien Soong's son, Alton Inigo Soong.
07:13These Soong-type androids, sentient holograms, exo comps and synths, are not mere machines.
07:19They are entirely new lifeforms created by humanity.
07:24Number 6.
07:25Holograms.
07:26We've already talked about holograms that became self-aware, but now let's go over some
07:30of the other ways that this tech revolutionised life in the Federation.
07:36The NX-01 Enterprise encountered an alien holodeck in the episode Unexpected, but it took
07:41a while before humanity's tech was able to catch up to that level.
07:45Less advanced holograms were used in the first season of Star Trek Discovery, set in the
07:49mid-23rd century, but were soon phased out, likely because they used too much power and
07:54were too glitchy.
07:55These holograms weren't solid like the ones that came afterwards, but they could be used
07:59for communication, simple simulations and target practice.
08:03In the 24th century, shortly before the Enterprise D went into service, holodecks were invented.
08:09This was, by far, the single greatest advancement in entertainment history.
08:15Using optical illusions to make the interior space appear bigger, users could escape into
08:20entire fantasy worlds, complete with characters, storylines, games and anything else you could
08:26imagine.
08:27This tech made it possible to simulate solutions to engineering problems and to do virtually
08:32any activity completely safely.
08:34In theory, you could literally skydive from the safety of your own home.
08:39Holodecks is probably the reason why we don't really see anybody watching TV or playing video
08:46games in the 24th century, because why would you watch it when you can live it?
08:51Number five, universal translators.
08:54Universal translators allow people to communicate with each other while speaking entirely different
08:59languages, and they work by scanning the speaker's brainwaves and somehow feeding a translated version
09:08of their thoughts into the minds of those around them.
09:11It's unclear whether these devices could be used to read any thoughts or simply those associated
09:15with language, but it's possible that the same tech could function as a form of artificial
09:20telepathy or a direct brain interface like Geordi's visor.
09:24It's probably not a coincidence that universal translators were invented shortly before the
09:28launch of the NX-01 Enterprise.
09:31Being so far from Earth would have been incredibly dangerous if the crew had no way to communicate
09:35with the new species they encountered.
09:37Now they were able to speak to the Vulcans, but any species that didn't have their own universal
09:42translators would have been extremely difficult.
09:45Now by the 24th century, the universal translator was built into the comm badges of Starfleet
09:50officers and also in all of the ship's computers, and most civilians had their own.
09:56The creation of the universal translator is one of the greatest achievements in communication
10:01since the creation of the telephone.
10:03Number four, medical technology.
10:05A lot of Star Trek's medical technology seems miraculous by today's standards.
10:11Medical tricorders can easily read vital signs and detect certain conditions and viruses.
10:16Laser skull pools allow for cleaner surgeries, and hypersprays eliminate the need for needles.
10:21But the most revolutionary medical device we've seen in Trek is probably the dermal regenerator.
10:27These small handheld devices would automatically regrow any damaged skin tissue that they were shined on.
10:32They could even remove scars.
10:34They were typically only used for minor injuries and couldn't grow entire organs or limbs, but they instantly healed simple cuts and burns.
10:42Now, they've been used countless times in Trek, but dermal regenerator technology has never been fully explained in canon.
10:51In the Voyager episode Warhead, Neelix used one to simulate fake plasma burns on Seven's face, and Chakotay used one in Workforce to reverse similar cosmetic changes.
11:01Neelix was just a beginner, and he was able to create fake plasma burns on Seven's face.
11:07That implies that anyone with access to this technology could easily modify their face in any way that they want to.
11:15Number three, replicators.
11:17Replicator technology can rearrange molecules into thousands of different foods, clothing, small devices, and other items.
11:26Cold hunger was already virtually eliminated on Earth by the time replicators became commonplace in the 24th century.
11:31But its invention gave humanity an infinite and much more convenient supply of food and a 100% humane source of meat.
11:39Plus, they removed the need to store food at all.
11:42Any meal could be produced hot or cold in an instant, and if you didn't enjoy it, you could feed it back into the machine to be rearranged into your next meal.
11:50They also allowed for things to be built much quicker and easier, leading to what was probably the biggest increase in production efficiency since the Industrial Revolution.
11:59In Star Trek Prodigy, we even saw a replicator that could construct entire vehicles atom by atom.
12:05Although there are many who claim to prefer the taste of real food, there's no denying that the creation of the replicator was a game changer.
12:14And I really hope they are invented in our future, because an unlimited supply of crisps?
12:20Yes, please.
12:21Number two, transporters.
12:24In the 20th century, Albert Einstein proved that matter and energy are interchangeable, different forms of the same things.
12:31In Star Trek, Emery Ericsson used this knowledge in 2124 to create the first functional transporter.
12:38The transporter can convert anything into a stream of pure energy, which can then be directed somewhere else and reconstructed into its original form.
12:47Several people died during the early trials of this technology, leaving humanity with a general distrust for beaming until closer to the 23rd century.
12:56For a while, it was almost exclusively used for transporting non-living things.
13:00Transporter use eventually skyrocketed, and by the time of Star Trek Picard, Earth was dotted with public transporters that could send you all across the planet in an instant.
13:10Of course, transporters were actually created by the writers of the original series as a cheaper way to get the characters from the ship to a planet,
13:19because landing the ship or a shuttle onto a new planet's surface every week would have eaten up the budget.
13:26Number one, warp drive.
13:28The date of Zephon Cochran's first warp flight, the 5th of April 2063, is one of the most important moments in human history.
13:37Humanity had long believed that faster-than-light travel was impossible, but by folding the space around his ship, Cochran was able to break the universal speed limit.
13:49After detecting a warp signature near Earth, the Vulcans could no longer ignore humanity, so they decided to make first contact.
13:56What followed was the biggest worldwide collaboration ever seen on Earth.
14:01When humanity realised they were not alone in the universe, they united like never before.
14:05The post-World War 3 planet was transformed into a utopia. Humans were finally able to visit other solar systems and become a part of the galactic neighbourhood.
14:14First contact day became an official Federation holiday, celebrated on the 5th of April every year.
14:20Some kids get the day of school, and there are celebrations all across the Federation commemorating the events of this first warp flight.
14:28There have been other advancements in faster-than-light propulsion since 2063, such as the Spore Drive, the Proto Drive and Quantum Slip Streams, but none changed the fate of humanity like the first warp engine.
14:41And that concludes our list. If you think we missed something, then do let us know in the comments below.
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15:24I've been Ellie with Trek Culture, and I hope you have a wonderful day and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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