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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 sponsoring this video.
00:05The technology of Star Trek is where a lot of the wonder of the franchise comes.
00:10Some tech is inspiring because it seems so realistic that it could actually
00:15exist in the future. Other devices, like replicators, are just interesting because of how ridiculous
00:20utopian they are. Now it is worth noting that the Vulcans actually invented
00:25many of the things on this list way before humanity did and just refused.
00:30To hand it over because they didn't want humanity to become dependent on them.
00:35And with that in mind, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, here with the 10 biggest adva-
00:40announcements in Star Trek history.
00:45I'll see you next time.
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02:00Keep your eyes open.
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02:11Number 10.
02:12Artificial Gravity.
02:13Most fans might not know this-
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02:15but Starfleet's artificial gravity was actually reverse-engineered from recovered
02:20alien technology. In the animated series episode The Slaver Weapon, we learned that an ancient
02:25species known as the Slavers once ruled most of the galaxy a billion years before the 20th century.
02:30The only remnants of their society that remained in the 23rd century was mystic-
02:35various stasis boxes found randomly across the galaxy. These boxes contain-
02:40technology that once belonged to the Slavers, including what Spock referred to as a fly-
02:45belt. He explained that this device helped Earth find the key to creating an artificial gravity-
02:50field. Once the humans learned the flying belt worked, they were able to incorporate the tech
02:54into-
02:55their vessels. Now, it's never explained how artificial gravity functions, but we-
03:00do know that it's generated through gravity plating that's spread throughout-
03:05the vessel's interior. Earth-like gravity is so important for humans.
03:10Spending too much time in zero-gravity environments can be really damaging to our-
03:15bodies, and so it was completely necessary for long-term space travel.
03:20Number 9, the discovery of subspace. Subspace is made of infinite pocket-
03:25dimensions layered on top of our universe. The different laws of physics in these domains are-
03:30that allow signals to travel faster. Without using a warp drive, a signal sent through normal space-
03:35can only travel at a maximum of the speed of light, which is why Starfleet sends their-
03:40communications through subspace. This method allows starships to instantly communicate with Earth-
03:45while hundreds of light years away. Though, past a certain distance, the signal would need to be-
03:50amplified by a subspace relay station. Subspace was also used to generate warp-
03:55bubbles around starships to protect them from the effects of bending space. Warp-
04:00travel would not be possible without subspace. It's unclear when exactly subspace-
04:05was discovered, but it must have been before Zefron Cochrane's first warp flight in 2060-
04:1023, unless he somehow was able to tap into subspace without fully understanding what it was-
04:15now subspace is entirely fictional, but it does share some similarities-
04:20with the extra-spatial dimensions proposed in string theory. Now if string-
04:25theory were proven, it would be one of the greatest scientific achievements in-
04:30human history, and a huge step towards a theory of everything.
04:35Number eight, tractor beams. For all of human history, we have been trying to find a-
04:40way to move things without actually touching them. Tractor beams are just that-
04:45energy projections that Starfleet ships use to hold objects in place or move them.
04:50These devices may seem mundane, but they've actually been very important for humanity.
04:55Prior to their invention, the NX-01 Enterprise used magnetic grapplers instead, but-
05:00they were much less precise and more easily disconnected. Tractor beams made it much safer-
05:05to tow disabled vessels to safety. Tractor beams also assisted with navigating shuttle-
05:10vehicles in hangar bays and could be used to deflect hazardous asteroids and hold fleeing enemy ships-
05:15completely still.
05:16One thing that isn't mentioned very often though is how useful tractor-
05:20beams could be for construction on Earth. Just think about the large heavy-
05:25components of a starship or a big-
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06:14also become sentient if they were advanced enough. This was what happened to the doctor for a
06:19long time ago, and the Moriarty Hologram from Next Gen.
06:22Exocomps were also recognized as the
06:24sentient, and one peanut hamper was even accepted into Starfleet.
06:29Building sentient artificial lifeforms was banned for a short time following the synth attack on Mars we saw
06:34in Star Trek Picard, but the ban was lifted when it was revealed that the attack was actually carried out by
06:39the Romulan organization, the Jat Vash. At the end of the first season of Picard, we all
06:44learned of a whole new Society of Synths created by Bruce Maddox and Dr.
06:49Noonien Soong's son, Alton Inigo Soong. These Soong-type androids sentient
06:54holograms, exocomps, and synths are not mere machines. They are in the
06:59entirely new lifeforms created by humanity.
07:02Number 6.
07:04Holograms
07:04Now, we've already talked about holograms that became self-aware, but now let's
07:09go over some of the other ways that this tech revolutionized life.
07:14The NX-01 Enterprise encountered an alien holodeck in the episode
07:19which was unexpected, but it took a while before humanities tech was able to catch up to that level.
07:24Less advanced holograms were used in the first season of Star Trek Discovery, set in the mid-2013
07:293rd century, but were soon phased out, likely because they used too much power and were too-
07:34glitchy. These holograms weren't solid like the ones that came afterwards, but they could be used for-
07:39communication, simple simulations, and target practice. In the 24th century-
07:44shortly before the Enterprise-D went into service, holodecks were invented.
07:48This was-
07:49This was by far the single greatest advancement in entertainment history.
07:54Using optical illusions to make the interior space appear bigger, users could assume-
07:59escape into entire fantasy worlds, complete with characters, storylines, games, and-
08:04anything else you could imagine. This tech made it possible to simulate solutions to engineer-
08:09problems and to do virtually any activity completely safely. In theory-
08:14you could literally skydive from the safety of your own home. Holodecks is-
08:19probably the reason why we don't really see anybody watching TV-
08:24or playing video games in the 24th century. Because why would you watch it when-
08:29you can live it? Number 5- Universal Translators- Universal Transl-
08:34allow people to communicate with each other while speaking entirely different languages-
08:39and they work by scanning the speaker's brainwaves and-
08:44somehow feeding a translated version of their thoughts into the minds of those-
08:49it's unclear whether these devices could be used to read any thoughts or simply those-
08:54associated with language. But it's possible that the same tech could function as a form of-
08:59artificial telepathy or a direct brain interface like Geordie's visor. It's probably not-
09:04a coincidence that Universal Translators were invented shortly before the launch of the NX-01
09:09Enterprise. Being so far from Earth would have been incredibly dangerous if the crew had no way-
09:14to communicate with the new species they encountered. Now they were able to speak to the Vulcans but any-
09:19species that didn't have their own Universal Translators would have been extremely difficult.
09:24Now by the 24th century the Universal Translator was built into the COM badges-
09:29of Starfleet officers and also in all of the ship's computers. And most civilians-
09:34had their own. The creation of the Universal Translator is one of the greatest-
09:39achievements in communications since the creation of the telephone.
09:42Number 4. Medical Tech-
09:44Technology
09:45A lot of Star Trek's medical technology seems miraculous by today-
09:49standards. Medical Tricorders can easily read vital signs and detect certain conditions-
09:54and viruses. Laser skull pools allow for cleaner surgeries and hyper sprays-
09:59eliminate the need for needles. But the most revolutionary medical device we've seen in Trek is-
10:04probably the Dermal Regenerator. These small handheld devices would automatically re-
10:09grow any damaged skin tissue that they were shined on. They could even remove scars.
10:14They were typically only used for minor injuries and couldn't grow entire organs or limbs but they-
10:19instantly healed simple cuts and burns. Now they've been used countless times in-
10:24Trek. But Dermal Regenerator technology has never been fully explained-
10:29in canon. In the Voyager episode Warhead, Neelix used one to simulate fake-
10:34plasma burns on Seven's face and Chakotay used one in Workforce to reverse similar-
10:39cosmetic changes. Neelix was just a beginner and he was able to create fake-
10:44plasma burns on Seven's face. That implies that anyone with access to this tech-
10:49technology could easily modify their face in any way that they want to.
10:54Number three, replicators. Replicator technology can rearrange molecules-
10:59into thousands of different foods, clothing, small devices and other-
11:04items. World hunger was already virtually eliminated on Earth by the time replicators became-
11:09commonplace in the 24th century. But its invention gave humanity an
11:13infinite and much more convenient supply of food and a 100% humane-
11:18source of meat. Plus they removed the need to store food at all. Any meal could be produced hot-
11:23or cold in an instant. And if you didn't enjoy it, you could feed it back into the machine to be re-arranged-
11:28into your next meal. They also allowed for things to be built much quicker and easier-
11:33leading to what was probably the biggest increase in production efficiency since the industrial-
11:38revolution. In Star Trek Prodigy, we even saw a replicator that could construct entire vehicles-
11:43atom by atom. Although there are many who claim to prefer the taste of real-
11:48food, there's no denying that the creation of the replicator was a game.
11:53And I really hope they are invented in our future because an unlimited-
11:58supply of crisps? Yes, please. Number 2. Transporters.
12:03In the 20th century, Albert Einstein proved that matter and energy are interchangeable.
12:08Different forms of the same things. In Star Trek, Emery Ericsson used this knowledge-
12:13in 2124 to create the first functional transporter. The transporter-
12:18can convert anything into a stream of pure energy, which can then be directed-
12:23constructed somewhere else and reconstructed into its original form. Several people died-
12:28during the early trials of this technology, leaving humanity with a general distrust for beaming-
12:33until closer to the 23rd century. For a while, it was almost exclusively used for-
12:38transporting non-living things. Transporter use eventually skyrocketed, and by the time-
12:43of Star Trek Picard, Earth was dotted with public transporters that could send you all across-
12:48the planet in an instant. Of course, transporters were actually created by the writers of-
12:53the original series as a cheaper way to get the characters from the ship to a-
12:58planet, because landing the ship or a shuttle onto a new planet's surface every-
13:03week would have eaten up the budget. Number one- Warp Drive.
13:08The date of Zefron Cochrane's first Warp flight, the 5th of April, 2063.
13:13Humanity is one of the most important moments in human history. Humanity had long-
13:18believed that faster than light travel was impossible, but by folding the-
13:23space around his ship, Cochrane was able to break the universal speed limit.
13:28After detecting a warp signature near Earth, the Vulcans could no longer ignore humanity-
13:33so they decided to make first contact. What followed was the biggest worldwide-
13:38collaboration ever seen on Earth. When humanity realised they were not alone in the universe-
13:43they united like never before. The post-World War 3 planet was transformed into-
13:48a utopia. Humans were finally able to visit other solar systems and become a part of-
13:53the galactic neighbourhood. First contact day became an official Federation holiday celebrated on-
13:58the 5th of April every year. Some kids get the day off school and there are celebrations-
14:03all across the Federation commemorating the events of this first warp flight.
14:07There had-
14:08There have been other advancements in faster than light propulsion since 2063, such as the Sport-
14:13War Drive, the Proto Drive and Quantum Slip Streams, but none changed the fate of human-
14:18humanity like the first warp engine. And that concludes our list. If you think we-
14:23miss something, then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to hit that like button-
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15:03I've been Ellie with Trek Culture, and I hope you have a wonderful day-
15:08and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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