List of Star Trek materials
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This is a list of fictional materials from the science fiction universe of Star Trek. Like other aspects of stories in the franchise, some were recurring plot elements from one episode or series to another.
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[edit] Metals for starship construction
The fictional metals duranium and tritanium were referred to in many episodes as extremely hard alloys used in starship hulls. (Tritanium is also commonly seen in the Eve Online universe).
[edit] Transparent aluminum
Star Trek technical manuals indicate that transparent aluminum is used in various fittings in starships, including exterior ship portals and windows. It was notably mentioned in the 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Panels of acrylic glass were needed to construct water tanks with a thickness suitable for containing two humpback whales and tonnes of water. However, the Enterprise crew, without money appropriate to the period, found it necessary to barter for the required materials. In exchange for the acrylic glass, Chief Engineer Scott shares the chemical formula for "transparent aluminum".
The material is entirely fictional, as a transparent form of aluminium is chemically impossible. Although it is possible to arrange individual aluminium atoms into a thin, transparent lattice, creating large scale transparent crystals of aluminium is not possible because covalent bonding gives way to metallic bonding as the crystal grows. The metallic bond eliminates the possibility for transition metal elements (or alloys) to be classified as transparent materials. Transparent compounds that include aluminium are possible; for example, there is an aluminium oxide called aluminium oxynitride, which is transparent and stronger than glass.
Aluminium oxynitride, known as ALON (tm), is a non-fictional new material that closely resembles the transparent aluminium referred to in Star Trek. This new material is a ceramic compound with a high compressive strength and durability.
[edit] Trellium-D
Trellium-D was an alloy used in the Delphic Expanse as a protection against spatial anomalies there. It had unusual effects on Vulcan physiology, and became a recurring plot element in the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise, exploring the theme of drug addiction.
Other materials were occasionally mentioned in the scripts, such as nitrium, a radiation-resistant material.
[edit] Energy sources
Dilithium crystals were an essential component for a starship's faster than light drive, or warp drive, since they were necessary to regulate the matter-antimatter reactions needed to generate the required energy. Dilithium was frequently featured in the original series as a scarce resource. By the time in which the later series were set, dilithium could be synthesized.
Trilithium is a material used in a star-destroying weapon in Star Trek Generations. This is due to the fact that Trilithium is termed as a "nuclear inhibitor", which is believed to be any substance which interferes with nuclear reactions. Trilithium is known to be capable, when used to its full potential, of stopping all fusion within a star, thereby collapsing the star and destroying everything within its solar system via a shock wave.
[edit] Precious materials
Latinum featured in many episodes of Deep Space Nine as a medium of exchange used by Ferengis and others. It was a liquid usually traded as "gold-pressed latinum"; once the latinum was extracted, the gold was discarded.
Tholian silk was a valuable fabric mentioned in multiple series.
Bio-mimetic gel is a volatile substance with medical applications. It is also highly sought after for use in illegal activities, such as genetic experimentation and biological weapons development. As such, its use is strictly regulated by the United Federation of Planets, and sale of the substance is prohibited. The substance was first mentioned in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and was used as a plot element in several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
[edit] Unstable substances
Protomatter is a key component of the Genesis Device prototype -- an experimental teraforming device introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Protomatter a very unstable substance that, due to its instability, is considered unethical for usage in scientific research. The substance is used as a plot device to compare David Marcus with his father James Tiberius Kirk, both of whom are willing to, in Lieutenant Saavik's words, "break the rules" -- David Marcus in using the forbidden Protomatter, and James T. Kirk in cheating to win the Kobayashi Maru. The inclusion of Protomatter ultimately results in the accelerated maturation of the regenerated Spock during his stay on planet Genesis.
[edit] See also
[edit] External sources
- Bio-mimetic gel at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Dilithium at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Duranium at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Latinum at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Nitrium at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Tholian silk at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Transparent aluminum at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Trellium-D at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Tritanium at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
[edit] External links
- List of Star Trek materials at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Jeffrey de Fourestier, "The Mineralogy of Star Trek"
- Leucoemeraldine, 'Leucoemeraldine' - real world equivalent of 'Transparent Aluminum'
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