Star Trek Tech: SCIENCE FACT OR FICTION?

Which of these 24th-century Star Trek inventions are becoming a reality? You decide--science fact or fiction?

TRANSPORTER: Beam me up, Scotty?

FACT or FICTION?

When Captain Picard is caught in a do-or-die drama on an alien planet, his disappearing act is no big deal. In the blink of an eye, the Starship Enterprise's computerized transporter deletes the captain's body--and makes it reappear on the ship's bridge. Wouldn't a transporter come in handy to remove yourself from any sticky situation?

But teleporting, as scientists call it, may lie light years beyond the realm of science. First, a human body would have to be stripped apart into atoms (the tiny building blocks of matter), explains Andre Bormanis. He's a physicist and science adviser for the Star Trek TV series and the upcoming thriller, Star Trek: Insurrection (cruising into theatres in December). Then the body's atoms would be thrust to a new destination at close to the speed of light (299,274 kilometers per second). Finally, each atom would have to be put back together like an assembly kit--requiring an amazing "information manual"--in exactly the same way as before.

With 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (10 octillion) atoms in the human body, the information to put you back together would take the equivalent of 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) times the amount of information contained in all the books ever written! Still, that hasn't stopped some scientists from trying to tackle the concept of teleportation. Researchers in Innsbruck, Austria have managed to transmit the information needed to make a distant identical copy of a single photon (particle of light). "But the technique couldn't work with a human," says Bormanis. "A better idea is to just reduce the time it takes to get from point A to point B so it's almost as fast as transporting," says Bormanis. How? Check out the warp drive on the next page.

HOLODECK: Is it real, or is it Holodeck?

FACT or FICTION?

For an instant vacation without leaving the Enterprise, crew members simply step into the holodeck. In this special room, you can "order up" a custom environment--like a Hawaiian island or an old pirate ship--via computer. The ship's transporter whips up carbon-copies of people to talk to and objects to touch. To holodeck players, it feels like a real-life situation. "I think something very much like the holodeck will be around within a few years," says Bormanis.

However, modern holodecks will probably use virtual reality (VR) technology instead. VR users wear headsets that display 3-D computer-generated and video images of a scene before their eyes. As the user moves, so does the image.

But just because you see a road rushing toward you doesn't mean you'll feel like you're driving. Your natural sense of balance also clues your body in to the sensation of motion. That's why a new invention called MotionWare is working to make VR "motion" more realistic than ever. "The MotionWare headset tricks your brain into thinking you're moving when you're not," says inventor Craig Campbell. The headset sends small zaps of electricity (so weak you can't feel them) to nerve cells in your head that control your balance. When stimulated by electricity, the nerves signal your brain that you're moving right, left, forward, or backward That way, you feel like you're rounding a right turn when your virtual car turns right. MotionWare should be available in stores next year.

WARP SPEED: Across the universe in three minutes flat.

FACT or FICTION?

Space is so vast that if the Enterprise didn't have warp drive--faster-than--light-speed travel--it would be one boring ride. If the starship puttered along at space-shuttle speeds (29,000 km/h), it would take 100,000 years to travel from Earth to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to our solar system!

On Star Trek, high-tech fuel propels the Enterprise at hyper-light speeds. "In principle, it's possible to create a warp drive," says Bormanis. But not the way Star Trek does it. In a possible warp drive, instead of you moving faster than the speed of light, space itself would do the moving.

Say the Enterprise was hovering near Earth, waiting for Captain Picard's "Engage!" To reduce the distance from Earth to Alpha Centauri, the starship could somehow warp, or collapse, the space between it and Alpha Centauri. Then, it would expand the space behind the Enterprise and Earth. Instantly, the ship would be close to Alpha Centauri.

The bad news: this space warp would require all the energy contained in 100 billion universes to expand or contract just a tiny part of space. "You'd have to reduce the energy requirements or find a new source of energy," says Bormanis. "But hey, a lot can happen between now and the 24th-century!"

HYPOSPRAY: It won't hurt a bit ...

FACT or FICTION?

Who uses pills in the 24th century? To treat a patient, the Enterprise's Dr. Beverly Crusher simply positions her hypospray instrument near a patient's skin. A burst of air painlessly shoots medicine through the skin without any injection.

"The hypospray already exists," says Bormanis. The device at right sends vaccines (drugs that help prevent infections by viruses) through the skin faster than the speed of sound. Vaccine particles bonded to microscopic specks of gold are packed inside the instrument. Gold is used because it's heavy enough to penetrate your skin.

When a doctor presses a button, a puff of helium gas escapes a small canister. The rushing gas picks up gold vaccine particles and drives them into your outermost skin cells.

The "air shot" doesn't go deep enough to cause pain. Once in your body's cells, the vaccine goes to work, but the gold particles stay in the epidermis, the outer layer of skin. Within two weeks, the epidermis flakes off, taking the gold with it.

TRICORDERS: Don't open up and say `aah.'

FACT or FICTION?

When Dr. Crusher examines a patient in Star Trek sickbay, she doesn't grab a tongue depressor. Instead, she waves her medical tricorder over the patient's body. In seconds, the tricorder tells Dr. Crusher what's wrong with the patient and how she can heal him, her ... or it.

Mission impossible? Today, Dr. William Hanson at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center uses a high-tech instrument to detect if his patients have pneumonia--a serious lung infection--from just a whiff of their breath. Like the tricorder, no shots or blood tests are necessary.

The computer-sized machine that does the "sniffing" is nicknamed an "electronic nose."

How does it work? Pneumonia can be caused by several different kinds of viruses or bacteria. Each type oozes its own smell as it breeds in the patient's lungs. Like a real nose, sensors on the electronic nose identify the specific molecules (groups of atoms) that make up the smell.

"The patient's breath flows from a tube in their mouth into the machine," says Hanson. "In a few minutes, the electronic nose determines if pneumonia is present, and whether it's caused by a bacteria, a virus, or a fungus." The instant diagnosis helps Dr. Hanson treat patients quickly.

"Most of the medical tests we do in labs today will someday be performed by small, handheld instruments with many functions like tricorders," says Bormanis.

Check out Star Trek: Insurrection next month for other outrageous Star Trek technology. Who knows--maybe you will help turn even the most futuristic Star Trek gizmos into tomorrow's reality.