Skip to main content

star trek - What do the three controls on the Transporter operate?


I recently noticed that in TNG, there are the three 'buttons' which need to be pulled all the way up/down to transport something/someone, just like in TOS. My question is, what do these three things control? Like, wouldn't one lever do just as well if it controls transporting, or do these three 'buttons' control three different things (and if so, why are they all pulled up and down equally and not independently)?


Observe the three, unevenly leveled controls


EDIT


Because of the lack of answers, let me expand the question: Is there any instance where someone has used the Transporter (TOS onwards) with the three sliding-buttons and has NOT used all of them (ie they pushed on two or one rather than three, or didn't use all of them simultaneously)? And if so, why was this done (what was the Transporter operator trying to do at that time (I imagine it would be an abnormal transport))? One instance of a strange transportation was 'The Enemy Within' (TOS) where the transporter duplicated Kirk and the unicorn-dog splitting their personalities, but I don't think Scotty did anything special with the transporter sliding buttons at that point.



Answer



The semi-canon technical reference manual; the "Star Trek : Star Fleet Technical Manual" written and illustrated by Franz Joseph (used as a source and reference for various Star Trek films and episodes of TNG) indicates that the three sliders are for;


- Photon Ionization Control
- Neural Paralyzer Control

- Magnetic Field Control


enter image description here


It also stresses that under normal circumstances, all three sliders are intended to be operated simultaneously.


This isn't always the case, however since we see Scott moving one of the controls independently in the episode TOS : "The Enemy Within". This ties in nicely with the description above as there does indeed appear to be a malfunction relating to a magnetic substance. Presumably Scott needed to wiggle his slider in order to adjust the Magnetic Field Control in some fashion:



SCOTT: Right. Locked onto you. Energise. Coadjutor engagement.


WILSON: What happened?


FISHER: I took a flop.


WILSON: Onto what?


FISHER: I don't know. Some kind of yellow ore.



SCOTT: Magnetic. Decontaminate that uniform.




As far as transporters from subsequent series are concerned, the TNG Technical Manual describes them simply as "Sequence Initiators" (with no further description of their function) however it does note that out-of-universe, they were included on the console as an homage to the prop from the original series:



The transporter console has three touch-sensitive light bars, which control the transport process. This was intended as an homage to the transporter in the original Star Trek series, which had three sliders that Scotty always used.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more