Just in time, the Enterprise transporter beams Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy away from the frozen asteroid Rura Penthe. It lets them escape from a hospital elevator on 20th-century Earth. It beams furry Tribbles to a Klingon warship.
Throughout hundreds of TV episodes and various movies, the transporter has dematerialized Star Trek characters and beamed them to their destinations. Why did series creator Gene Roddenberry choose teleportation as a travel device? Not for the reasons you probably think. He had limited money for special effects, and the transporter was a cheap way to get characters from the Enterprise to their destinations. So then, why don't we use real transporters? The answer lies in the laws of physics.
Beam Me Up?
Taking people apart isn't so easy, especially at the level of the atom, say physicists. Your body has about 10^28 atoms. That's a I followed by 28 zeroes. Electric fields hold them all together in complex molecular patterns. Much stronger forces hold each atom together. Breaking all those bonds would require heating you to millions and millions of degrees. Talk about sunburned.
If you tried to turn those atoms into energy, it would be even more difficult. For that, you'd need about 100,000-ton nuclear explosions. Either way, dematerializing someone would be quite violent. Even if you succeeded, how would any transporter rebuild the person?
Denne historien er fra November/December 2023-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November/December 2023-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A Mars Rock Found With Leopard Spots Could Be a Sign of Ancient Life
IN JULY, NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER CAME ACROSS A SPOTTED ROCK IN WHAT WAS ONCE A RIVERBED IN THE JEZERO CRATER ON MARS.
Para Athlete Uses Exoskeleton Suit to Carry the Olympic Torch
In July, a 36-year-old French tennis para athlete, Kevin Piette, got a chance to participate in this summer’s Olympic torch relay without using a wheelchair.
Ancient Egyptians May Have Used a Water System to Lift Stones to Build Pyramid
HOW ANCIENT EGYPTIANS BUILT THE MASSIVE PYRAMIDS IN EGYPT MORE THAN 4,000 YEARS AGO HAS LONG BEEN A TOPIC OF WONDER AND DEBATE.
Seals Can Make Big Dives Thanks to Their Big Hearts
SEALS AND SEA LIONS, WHICH ARE SEMI-AQUATIC MAMMALS, CAN HOLD THEIR BREATHS UNDERWATER FOR ESPECIALLY LONG PERIODS OF TIME.
THE BIG-CITY LIFE OF STEVEN J.BIKE SHOP RABBIT IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
Bicycle Roots is a full-service bike shop. It's in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Joe Lawler is the co-owner and service manager. Perhaps more important, he's \"dad\" to the shop's most popular employee. That's Steven J. Lawler.
Wild Ones
WHAT FACTORS DRIVE PEOPLE TO BUY MONKEYS, TIGERS, AND OTHER WILD ANIMALS?
HOW TO CONQUER THE WORLD
A brief history
What would happen if meteors hit Earth?
You may have seen Ameteors fly into Earth's atmosphere, in the form of shooting stars.
WORKING WORMS
DON'T JUST THROW THOSE TABLE SCRAPS AWAY! LET A BOX OF WORMS TURN THEM INTO SOMETHING USEFUL.
Dog Rescue Saves Lives
THE ARGUMENT FOR ADOPTING A NO-KILL GOAL
