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posted by martyb on Saturday October 28 2017, @08:16PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-when-can-I-get-my-dilithium-crystals dept.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

If you think technologies from Star Trek seem far-fetched, think again. Many of the devices from the acclaimed television series are slowly becoming a reality. While we may not be teleporting people from starships to a planet's surface anytime soon, we are getting closer to developing other tools essential for future space travel endeavours.

I am a lifelong Star Trek fan, but I am also a researcher that specializes in creating new magnetic materials. The field of condensed-matter physics encompasses all new solid and liquid phases of matter, and its study has led to nearly every technological advance of the last century, from computers to cellphones to solar cells.

My approach to looking for new phenomena in materials comes from a chemistry perspective: How can we create materials that have new properties that can change our world, and eventually be used to explore "strange, new worlds"? I believe an understanding of so-called "quantum materials" in particular is essential to make science-fiction science fact.

Quantum materials, magnetic fields and shields, superconductors on spaceships, quantum computers, societal revolution? Get your Trek on.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @09:01PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @09:01PM (#588798)

    "I understand how the engines work now. It came to me in a dream. The engines don't move the ship at all. The ship stays where it is and the engines move the universe around it."

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @09:50PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 28 2017, @09:50PM (#588812)

    Spice required.

    • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Saturday October 28 2017, @11:22PM (3 children)

      by fyngyrz (6567) on Saturday October 28 2017, @11:22PM (#588831) Journal

      Spice required

      Naw, man... that stuff makes your lips look funny. Chicks don't dig it.

      Infinite Improbability drive. That's the way to go.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by Pslytely Psycho on Sunday October 29 2017, @02:24AM

        by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Sunday October 29 2017, @02:24AM (#588881)

        Nah, the Farnsworth dark matter drive is vastly superior, especially when you've got a cute little alien that shits fuel!

        --
        Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
      • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday October 29 2017, @11:08AM

        by maxwell demon (1608) on Sunday October 29 2017, @11:08AM (#588993) Journal

        Too dangerous. You never know whether your ship randomly picks up a few people, transmutes objects around you, or does other improbable things. I'll stick to bistromatics.

        --
        The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 30 2017, @08:13PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 30 2017, @08:13PM (#589636)

        I'm sorry, but you're wrong on the internet. Spice makes your EYES look funny. I think you're thinking of the juice of sapho.

        It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.