IXS Enterprise. © Mark Rademaker. Used with permission of Mark RademakerNASA physicist Harold White and artist Mark Rademaker recently released spectacular images of the ' IXS Enterprise,' a design for a hypothetical faster-than-light starship based on work being done in Dr. White's lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Dr. White is Advanced Propulsion Team Lead for the NASA Engineering Directorate. One of his laboratory's goals is 'to pursue propulsion technologies necessary to enable human exploration of the solar system over the next 50 years, and enabling interstellar spaceflight by the end of the century.'
It's been nearly half-century since Star Trek (aka Star Trek: The Original Series) debuted in 1966. Since that time, several technologies depicted in that show and later Star Trek shows ( ST: The Next Generation, ST: Voyager, ST: Deep Space 9, and ST: Enterprise) are moving from science fiction to science fact. So how close are we today to the world of Star Trek? Let's take a look at 8 of these technologies.
1) Warp Drive
NASA regards faster-than-light (FTL) travel as ' at the level of speculation, with some facets edging into the realm of science.' But as the New York Times reported in 2012, they are funding research into whether FTL is possible, based on the theories of physicist Miguel Alcubierre. Dr. White hopes he can exploit a 'loophole' in Einstein's theory of general relativity. As described by io9:
Essentially, the empty space behind a starship would be made to expand rapidly, pushing the craft in a forward direction - passengers would perceive it as movement despite the complete lack of acceleration. White speculates that such a drive could result in 'speeds' that could take a spacecraft to Alpha Centauri in a mere two weeks - even though the system is 4.3 light-years away.
However, other physicists such as Sean Carroll consider this extremely unlikely for a variety of technical and economic reasons. Carroll estimates the odds of humanity ever developing the warp drive at ' much less than 1%.'
So for now, the warp drive is still firmly in the realm of science fiction. But we can still enjoy the beautiful starship designs by Mark Rademaker at his Flickr gallery.
However, other technologies from the Star Trek universe are much closer to becoming reality.
2) Universal Translator
The crew of the Enterprise often used a ' universal translator ' to communicate with aliens.
In real life, Microsoft recently announced Skype Translator, which allows near real-time audio translation from one language to another, utilizing advances in speech recognition and machine translation technologies. The Microsoft Blog noted, 'it is early days for this technology, but the Star Trek vision for a Universal Translator isn't a galaxy away, and its potential is every bit as exciting as those Star Trek examples.'
3) Handheld Computers
Star Fleet officers in Star Trek: The Next Generation frequently used hand-held touchscreen networked computers called PADDs (Personal Access Display Devices).
Does that sound familiar today?
Star Trek artist Doug Drexler has said that the contemporary Apple iPad is ' eerily similar' to the fictional PADDs designed in the 1980s:
The PADD never had a keyboard as part of its casing, just like the iPad. Its geometry is almost exactly the same - the corner radius, the thickness, and overall rectangular shape. It's uncanny to have a PADD that really works... The iPad is the true Star Trek dream...
4) Medical Tricorder
Long before I went to medical school, I was intrigued by the tricorder Dr. McCoy used to make his diagnoses.
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