| NAME |
DESCRIPTION |
| Ablative Armor |
An outer hull layer on some Federation starships that is designed to vaporize under weapons fire, thereby dissipating energy and protecting the ship's interior. The prototype ships Defiant and Prometheus were equipped with ablative armor. |
| Access Tunnel |
Maintenance corridors on a Starbase or other spacestation which allow station personnel access to vital circuitry and other utilities. |
| Adaptive Interface Link |
A connection between computer systems of different origins. An adaptive link is necessary when attempting to transfer data or functionality between to disparate types of equipment. |
| Airlock |
Area on a starship or space station which can be pressurized and depressurized to provide controlled access to open space or to docked vessels. An airlock consists of at least one chamber with one inner and one outer door. |
| Android |
Robot with a humanoid shape, basically consisting of a computer system, actuators and sensors inside a human-like body. Androids are purposely designed this way so as to work in the same environment and to perform similar tasks as humans. |
| Antigrav |
Anti-gravity repeller technology used in hand-held grips or pallets to allow handling of overly massive cargo, and in medical rehabilitation therapy. Exposure to high concentrations of radiation can cause malfunctions. |
| Antimatter Converter Assembly |
Part of the warp drive system of Federation starships, including the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 and other Constitution class vessels. |
| Anyon Emitter |
Tool used by Starfleet Engineering personnel. |
| Atmospheric System |
Part of the life support systems that provides breathable air and comfortable temperature and humidity on a starship. Class-M atmosphere is the standard setting on Federation starships (generic). Class-M standard atmosphere implies 26°C temperature, 45% relative humidity and 101kPa air pressure with a composition of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% trace gases. Part of the starship volume can be switched to other environmental conditions. Oxygen is produced by photosynthetic processing of CO2. |
| Atmosphere Conditioning Pumps |
Component of the life support system of a starship. |
| Auto Destruct |
Computer program aboard starships for destruction of the vessel should the ship be captured or controlled by an enemy. Activation of the program requires verbal orders and handprint verification from the two most senior command officers of the ship. |
| Auto sequencers |
Part of the transporter system which regulates the actual transporter process. |
| Baffle Plate |
Component of a Starfleet propulsion system. |
| Battle Bridge |
Secondary command and control center on advanced starships. The battle bridge is located atop the star drive section of the ship, and is normally used in battle situations when the stardrive section has separated from the saucer section and is operating independently. |
| Battle Section |
The battle section is the module containing the warp engines that remains after the saucer section has separated. |
| Beaming technology |
The Asgard beaming technology is a teleportation system used to instantly transport a person or object(s) from one place to another over massive distances (similar to the transporter", except more distance is allowed). Unlike the Ancient Ring Transporter, the object in transport does not need to be on a platform, and can be beamed to anywhere, not just another platform. This technology is a great military advantage (the ability to beam anything anywhere), but also provides great usefulness in society. |
| Bearing |
In celestial navigation, a mathematical expression describing a direction in space with relationship to a space vehicle. A bearing measures the angular difference between the current forward direction of the spacecraft and the direction being described. The first number in a bearing describes an azimuth in degrees, and the second describes an elevation. For example, a bearing of 000 mark 0 describes a direction directly ahead of the vessel. A bearing of 330 mark 15 describes a direction to the port side (left) of the ship, somewhat above the centerline of the vessel. |
| Biobed |
Hospital bed that includes medical sensors and display units for diagnosis and gas and fluid connect points for the treatment of patients. The primary biobed, typically located in the center of a starship sickbay, is equipped with an additional overhead sensor cluster and a containment field generator and serves for surgical and other intensive-care procedures. |
| Bio-neural Gel Packs |
Advanced Federation technology which adds synthetic neural cells to a soft-sided circuitry module, designed to organize information more efficiently and speed up response time. |
| Bioregenerative Field |
Energy used to increase the rate of cell growth in medical experiments. |
| Chronoton Torpedo |
Krenim weapon that employs a temporal invariance of typically 1.47µs to penetrate shields. This weapon is obviously related to temporal incursion. It is not evident how the small temporal shift allows to pass through Voyager's shields as if the latter had not been there 1.47µs before. Maybe they are out of phase. |
| Cloaking Device |
Technology, first described in 2266, that can generate an energy screen to render a target object — usually a spacecraft — relatively invisible to sensors. Due to their immense power drain, cloaking generators have usually prohibited simultaneous use of other major systems such as weaponry, shields or warp drive. Federation vessels, until 2600 had agreed to forego use of cloaks under the Treaty of Algeron. Since the development of Time Travel, cloaking devices are considered a critical piece of equipment to provide maximum stealth when on temporal missions. |
| Cloning |
Since the Asgard are unable to reproduce sexually, they have perfected cloning technology, and build populations with clones. To preserve particular lives, a new body is cloned and the old consciousness is transferred into a new body. The technology for mind-transferal is unique to the Asgard. A cloned Asgard has a very primitive mind, almost no mind at all, until it receives a transferal. |
| Commlink |
A commlink is a small, hand-held personal communications transceiver. It consists of a receiver, a transmitter, and a small power source. Comlinks vary in size and configuration from hand-held cylindrical models to flat wrist. |
| Communicator |
A portable transceiver device in use by Starfleet crews since at least the 2240s. Earlier versions were designed as a hand-held device with a hardware control interface and a flip-up antennae grid/activator, but by the 2340s the communicator functions had been built into the metallic uniform insignia "commbadge" worn on the left breast, activated by touch or voice. Among many uses, communicators serve as locator IDs for gaining a transporter lock on personnel. |
| Containment Field |
A Generic term for a force field used to isolate antimatter in their storage pods or hazardous biological or chemical specimens in a science lab. |
| Deflectors |
Manipulatable energy force field or shield that can be generated around space vessels and other facilities for protection from natural hazards and enemy weaponry. Transporters are generally not useable when deflector shield are in place. |
| Dermal Regenerator |
Medical device used to seal small wounds or burns and restore the original skin structure. Dermal regenerators are standard equipment of Starfleet and other civilizations in the 24th century. Yet, there might be an improved regenerator installed in sickbay that is capable of more than just emitting "healing rays" and possibly equipped with a microreplicator, so larger injuries can also be treated without leaving scars. |
| Dialing Home Device |
There are a handful of methods used in the shows to dial a Stargate, and the most common is with the use of a Dial-Home Device. Almost always referred to as the "DHD" for short, it is depicted as a pedestal-shaped device with a round inclined control panel on top, consisting of two concentric circles of "keys", and a translucent red (Milky Way) or blue (Pegasus) hemisphere in the center; the keys represent the symbols on the rim of the Stargate. By pressing these keys, a traveler builds an address. The central hemisphere serves as an "Enter" key to activate the Stargate once a destination has been dialed. In the Milky Way, the Dial-Home-Device contains 38 of the 39 symbols on the Stargate, meaning there is always a missing glyph on each DHD. This missing glyph however is not the point of origin for the planet. It has been confirmed that the missing glyph on numerous DHDs differs based on how each stargate is positioned on different planets. The glyph that is hidden under the pedestal of the stargate, unseen along with the two chevrons, cannot be dialed by the DHD. This states that only certain addresses can be reached in certain positions in the galaxy. The only way to intervene and reach all destinations in the Milky Way is to manually dial the gate, or use an alternative dialer. |
| Drydock |
Orbital construction used for major maintenance and repair of starships and other space vessels. |
| Duck Blind |
Cloaked observation post, built by the Federation for anthropological studies of native pre-warp civilizations. |
| EMH |
Acronym for Emergency Medical Hologram, a holographic replacement for a starship's medical officer. The EMH is a combination of a projection and forcefields, like most objects created on the holodeck. Being a projection without substance, the EMH seems to be inferior to replicated holocharacters. However, this way he is able to change between an opaque and a transparent state whenever required. |
| Gateways |
Iconian transporters which allow for instantaneous travel to anywhere in the galaxy, at least. They generate an energy damping field. |
| Grappler |
Early mechanical equivalent to a tractor beam, used on Enterprise NX-01. |
| Holocam |
A holocam is a recording device that captures holographic imagery for broadcast and/or archive purposes. They are often used in security applications. Also called a holorecorder, these devices come in all manner of shapes and configurations. |
| Holodeck |
Area aboard a starship or any other facility equipped with a 360 degree projection and force field system to recreate or simulate whatever natural or artificial environment is requested. The projection system is based on the omni directional holodiode. Numerous holodiodes are arranged in form of an array in the walls of a holodeck. Mere holographic light projections are employed to recreate remote scenery, while objects likely to be touched may be replicated. The projection always includes the whole three-dimensional structure of the environment, of which the visitor only perceives a two-dimensional cross-section, according to his current visual angle. In order to simulate a much larger environment than the size of the holodeck, force fields are moving beneath the feet of the participants while the whole environment is scrolling (treadmill effect). Holodecks are customary on Federation starships since the 2360s. |
| Holographic Communication |
This is one of the most advanced communication devices known. The user appears as a whole holographic person, capable of transmitting voice and video through an active stargate or even solid matter, such as inside buildings and underground chambers. The main difference is that the user is also able to see and hear their target's surroundings.. This is done by stepping into a special communication circle, where they are isolated from their original surroundings and projected to their target destination. The target need not possess any receiving device. |
| Impulse Drive |
Propulsion system used aboard spacecraft for travel at subwarp speeds, employing traditional Newtonian action-reaction thrust physics. Full impulse speed is about one-quarter light speed, sufficient for interplanetary travel. Aboard Federation starships, fusion reactors power the engines using deuterium fuel to create helium plasma. |
| Isolinear optical chip |
Information storage and processing media used aboard starships circa 2329, and in general usage since around 2349. The chips are composed of a linear memory crystal material and are often mounted in wall racks containing dozens or hundreds of the devices. Isolinear chips replaced the duotronic system previously in use on Federation starships. |
| Iris |
A metallic barrier that can open and close over the Stargate, which blocks incoming traffic through the Stargate when closed; developed to prevent other alien races from dialing Earth and invading. This is achieved by preventing molecular reintegration and reconstruction. First generation Iris made of pure titanium. Second generation are improved with alien element of trinium. Can be deactivated by a GDO. There have been occasions when enemies breached the Iris; after these breaches the iris was replaced several times. |
| Jefferies Tube |
Service corridor in a Federation starship. A network of Jefferies tubes runs through each starship and provides access to the various power conduits (EPS), waveguides (ODN) and environmental systems (generic).While all starships must have service corridors of some sort, it is uncertain where on the various ship classes the may be located. Ironically, in the otherwise very consistent Enterprise-D design there seems to be no space left for them. |
| LCARS |
Acronym for Library Computer Access and Retrieval System, the common user interface of 24th century computer systems, based on verbal and graphically enhanced keyboard/display input and output. The graphical interface adapts to the task, which is supposed to be performed, allowing for maximum ease-of-use. |
| Mind-transferal |
Mind-transferal is a unique technology that allows someone to preserve an individual's consciousness by transferring it into a computer system (essentially, storing it digitally). This system is used to maintain a person’s mind until it is ready to be transferred to a new clone body. |
| Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe |
The SG personnel use the MALP's collection of electronic equipment to analyze unexplored planets, determine if the environment is safe and identify points of interest prior to assigning an SG team to investigate. A high-resolution tiltable color video camera, laser range finder, spectrometer and a small directional microphone are used for surveying. Other sensors detect air pressure/temperature, atmospheric composition and even if the MALP is on its side. Dangerous radiation is also a potential threat to SG teams so MALPs have a Geiger counter. If a planet is suspected of being occupied by an advanced civilization, the receiver dish can be tuned to detect a variety of terrestrial transmissions. Should a mission call for it, other types of optional sensors or equipment can easily and quickly be fitted to suit the particular needs of the SG team or mission. |
| Nanoprobe |
Microscopic device that is programmed to convert a living organism to a Borg drone (assimilation). Once injected to the blood stream, the nanoprobes take control of the organism and form the first Borg implants. |
| PADD |
Acronym for Personal Access Display Device, a hand-held access terminal to a computer system. PADDS are outfitted with a display and touch sensitive areas and have limited built-in memory and computing capability. Apart from Starfleet, Padds are used by most other advanced civilizations. |
| Phase-shifting |
A form of technology that allows an object or person possessing the necessary device/technology to pass through solid matter - possibly some sort of modification to the principle of molecular binding force . The technology requires Trinium and utilizes no circuitry, chips or moving parts and can be made small enough to be worn on the forearm. |
| Quantum Discriminator |
A device used to 'tune in' the exact time and space one needs to travel to. Everyone, by Century 31 knows how to use one before they leave school. |
| Quantum Slipstream Drive |
Quantum slipstream drive is an advanced form of interstellar propulsion that achieved and exceeded what failed Federation attempts using transwarp were meant to do; exceed the warp speed barrier. Originally developed by an advanced species native to the Delta Quadrant, the technology was obtained by the USS Voyager in 2374 and used for an aborted test in early 2375 that nearly destroyed the ship.
The slipstream is a narrowly focused, directed warp field that is initiated by manipulating the fabric of the space-time continuum at the quantum level. It works by focusing a quantum field through a deflector dish to generate massive changes in local space curvature; this creates a subspace tunnel, which is projected in front of the vessel. Once a ship has entered this tunnel, the forces inside propel it at incredible speed. In order to maintain the slipstream a ship has to constantly modify the quantum field with its deflector dish. Benamite crystals, a rare mineral, are needed to construct a more advanced slipstream drive. |
| Replicator |
Devices derived from transporter technology to dematerialize matter and then reconstitute it in another form. Replicators, in use since the early 24th century, are most commonly used as food dispensers aboard Federation starships: the menu is only limited by the programming, as opposed to the days of carrying natural or reconstituted foodstuffs with delivery by special turbolifts or transporters. |
| Ring Transporter |
A Ring Transporter (or ring teleporter) is a transportation device originally developed and used by the Ancients but now manufactured and used almost exclusively by the Goa'uld and their enemy, the Tok'ra. It consists of 5 rings or 10 rings that levitate slightly off the ground and stack on top of each other during operation. All transport rings are identical and are thought to be mass-produced by the Goa'uld in staggering numbers. Also established in that episode is the fact that Earth's Naqahdah generators are capable of powering transport rings. The rings are roughly half the diameter of a Stargate and functions under similar principles. However, if a set of rings is under water, the column of water is transported along with anyone else (unlike a Stargate, which prevents such events from occurring), to a mildly amusing effect. The rings move to surround an object or person being transported from a holding platform, which is a cylindrical chamber, contained in either a ceiling compartment or rising up from the floor. |
| Sensor |
Collective name for a variety of devices for gathering data about electromagnetic radiation and particles and for chemical, biological and medical analysis. Probes are equipped with a variety of sensors. External sensors are attached to the outer hull of a starship. Among them are navigational sensors which determine the ship's position and velocity and scientific sensors for astronomical observation, planetary surface analysis and remote lifeform analysis. Internal sensors are used to control life support and detect hazardous environmental conditions as well as to track potential intruders. Finally, sensors are also included in tricorders and other hand-held devices, which can perform similar tasks, however, with limited range. |
| Sonic Shower |
Personal cleaning system in crew quarters aboard Federation starships. Besides sonic showers, old-fashioned bathtubs are usually available as well. (Ultra)sonic cleaning is widely employed in dental laboratories, precision mechanics or semiconductor manufacturing, where a detergent or pure water acts as the transducer for the ultrasonic vibrations (>20kHz) and also serves to solve and carry away dust or grease particles. Since mere air does not provide the desired efficiency in transducing the waves and washing away the dirt, an additional force field probably takes over the role of the detergent. |
| Stargate |
Stargates are large, ring-shaped devices that utilize advanced technology for nearly instantaneous personal travel across the vast distances of space. Stargates are marked out by nine "chevrons" spaced equally around their circumference, and 39 symbols displayed on an inner ring. Although typically 22ft (6.7m) in diameter and held to be made of the fictional heavy mineral "Naqahdah", the gates are usually seen standing vertically. |
| Stasis Unit |
Medical device used to hold the patient in a state of suspended animation, in order to slow down the course of any form of disease until a treatment is devised or available. |
| Subspace Radio |
Form of ship-to-ship or interplanetary communication that takes advantage of subspace physics and allows faster-than-light (FTL) signal transmission. A network of subspace relays within the Federation territory ensures that no inadmissible signal decay occurs in case of long distance communication.
The maximum possible velocity of signal propagation in the 24th century is Warp 9.9997, which is significantly faster than any starship. Unlike it is with an EM signal, the speed of a subspace signal depends on its amplification, and without the subspace relays the signal would eventually "resurface" and slow down to the speed of light. |
| Supergate |
This is a Stargate-like device built out of hundreds of smaller devices. These devices are about four meters wide and ten meters long, the perfect size to fit through the Stargate. Once through the gate, they arrange themselves in a circle in orbit around a planet, creating a giant gate hundreds of meters in diameter, large enough to fit entire fleets through. However, the power requirements for this are immense, requiring that the planet and the Stargate on it to be turned into a quantum singularity in order to provide the intense gravitational energy necessary to feed the Supergate. |
| Time Portal |
A room- sized device which is able to transport large groups of people and equipment from one period in spacetime to another and retrieve them safely. |
| Temporal Holographic Projector |
A small hand-held device to project a holographic "temporal observatory." |
| Temporal Observatory |
Portable virtual observatory of temporal space, circa the 30th century. |
| Temporal Slipstream Drive |
Huge faster than light propulsion system used on starships to nagivate through time and space. |
| Temporal Tags |
The tags are designed to bring back anything that doesn't belong in a certain time period. |
| Temporal Tracking Device |
A small scanning device used to track the movements of people through time and space. |
| Tractor Beam |
Device used by Federation starships to hold and tow other vessels. Apart from the main emitter and optional auxiliary emitters located around the hull, a small tractor beam emitter is located in each shuttle bay to control the landing procedure. Tractor beams are based on a subspace field assisted emission of gravitons, their direction can be reversed to push away an object. Starfleet ships were not yet so equipped in the 2150s but with a mechanical grappler. The Vulcans and Klingons already had tractor beam generators. |
| Training Remote |
Simple, compact devices, training remotes are small floating spheres equipped with relatively harmless blasters and an array of sensors. Jedi in training use remotes to hone their lightsaber skills, and their attunement to the Force. A Jedi hopeful typically wears a vision-obscuring blast shield and then uses the Force to visualize the remote's location and actions, and attempts to block any incoming shots with his blade. A missed block results in a painful sting, and a wounded pride. |
| Transporter |
A device that is able to dematerialize, transmit and reassemble an object. Cargo transporters have a limited resolution and are employed for transport of inanimate objects. Personnel transporters work on the quantum level and employ Heisenberg compensators to enable secure transport of lifeforms. A transporter room typically consists of an operator console, a transporter platform and an overhead molecular imaging scanner, primary energizing coils and phase transition coils. A pattern buffer with a biofilter is located on the deck below.. A typical transport sequence for the beam-down of a person begins with a coordinate lock during which the destination is verified and programmed. Next, the lifeform to be beamed is scanned on the quantum level and simultaneously converted to a matter stream. This process is determined by an annular confinement beam (ACB). The matter stream is briefly stored in the pattern buffer tank and then transmitted through an emitter pad. Finally, the person is reassembled at the destination. Usually transporters cannot be used while the deflector shields of the ship are active. |
| Transporter Bio Filter |
Component of a transporter that scans and removes disease and virus organisms from incoming individuals. The biofilter is only effective against known organisms that it is programmed to recognize. |
| Transporter ID trace |
Data maintained by computers in a Federation transporter system that tracks the identity of any subject beamed through the transporter. The trace provides a mechanism to verify whether or not an individual has actually been beamed through a particular transporter. |
| Tricorder |
Handheld Starfleet device combining sensors, recorders and built-in computing capability. Issued in a variety of models for engineering, scientific and medical uses. As of 3075, the standard model tricorder sensors could detect all subspace phenomena including neutrino particles. |
| Turbolift |
Transportation system within a starship or timeship. The turbolift system consists of a network of turbo shafts and the single turbolift cars. A turbolift is driven by linear motors. Acceleration up to 10m/s^2 is possible and can be partially compensated for the passengers by damping fields within the car. |
| Universal Translator |
Device for translation of spoken languages in real-time communication. It operates by scanning brain-wave frequencies and using the results to create a basis for translation. |
| Viewer |
General term for the visual displays found throughout Federation starships. Viewers come in a variety of sizes, from desktop units to wall-mounted version such as that commonly found on the main bridge of a starship. Some viewers are equipped to generate three-dimensional images. |
| Warp drive |
The main propulsion system for most starships that is capable of faster-than-light travel. The core of the warp drive uses to control the annihilation of matter and antimatter. This controlled explosion is what generates the tremendous power required to warp space and travel faster than light. On Earth, warp drive was invented in 2063 by noted scientist Zefram Cochrane. |
| Weather Modification Net |
A weather modification network (Weathernet) is a system used to alter the natural weather patterns of a planet, acting much like a world wide environmental system. A weather control net is in place on Gibraltar and is designed to dissipate destructive weather phenomena such as tornadoes. Malfunctions are rare. |
| Zero Point Module |
A Zero Point Module is an Ancient power source, used to power their cities and outposts using zero-point energy. It is more powerful and efficient than any energy source on Earth, and can last for thousands of years. While the energy output is huge — significantly larger than that of Naqahdah generators — the ZPM is based on an irreversible thermodynamic process and will ultimately reach its maximum entropy limit, at which point the ZPM becomes useless. The devices are the only things capable of powering most of the most valuable technology in Atlantis, and are thus highly sought after module (ZPM). |
