The Top 10 real life Star Trek inventions

Network World ^ | November 11, 2007 | Layer8

[greyfoxx39]

In the past few months a number of technologies and products that invoke the Star Trek name have been rolled out. MIT was the latest with a tractor beam-like device, but all manner of other new stuff from Star Trek funeral products to healthcare items are also out there. We've gathered up some of the more recent products so you can have a quick look-see.

MIT's Tractor Beam

The U of Washington Tricorder

Star Trek Line of funeral products

The Air Force's transparent armor

The Communicator

The Phaser Gun

Purdue's Cloaking Device

Hyperdrive

The Hypospray

Telepresence

 

Slideshow

[greyfoxx39]

Interesting if rather old article to get our minds off cold weather, losing teams, losing candidates and RINOs on a Monday morning. I particularly like the "Star Trek Line of funeral products," and have long wondered if the moderators have "Telepresence".

[greyfoxx39]

A little something different Inman Ping

[BenLurkin]

The Phaser blast which evaporates the target individual (and nothing else) — that is what the mob used on Jimmy Hoffa.

[JimRed]

Interesting if rather old article to get our minds off cold weather, losing teams, losing candidates and RINOs on a Monday morning.

As a Giants fan since the late 50's, one of those no longer applies!

[cripplecreek]

Unfortunately my favorite (The teleporter) is about the least likely Trek tool we’ll see in the couple of hundred years. What I wouldn’t give to be anywhere instantly.

The holodeck is probably my second favorite. I’d use it for NASCAR games.

[saganite]

Ion drive. The dawn spacecraft is on it’s way using ion propulsion, just the latest in a group of robot spacecraft to do so.

[Red Badger]

Here’s one to add:

http://www.physorg.com/news120026491.html

[Red Badger]

see #7............

[clamper1797]

The holodeck is probably my second favorite.

I am on the design team for the first prototype of this now ... no joke

[cripplecreek]

I’ve been wondering what’s been going on in the VR field since it seems to have dropped off the radar screens in the last few years.

[Sherman Logan]

Three guesses what the holodeck would mostly be used for.

[Adams]

Probably used one of those fancy “heaters”.

[Sybeck1]

Chris Pine’s career.

[DBrow]

“The Air Force’s transparent armor “ is not “transparent aluminum”, it’s more like quartz (an aluminum analogue of quartz) or a toughened sapphire (aluminum oxide).

The stuff is called Alon or Aluminum Oxynitride.

No question about how tough it is, though!

[Ready4Freddy]

Surely you're thinking that most FReepers would use it to commune with the Framers of the Consitution to discern original intent, right?

No, I don't think that's what you mean. And you're probably right. ;>)

Three guesses what the holodeck would mostly be used for.

[BenLurkin]

"We'll cut you in for a piece of the action"

[saganite]

Yep, I saw that yesterday.

There is a much more efficient Ion powered engine in the offing and I wondered if this mission was going to us it but there’s no info in the article that says one way or the other. Some Australian scientists and engineers who developed it claim 10 times the efficiency of the current Ion drives.

[BenLurkin]

[chrisser]

I’d like to see a version of the NG communicators developed for in-office use.

Most large orgs already require employees to wear a badge for entry. Why not combine the badge with a short-range network? You could instantly tell who was in the building and where they were, could route calls to them, even have conversations with many people at once all in different areas of the building while walking between offices.

It would be like a combination ID badge, walkie talkie and mobile phone.

All the technologies exist already, they just haven’t been folded into a single device.

[greyfoxx39]

Chris Pine’s career.

Care to explain a little? I see there's a Chris Pine who was or is in a new Star Trek movie.