GRAVITY GENERATION
Since the time of the first orbital research stations in the Sol system, the difficulties
as well as the benefits presented by microgravity situations have been exhaustively
documented.
The crews of the first true human-built interstellar craft of the twenty-first century
coped with acceleration and zero-g coasting mission segments through the use of rotating
centrifuges, acceptable solutions for the day.
Humanoid organ systems require gravitational and electromagnetic fields to insure proper
cellular growth and viability, simulating the natural conditions present on most Class M
worlds. Low-level field devices simulated the planetary electrical and magnetic energy,
and the descendants of many twenty- to thirty-year flights arrived in a healthy state.
The general platform of the Gabriel class starship returns to a more natural existence in
that people are free to move about on planar surfaces with a constant gravity holding them
to the deck. Aboard the starship, this is accomplished through the use of a network of
small gravity generators. The network is divided into six regions, two within the Saucer
Module, two within the Engineering Section and one each in the Carrier Bays. All six work
to maintain the proper sense of "down," and are also actively tied to the
inertial damping field system to minimize motion shock during flight.
The two Saucer Module gravity networks each support 400 generators; those in the
Engineering Section each support 150. The Carrier Bays each support 75. Fields overlap
slightly between devices, but this is barely noticeable. The gravity field itself is
created by a controlled stream of gravitons, much like those produced by the tractor beam.
In fact, the basic physics is
the same. Power from the electroplasma system (EPS) is channeled into a hollow chamber of
anicium titanide 454, a sealed cylinder measuring 50 cm in diameter by 25 cm high.
Suspended in the center of the cylinder, in pressurized chrylon gas, is a superconducting
stator of thoronium arkenide. The stator, once set to a rotational rate above 125,540 rpm,
generates a
graviton field with a short lifetime, on the order of a few picoseconds. This decay time
necessitates the addition of the second layer of generators beyond 30 meters distance. The
field is gentle enough to allow natural walking without a gravity gradient from head to
foot, long a problem in brute-force physical centripetal systems.
The superconducting stator remains suspended from the time of manufacture, and requires
only an occasional synchronizing energy pulse from the EPS, normally once each sixty
minutes. In the event of EPS failure, the stator will continue to provide an attraction
field for up to 240 minutes, though some degradation to about 0.8g will be detected. Any
perceived ship motions that might disturb the stator gyroscopically are damped by
sinesoidal ribs on the inner surface of the anicium titanide cylinder, effectively
absorbing motions with an amplitude of less than or equal to 6 cm/sec. All higher
amplitude motions are relieved by the ship's inertial damping field.
Gravity generators are located throughout the habitable
volume of the spacecraft. Because of this, inertial potential can vary from one location
within the ship to another, especially during severe turning maneuvers. In order to allow
translation of excess inertial potential from one part of the ship to another, the gravity
generators are connected together by a network of small waveguide conduits that allow
field bleed for gravitational stability.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
The USS Matrix, like most large deep-space vehicles, sustains a closed ecological system
to maintain environmental support. Unlike a planetary biosphere, however, a starship must
use technologic means to approximate the complex ecological processes that sustain life.
Among these processes aboard the Matrix are the waste management systems, which make
optimal
reuse of waste products. With-out such recycling, the ship would be unable to carry
sufficient food and water for the extended voyages required by many Starfleet missions.
WATER AND SEWAGE RECYCLING
Each crew member aboard the Matrix typically generates approximately 52 liters of
wastewater and sewage per day. This wastewater is pumped to treatment and recycling units
located in the environmental support complexes on Decks 11, 15, and 19. Preliminary
treatment is accomplished by a series of mechanical filtration processes that remove
solids and particulates. (The residue is conveyed to the organic waste processing system
for further treatment and recycling.) Osmotic and electrolytic
fractionating is then employed to remove dissolved and microscopic contaminants for
treatment and recycling. The resulting water is superheated to 1 50°C for biological
sterilization before being subjected to a final mechanical filtration stage, then it is
returned to one of several freshwater storage tanks for reuse
The various waste sludges recovered from the water recycling processes are a valuable
resource. The organic of waste processing system subjects the sludge to a series of
sterilizing heat and radiation treatments. The waste is then electrolytically reprocessed
into an organic particulate suspension that serves as the raw material for the food
synthesizer systems. Remaining
byproducts are conveyed to the solid waste processing system for matter replication
recycling.
SOLID WASTE RECYCLING
Solid waste such as trash is conveyed to processing units on Decks 11, 15, and 19 by means
of linear induction utility conduits. Incoming solid waste is automatically scanned and
classified as to type and composition. Items that can be recycled with mechanical
reprocessing are separated. Such items, which constitute approximately 82% of all solid
waste, include articles of clothing, packaging and other discarded containers, and small
personal articles. These items are conveyed to a series of dedicated processors that first
sterilize the waste products, then reduce them to a recyclable form (such as the processed
fiber packets from which uniforms and other garments are fabricated). Hazardous materials
(such as toxic, biohazard, and radioactive substances) are separated, and the remaining
unrecoverable material is stored for matter replication recycling.
MATTER REPLICATION RECYCLING
Material that cannot be directly recycled by mechanical or chemical means is stored for
matter synthesis recycling. This is accomplished by molecular matrix replicators that
actually dematerialize the waste materials and rematerialize them in the form of desired
objects or materials stored in computer memory. While this process provides an enormous
variety of useful items, it is very energy intensive and many everyday consumables (such
as water and clothing) are recycled by less energy intensive mechanical or chemical means.
Certain types of consumables (such as foodstuffs) are routinely recycled using matter
replication because this results in a considerable savings of stored raw material.
HAZARDOUS WASTE RECYCLING
Approximately 5% of all liquid and solid wastes are considered to be hazardous materials
under toxicity, reactivity biohazard or radioactivity standards. Such materials are
separated from other waste materials and are immediately diverted to a matter replicator,
which converts them to inert carbon particles This material is then stored for matter
replication recycling.
Bibliography-
Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual – by R. Sternback and
M. Okuda
Presented by – Chief Engineer Lt. Wayne N Snyder
Date: September 13, 1998