Transporter Systems

The transporter in its most basic principle is a matter to energy converter. It takes a piece of matter, scans it down to the quantum level to create a pattern, decouples the subatomic bonds of the matter, and collects the decoupled subatomic particles, now existing in a high energy state. It then transmits the particles via an energy beam to a destination, creates an energy field with the stored quantum pattern, and recouples the
subatomic bonds between the particles, which restores the matter to its original form.

As most races develop interstellar flight capabilities, the problem remains on how to move from the interstellar ship to a planet and back. Traditional though would yield two trains of thinking. The first would be to land the entire ship (or some portion of the ship for those capable of some type of separation) on the planet and take-off again. The second approach would be to utilize smaller craft and 'shuttle' crew and equipment from the mothership back and forth to the planet. In the first approach, it is a question of mass. Interstellar ships, especially for races just developing interstellar flight (efficiency in mass and power usually comes from
experience), are massive vessels. The cost in power to move a mass from a planets gravity well to orbit is tremendous and uses the older traditional form of physics, unlike the physics used in interstellar travel. The
engines and power for interstellar travel are ill suited for the work of moving mass to and from planets. That means another set of engines and power (and fuel) for the work of landing and departing from planetary
surfaces. Many races approach this problem in several fashions, but in each case, a trade-off is made between power and mass.

In the second approach, using smaller subordinate ships, the mass/power issue is minimized, but they too present other problems. Auxiliary craft have their own limitations. The number of craft available, how much they
can transport at a time, the length of time in transit, the logistics of supporting the craft themselves, these are all issues that every race must face in dealing with this method of ship to planet movement. Again, many races approach these problems differently, but it still is a trade-off between one or more of the limitations.

As interstellar flight is developed, the understanding of quantum physics usually follows. The relationship between matter and energy is better understood and the barriers that differentiate the two are better defined.
It is with that knowledge that the principles of matter to energy conversion become better understood. There is little wonder then as to how a spacefaring race, faced with the limitations of orbit to planet movement,
would not eventually develop the means to move mass by matter to energy conversion.

Just as the development of FTL travel is not unique to the human species, so to is the development of matter to energy transportation. Within the Federation however, the development of matter to energy transportation has been a joint development between all its members and all have benefited. The history of the Transporter (the given name to the device used for the matter to energy conversion, transmission, and reconversion from energy back to matter) starts back in the late 20th century when human scientists began to experiment with the concept. At first, the idea was to scan matter (at first with simple atoms) and transmit the scan to a point where a duplicate of the atom was created from available matter at the destination. The transmission was merely a copy of the atoms image, the actual atom never moved, but this was the foundation, in principle, of what lay ahead.

It was not until 2135 that scientists at the Deneva Research Station were able to successfully transport organic life by dematerializing a single-cell protozoa, transmitting its subatomic particles and rematerializing the particles back into a living protozoa. Prior to this ground-braking event, Deneva Research Team #4 had been successful in using complex computer analysis and advances in Abramson's transtator physics and
warp-assisted energy transmission to structurally disintegrate a small inanimate object, transmit its encoded sequence some 2.5 meters and recombine the object with full molecular integrity. From this time on, the
rising debate if life 'could be transported' was quelled, but the debate of 'should life be transported', was just beginning.

Between 2135 and 2174, continued research would yield critical milestones. The first was the successful transport of inanimate objects over a closed loop (super-conducting conduits), starting with simple objects such as a 1 cubic cm block of lead and advancing up to the head researcher's spectacles. Other milestones included pattern transmission via energy beam, transmission via an orbital satellite over the horizon from one Transporter to another, and successful transport of a sample of living tissue. Finally in 2155 the real test came when highly complex software allowed the transporter to beam a pile of mixed salt and sugar to another transporter and rematerializing them into two separate piles, one pure salt the other pure sugar. This was significant due to the complex nature of being able to separate individual patterns of different molecular structures. By 2160, transports that are more complex were accomplished including plant life and
cadavers of smaller animals.

It was not until 2174 that the ultimate demonstration of the Transporter would be undertaken. In orbit over Deneva, the USS Moscow and USS Tehran were each equipped with massive experimental Transporters for the first test transport of a living human subject. Each ship spent several months undergoing refit as each hangar bay of the two ships (both of the Baton Rouge Class cruisers) were overhauled to accommodate the two experimental Transporters. Once installed, several tests were conducted to calibrate the transporters. During this period, the two ships were linked by a long transport conduit to transmit the transporter pattern. After successful calibration, the conduit was removed and the two ships maneuvered to a distance of approximately 20000 km. Several more tests were conducted over a period of weeks, including the transport of a human cadaver. This was in fact the remains of Dr. J Hester, one of the Chief Scientists from Deneva
Research Team #4, who had willed his body upon his death for this purpose. After several successful tests, Lieutenant Ryan Winslow, Science Officer of the Moscow, was chosen from a group of volunteers for the historic event. On August 18th at 1300 hrs ship-time, Lt. Winslow was successfully transported from the USS Moscow to the transporter chamber in the hangar of the USS Tehran. He successfully materialized and found to be in good health. The debate of whether or not a human conscious could be transported was effective silenced.

From 2174 to 2206, the development of the Transporter continued to evolve. During that time, it was only possible to transport from one transporter to another. The ability to transport from a single Transporter to an 'open site' was not accomplished until 2206. In that year, after numerous experiments by the research team, the ability to transport from a single Transporter to a destination that did not have a Transporter was achieved.
Finally, the successful transport of a human being from ship-to-surface was accomplished from the Transporter of the USS Moskva to the Deneva Research Station. Days later, the process was reversed and the modern Transporter had come into being.

System Components

The modern Transporter, as found on all Federation starships and installations, is composed of the following components:

Transport Chamber – This is the protected volume within which the actual materialize/dematerialize cycle occurs. The chamber platform is elevated above the floor to reduce the possibility of dangerous static discharge, which sometimes occurs during the transport process.

Operator's Console – This control station permits the Transporter Chief to monitor and control all Transporter functions. It also permits manual override of autosequencer functions and other emergency abort options.

Transporter Controller – This dedicated computer subprocessor is located to one side of the chamber itself. It manages the operation of transporter systems, including autosequence control.

Primary Energizing Coils – Located at the top of the transporter chamber, these coils create the powerful Annular Confinement Beam (ACB), which creates a spatial matrix within which the materialize/dematerialize process occurs. A secondary field holds the transport subject within the ACB; this is a safety feature, as disruption of the ACB field during the early stages of dematerialization can result in a massive energy discharge. Phase Transition Coils – Located in the transport chamber platform. These wideband quark manipulation field devices accomplish the actual dematerialization/materialization process by partially decoupling the binding energy between subatomic particles. Personnel transporters operate
to a quantum resolution (necessary of lifeform transportation), cargo transporters are optimized for the more energy-efficient molecular resolution (but can be optimized for quantum resolution as required).

Molecular Imaging Scanners – Each upper pad incorporates four redundant sets of 0.0012 m molecular imaging scanners at 90o intervals around the primary pad axis. Error-checking routines permit any one scanner to be ignored if it disagrees with the other three. Failure of two or more scanners necessitates an automatic abort in the transport process. Each scanner is offset 3.5 arc seconds from the ACB axis, permitting real-time derivation of analog quantum state data using a series of dedicated Heisenberg compensators.

Pattern Buffer – This superconducting tokamak device delays transmission of the matter stream so that Doppler compensators can correct for relative motion between the emitter array and target. A single pattern buffer is shared between each pair of transporter chambers. Operating rules require a least one additional pattern buffer to be available in the system for possible emergency shunting.

BioFilter – Normally used only in transport to the ship, this image processing device scans the incoming matter stream and looks for patterns corresponding to know dangerous bacteriological and viral forms. Upon
detection of such patterns, the biofilter excises these particles from the incoming matter stream.

Emitter Pad Array – Mounted on the exterior of the starship, these assemblies transmit the components of the transporter ACB and matter stream to or from the destination coordinates. The emitter pad includes a phase transition matrix and primary energizing coils. Also incorporated into these arrays are three redundant clusters of long-range virtual-focus molecular imaging scanners used during the beam-up process. Using phase inversion techniques, these emitters can also be used to transport subjects to and from coordinates within the habitable volume of the starship itself.

Targeting Scanners – A set of partially redundant clusters located in the lateral, upper and lower sensor arrays, these devices determine transporter coordinates, including bearing, range and relative velocity to remote transport destinations. The targeting scanners also provide environmental information on the target site. Transport coordinates can also be determined using the navigational, tactical and communications scanners.

Transporter Operation

Transporter operations can be broken down into five major stages.

Target Scan and Coordinate Lock – During this initial step, the destination coordinates are programmed into the transporter system. Targeting scanners verify range and relative motion, as well as confirming suitable
environmental conditions for personnel transport. Also during this stage, a battery of automated diagnostic procedures assures that the transporter system is functioning with operational standards for personnel use.

Energize and Dematerialization – The molecular imaging scanners derive a real-time quantum-resolution pattern image of the transport subject while the primary energizing coils and the phase transition coils convert the subject into a subatomic debonded particle stream.

Pattern Buffer Doppler Compensation – The matter stream is briefly held in the pattern buffer, which allows the system to compensate for the Doppler shift between the ship and transport destination. The pattern buffer also acts as a safety device in case of system malfunction, permitting transport
to be aborted to another chamber.

Matter Stream Transmission – The actual point of departure from the ship is one of the emitter pad arrays that transmit the matter stream within an ACB to the transport destination.

Destination Isolation and Rematerialization – At the destination for the transport, the ACB first develops an area of isolation while focused forcefields push the existing matter outward from the center of the incoming pattern. This is done to prevent the present atmosphere at the beam-down point from mixing with the pattern of the incoming transport subject. As the ACB focuses the incoming pattern, the incoming matter stream begins to rematerialize as the subatomic bonds are reestablished. Once the last of the matter stream is rebonded, the ACB drops off and the isolation field dissipates.

The process for beaming up from a planet-side location is essentially the same. The coordinates for the subject to be beamed up are locked into the transporter system. Scanners locate the subject and confirmation is made. The ACB is transmitted to the coordinates and the transporter emitters transmit highly focused quantum-resolution pattern scans and emissions of the primary energizing coils and the phase transition coils to convert the subject into a subatomic debonded particle stream.

The ACB then uses an inverse quantum energy loop to receive the incoming matter stream, which is stored in the pattern buffer while the Doppler shift is compensated for. At this time the BioFilter searches the matter stream and filters out any recognized biological hazards. Inside the transport chamber, the ACB isolates the transport chamber and the rematerialization process begins.

In the past few years, continued improvements in the transporter system has lead to such capabilities as intra-ship beaming, and near warp transport. Intra-ship beaming has only been made practical when internal emitters were installed that could handle the high-energy output of the ACB. Prior to that, Intra-ship beaming put subjects at extreme risk of beaming inside ship decks or bulkheads unless highly accurate measurements and calculations were made of internal configurations and existing energy fields. Even though common today, the energy consumption and maintenance required on Transporter systems ( including energy degaussing and continuous Heisenberg compensator calibrations) makes Intra-Ship beaming more power intensive than the more conventional Turbo-lift systems.

Near-Warp transport has also been a recent advance, allowing transport through low-level subspace fields (lower than 1,000 millicochranes) requiring a series of adjustments including upshifting of the ACB frequency
to compensate for subspace distortion.