134
votes
Accepted
What is the first reference to an internet of computers in science fiction?
I've read The Machine Stops a few times, and I don't think it's quite similar enough to the internet. There, the humans live within a giant machine. But the internet is a network of machines. For ...
- 22.4k
124
votes
How do Star Trek viewscreens show perceivable depth?
There's no on-screen canon explanation given.
However, the Star Trek: The Next Generation - Technical Manual states
The main viewer display matrix includes omni-holographic display elements and is ...
- 3,282
113
votes
In Star Trek why is warp speed the ultimate litmus test on "galactic acceptance" of a civilisation?
I think you’re misinterpreting the Prime Directive. (It’s not actually written down in any official Star Trek work, so any discussion of it is necessarily going to be a bit vague.)
The Prime Directive ...
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86
votes
How do Star Trek viewscreens show perceivable depth?
In the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Year of Hell,” there is a scene where the viewscreen is offline due to heavy damage to the ship.
What's interesting in this is that it is not simply black, like a ...
- 911
84
votes
Why does Binary exist?
I'm not aware of canon answer, but an in-universe common sense answer makes perfect sense. Have you EVER tried to network modem-equipped laptop with a Ethernet-equipped server with an Apple product ...
- 340k
84
votes
Accepted
In Star Trek why is warp speed the ultimate litmus test on "galactic acceptance" of a civilisation?
I think the answer is a lot simpler than the philosophical answers I've seen so far. So I am going to take a shot at a logical answer. For a moment, as you read this, imagine Spock is giving you this ...
- 958
61
votes
Accepted
How do Droidekas fire blasters through their shields?
On careful examination, the Droideka's gun turrets appear to extend outside of the defensive shield. When they fire, they either do so with the muzzle precisely aligned with the front of the shield or ...
- 652k
61
votes
First work where a traveler from afar arrives to a backward society and he tries to help its scientific progress
How about Prometheus, a Celestial being who came to Earth and transformed humanity by introducing fire? Stories of Prometheus in written form are known from 2800 years ago, and there must be older ...
- 4,643
57
votes
If the ship's self-destruct is such a great idea why don't real Navies do this?
On the One Hand: Often self-destruct is not a feature of the ship, but is more of an option inherent in the power / propulsion system. If you turn off all the safeties and let the warp core / nuclear ...
- 114k
55
votes
What is the first reference to an internet of computers in science fiction?
One of the earliest examples of something similar, and one often hailed as the earliest mention of many modern concepts, is E. M. Forster's The Machine Stops from 1909.
The story envisions a post-...
- 30.2k
52
votes
Why are there barcode readers on the bridge of the Enterprise?
Out of Universe
Yep. Those are indeed barcode scanners. They were apparently purchased by Paramount Pictures from a company called BarcodesInc.
Image courtesy of www.Barcodesinc.com
- 652k
51
votes
Accepted
How do people at Hogwarts usually tell the time?
Film Canon
In the film adaptation, Hogwarts has an enormous Clock Tower in the centre of the main courtyard. It seems to chime on the hour and half-hour throughout the day
Book canon
They have ...
- 652k
49
votes
Which button activates Skywalker's lightsaber, and why is it inconsistent?
From the Star Wars: Visual Dictionary and Force Awakens: Visual Dictionary.
The "on button" is the big shiny thing on the handle.
- 652k
47
votes
Accepted
Are self-sealing stem bolts a Star Trek in-joke?
From Memory Alpha which is sourced from DS9 companion book.
Story-wise, stem bolts were quintessential MacGuffins, with a name that was pure technobabble. Peter Allan Fields, who "invented" ...
- 9,219
47
votes
Accepted
Do computer games still exist in Star Trek?
Gaming does still exist in Star Trek. In Star Trek 4, the voyage home, Spock has a chess game on his computer in a memory test that he needs to solve.
Most of the other games we see are holoversions. ...
- 2,283
45
votes
What is the first reference to an internet of computers in science fiction?
I'm not sure if it's close enough to qualify, but Jules Verne's "Paris in the 20th Century" (1863) describes electrically-powered mechanical calculators which can send messages to each other....
- 7,290
41
votes
If the ship's self-destruct is such a great idea why don't real Navies do this?
Historically, scuttling ships has been fairly common. Warships are expensive and valuable assets, if you have one of your ships destroyed then you have just lost one, if it is captured not only do you ...
- 3,198
39
votes
Accepted
Why do the Rebels probe the section of the shield within the gate?
The section inside the ring is a particularly weak point in an otherwise nearly-impenetrable shield.
“Do it!” Krennic roared, and Ramda and his men scurried to act. When
the orders had been given, ...
- 652k
39
votes
Accepted
First work where a traveler from afar arrives to a backward society and he tries to help its scientific progress
I think a good first upper bound would be 1889: Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
It doesn't work in the end, but as noted in the Wikipedia entry
Hank, who had an image of ...
- 104k
36
votes
Short story about scientists playing grooves on old pottery like an old vinyl record
I think this was "Time Shards" (link to story online) by Gregory Benford. (It was originally published in Universe 9 (1979), edited by Terry Carr.)
Researchers figure out how to play the ...
- 104k
35
votes
Accepted
Why internal lights on space helmets?
This isn't explained in the TV show, and I don't know of any explanations from other movies/series that apply here (although they might exist), so I'll attempt an answer based on the book series that ...
- 16.2k
34
votes
Accepted
Did Science Fiction anticipate a device like a smartphone?
Seems like Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven beat Clarke by a couple of years with "The Mote in God's Eye" from 1974. In that book, people are constantly using pocket computers.
They contain large ...
- 16k
34
votes
Do Iron Man suits sport waste management systems?
The suit, or at least the Mark IV suit, does have waste management systems which is then filtered and can be used to drink. In the Iron Man 2 party scene we see Tony pee in the suit and later comment ...
- 142k
28
votes
Accepted
Where did the idea of the ornithopter originate?
As Valorum pointed out, experimental ornithopters date back at least to Leonardo da Vinci and probably earlier. Working ornithopters have been built in the real world; I used to have a toy that flew ...
27
votes
Accepted
Author of 60s/70s sci-fi novel called Sphere, about a clear personal transport device made from Martian technology
It's Shield, not Sphere. The author is Poul Anderson.
The cover image you describe brought it back immediately.
Just in case there is more than one book with a "Cover illustration [that] showed ...
- 47.6k
27
votes
How is Iron Man's nanotech suit supposed to work given what we observe in "Endgame"?
The suit IS a solid object. The nanites are sort of liquid-y when stored in the chest piece, but once out, they do solidify!
How else his suit supposed to function as armour, unless it is solid?
The ...
- 16.2k
27
votes
What is the communications range of a standard Starfleet combadge?
Approximately 40,000 km (ground-to-ship)
Communications functions are carried out by tricorder through the subspace transceiver assembly (STA). Voice and data are uplink/downlinked along standard ...
- 652k
27
votes
Do computer games still exist in Star Trek?
In TNG's Rascals (Picard, Roe, and Guinan are turned back into kids.) there is a scene where little Picard complains to Riker that none of the games are working.
PICARD: We don't have anything to do. ...
- 1,526
27
votes
What is hyperspace in Star Wars?
It is a 'dimension of space-time', 'coterminous with realspace'.
For those who are unfamiliar with hyperspace, it is
a dimension of space-time that can be entered only at
faster-than-light speeds. ...
- 652k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible