This is topic Voyager and Antimatter Replenishment in forum Starships & Technology at Flare Sci-Fi Forums.


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Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
 
I'm trying to find data on when (or whether) Voyager ever stopped to get the antimatter tanks filled up. I don't have access to all of VOY, and haven't found any data online which refers to the ship ever procuring antimatter supplies.

Any assistance would be appreciated!
 

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Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
 
There was only one epsiode - the infamous "Demon" - that really dealt with running out of fuel. Otherwise, it is generally assumed that Voyager was sufficiently able to trade for antimatter and supplies in the latter years not to have to worry about it all that often. Rick Sternbach has confirmed this general sentiment among the producers.

It's also worth mentioning that in the latter seasons Voyager rarely ever whined about the lack of supplies or fuel. Most people rationalize it that Voyager, now travelling among more advanced races, was able to more efficiently purchase/barter their way to get the stuff they need, thus almost eliminating the need for rationing and conservation. Ever notice how almost everything is replicated and the aeroponics bay disappears after season three?

Mark
 

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Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
 
I don't think "Demon" was the only time we heard about a need for fuel, but it was one of the only ones where that was the main plot.
 

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Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
 
Thanks!

Yeah, I remembered the deuterium shortage in "Demon", but thanks for confirming that there weren't any spoken antideuterium examples.
 

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Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
 
I really don't recall ANY episode mentioning problems with antimatter fuel...

Dare I bring up the time when they went looking for deuterium ore? (No, not "Demon" -- another episode.)
 

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Posted by Captain-class, Mike-variant (Member # 709) on :
 
'deuterium ore'?! that makes me laugh at Voyager's general shittiness. Well, that and the only people i knew who liked it are fat girls at conventions that wanted to see Janeway and Chakotay hook up.

I'm gonna vom!
 

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Posted by E. Cartman (Member # 256) on :
 
It's ironic, though, that the writers chose to let Voyager run out of hydrogen isotopes - which are in fact one of the most abundant naturally occuring substances in the universe. And even more ironic the original script called for a shortage of... anti-matter.

"Why would anyone want to steal deuterium? You can find it ANYwhere..." (Void)
 

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Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
 
One could grope for an explanation by saying that the ramscoops don't work except at warp, which you cannot reach unless you already have a certain anmount of deuterium. Ergo, a ship that has dropped below the critical fuel limit has to find another way to collect deuterium.

And such a way would probably involve regions of elevated deuterium concentrations in order to be practical. You can of course set up a plant on the shore of a typical ocean, or in the atmosphere of a big, hydrogen-retaining planet. Or herd in some cometary stuff. But if you are just a lone starship in a hurry, you are much better off if you spot a natural "lode" of highly D-enriched hydrogen, or "deuterium ore".

So to make the search for "deuterium ore" logical, you only have to assume that the Voyagerites know such "ore" to be relatively abundant and thus a better bet than spending a year refining the stuff out of an ocean or a flock of comets.

And to make "Demon" logical... Well, I believe the limit was one impossible thing before breakfast. I'll go have mine now.

Timo Saloniemi
 

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Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
 
Where the logic in "Demon" failed me was how they allowed Voyager to run out of gas when they were in the middle of nowhere! The epiosde opens with the ship going to grey mode, and the crew declaring that if they don't find a source of deuterium IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, they're screwed. There was no mention of how they got to be so stupid - no one bothered to check the fuel gauge before leaving the last gas station?!

A simple explanation was running into an ion storm or (insert anomally here) that damaged the gas tanks, but nooooooo...

Mark
 

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Posted by Ryan McReynolds (Member # 28) on :
 
It seems that the silliness has carried over to Enterprise (SPOILERS)...

In the upcoming "Marauders," the crew visists a deuterium mine being hassled by Klingons. The location shooting was done at a quarry, implying that they thought deuterium would come from the ground. At least the machinery is described as "deuterium pumps, which sounds like maybe it's an underground reservoir.
 

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Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
 
Oh god, not again!

I try to avoid vilifying Mr. Braga, but considering that he's one of the only constants between "Demon" and "Marauders," I'd say he's the one who refuses to acknowledge proven scientific principles. Yeah, Trek is science fiction, and the shows regularly break scientific "facts" simply by going to warp speed. Nevertheless, it's my opinion that there are some scientific facts that are too basic to be broken.

Mining deuterium from a planet's surface is just plain silly.

(I've never heard that claim that the "Demon" script originally revolved around antimatter. I guess not everyone in Voyager's script department was totally out to lunch.)
 

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Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
 
"Marauders" at least seems to give a good rationale to the NX-01's sudden loss of fuel - without really spoiling anything, it can be said there's damage in prior episodes.

As long as a starship runs on deuterium, any mission of hunting down deuterium will have to depend on a very *localized* source of it. Otherwise, you get rapidly diminishing returns from your hunt. And apart from comets, the densest deuterium lodes out there are bound to be on planets (surely a nebula or another gaseous alternative wouldn't even come close). And a class M one would have less of a gravity well than a gas giant, in case you don't have transporters and still want to get the stuff to space.

Timo Saloniemi
 

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Posted by Raw Cadet (Member # 725) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Timo:
One could grope for an explanation by saying that the ramscoops don't work except at warp . . .

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One could say that, but saying so would mean one has forgotten about the sequence in "Star Trek: Insurrection" where "Enterprise" used her ramscoops at impulse power.
 

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Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Ryan McReynolds:
At least the machinery is described as "deuterium pumps, which sounds like maybe it's an underground reservoir.

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quote:

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Originally posted by David Templar:
^Yeah, good luck, let's start a pool on what color the deuterium ore is gonna be. Painted rocks smash real science, w00t.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Captain-class, Mike-variant:
no they are collecting Duteerium ore, a substance discovered by the Terrellian scientist Professor Duteer while he was visiting Tarellia on his way to Terellea

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