Solo: Approaching what seems to be an asteriod belt. Scanners report approximately 7,000 bodies of sizes ranging from types "A" to "N".
Scott: Atmosphere count?
Solo: Approximately 34% of the bodies of atmospherian types "H" to "M".
Interpretation In the first Star Trek, the planetary classification system began at A and ended at Z. The smallest asteriods, and having no atmospheres, began at A. The largest planets, larger than Jupiter, and being gaseous with intense pressures at the core were at Z. The M types were in the middle-12 letters from the beginning and 13 letters from the end-and reflected the ideal conditions for human and humaniod habitation.
This system is inconsistent with later Star Treks. There can be no explanation for this inconsistency, as there is for the starship issue. With the starship issue, an argument can be made that the the word starship came to include all ships of the Starfleet.
posted
The classification system SHOULD have changed, and should carry more letters, as the numbers of possible compositions of planets and their atmospheres grew with new discoveries.
The Book "The Worlds of Star Trek" had a classification system from A to O, if I recall correctly, based on just those characteristics.
I'd assume that the class system runs to at least "Y," now, since that's a 'Demon' class planet, a la Voyager.
Probably there should be subclassifications, to denote ways in which one M class world, such as Vulcan, can be vastly different from another such as Earth.
------------------ "Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master
posted
That planet was class L. We did not learn if the argon in the atmosphere was what made it that class, though.
Also, I doubt there is any definite info about what those TNG-era classifications really mean. We may learn that the airless Regula is class D, but apparently so was the Saturnian planet in "Emanations". We may learn that Earthlike planets are class M, but so were a couple of asteroids from the inside. I would hesitate with claiming that we know anything at all about the classification logic.
Given this basic uncertainty, I doubt we can really assume the TOS system to be as logical as "Metamorphosis" would have us believe. Perhaps the size range from A to N actually went "A < G < D < Y < C < H < N" and everybody in the shuttle was supposed to realize that. The atmospheres were probably classified in ascending order of suitability for breathing - this hasn't really been contradicted by later info - but we can't even be sure of that.
As for the L class planet, I guess the argon replaced the nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere. There would be no obvious physiological effects since human metabolism does not process N2 chemically, and physically N2 and Ar are pretty much the same. The plant life on the planet would be radically different, though, as would the soil. There might be some slight thermal effects as well, stemming from the differing heat capacities.
Timo Saloniemi
[This message has been edited by Timo (edited December 07, 2000).]
posted
Yeah, there's no reason the classifications have to go in alphabetical order. After all, look at the present-day system of stellar classifications. It goes O, B, A, F, G, K, M.
Also, it looks like we could be dealing w/ as many as three different classification systems here: planets, asteroids, and atmospheres.
------------------ "I suppose it's possible my mother is a product of my imagination, but that raises more questions than it solves, really." -Simon Sizer, 4-Dec-2000
posted
Isn't Argon an inert gas, where as Nitrogen is a group VI!?! Maybe it just means that there is more Argon than class M... but then there must be SOME fundamental difference to give it an L classification instead of M...
"The following planet has been classified M... suitable for most bipedal humanoids"
also wouldn't the plants require nitrogen in their DNA... which they would need to get from the environment?
------------------ "This is cooling, faster than I can..." Tori Amos "Cooling"
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