Replicator Plausibility - Star Trek vs Science

posted on November 27th, 2012, 8:28 pm

I think toilets were mentioned in one episode of Voyager, so they might still do it the old-fashioned way. There was also a sign in the movies about not using toilets in Spacedock.

posted on November 27th, 2012, 9:17 pm

you know they mention using replicators in pretty much every episode,

how many times do they mention needing to go to the bathroom..

once that i can recall.. and it was zefram cochrane saying he was going to go behind a tree..

do they just beam it out?

sadly that's down to american TV network's moronic positions on "decency". from the country that invented jersey shore. seeing toilets or even acknowledging that humans piss/shit on a family tv show just didn't fly back then.

stargate universe a decade later pushed it as far as they could. they were allowed to mention toilets actually existed. not in the show, but in a webisode. and they only showed the outside of the toilet door and they weren't very direct.

posted on November 27th, 2012, 10:29 pm

you know they mention using replicators in pretty much every episode,

how many times do they mention needing to go to the bathroom..

once that i can recall.. and it was zefram cochrane saying he was going to go behind a tree..

do they just beam it out?

sadly that's down to american TV network's moronic positions on "decency". from the country that invented jersey shore. seeing toilets or even acknowledging that humans piss/shit on a family tv show just didn't fly back then.

stargate universe a decade later pushed it as far as they could. they were allowed to mention toilets actually existed. not in the show, but in a webisode. and they only showed the outside of the toilet door and they weren't very direct.

I don't think it's so much about notions of network "decency", which certainly do exist. I think it's more about the fact that mention of such things does very little to advance the story line. Yeah, ok, fine the characters are human (or close to it), we know they have to go take a dump now and then; it doesn't advance the story to even bring it up.

posted on November 27th, 2012, 11:04 pm

they showed inside the "bathrooms" in voyager when b'elanna torres used a sonic shower after being on a malon vessel, didnt it only contain the shower and a sink iirc?

posted on November 27th, 2012, 11:06 pm

you know they mention using replicators in pretty much every episode,

how many times do they mention needing to go to the bathroom..

once that i can recall.. and it was zefram cochrane saying he was going to go behind a tree..

do they just beam it out?

sadly that's down to american TV network's moronic positions on "decency". from the country that invented jersey shore. seeing toilets or even acknowledging that humans piss/shit on a family tv show just didn't fly back then.

stargate universe a decade later pushed it as far as they could. they were allowed to mention toilets actually existed. not in the show, but in a webisode. and they only showed the outside of the toilet door and they weren't very direct.

I don't think it's so much about notions of network "decency", which certainly do exist. I think it's more about the fact that mention of such things does very little to advance the story line. Yeah, ok, fine the characters are human (or close to it), we know they have to go take a dump now and then; it doesn't advance the story to even bring it up.

That's not a sensible way of storytelling. an integral part of making a good story is to have characters that we can identify with and stories that we will be immersed in. therefore it makes perfect sense to show certain things are the same as with us. that the characters are also human like us and have problems we can identify with. sometimes it's not about "advancing the story" but about building a good setting for a story. having toilets would make ships more believable.

they're deliberately avoiding the topic to avoid taking a risk. which then results in the farce that starfleet officers don't ever seem to need to use the toilet. and their ships have no toilets etc.

they showed inside the "bathrooms" in voyager when b'elanna torres used a sonic shower after being on a malon vessel, didnt it only contain the shower and a sink iirc?

yeah, sonic showers and sinks are fine. khazis aren't. i guess we can assume that something pops out of the wall for use when needed.

posted on November 27th, 2012, 11:25 pm

or, the shower or sink has a dual use in the future....

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posted on November 28th, 2012, 1:43 am

I thought they just "beamed" their fecal matter and urine out into space when they had to go? Having put on my share of zipper pajamas up until my 30s, those uniforms (especially the women's jumpsuits) look like a pain in the ass to take off and on again.

posted on November 28th, 2012, 2:47 am

They only wore jumpsuits in Enterprise. The others are just pants and jackets, with a few exceptions. Also, it makes more sense for them to reclaim feces and urine for raw replicator matter. Decompose it and you get all kinds of organic compounds.

posted on November 28th, 2012, 4:51 am

Ok so they beam it into a cargo hold. I seem to remember chicks on the Enterprise D wearing those one piece tight fitting uniforms though.

I mean why go to all the trouble and mess of actually going to the bathroom when you can just stand next to a replicator and press the number 1 or number 2 buttons.

As for why shows don't talk about it...........why should they. The only time you even see bathrooms in TV shows and movies is when either someone is hiding in a stall or they are getting killed or they are escaping through those tiny high up windows.

posted on November 28th, 2012, 12:40 pm

They exist, though how they work was never revealed aside from how it is 'best not to dwell on it too much'.

posted on December 4th, 2012, 5:10 am

Remember, urine is just moderately impure water, and it's more energy-efficient for the replicators to rearrange existing matter than create new matter.

Just think on that next time you watch Picard order "tea, Earl Grey, hot" or see someone replicate some food!

posted on December 4th, 2012, 5:58 pm

Remember, urine is just moderately impure water, and it's more energy-efficient for the replicators to rearrange existing matter than create new matter.

Just think on that next time you watch Picard order "tea, Earl Grey, hot" or see someone replicate some food!

it is estimated that every drop of water in the world has been drank and urinated out through about 7 living organisms on this planet over millions of years.

so every drop is urine 7 times and back (not to mention the fact bodies of all living things are made up of certain amounts of water)

posted on December 5th, 2012, 12:42 am

Well, that's me put off my apple and strawberry squash for a while...

posted on December 5th, 2012, 4:35 pm

Is it a rather lovely golden colour, perchance?

posted on December 5th, 2012, 7:13 pm

Fortunately no, but the fact that the water from my tap has been through 7 people first kind of kills the moment!