This is a list of notable fictional materials from thescience fictionuniverse ofStar Trek. Like other aspects of stories in the franchise, some were recurring plot elements from one episode or series to another.
Thefictional metalsduranium andtritanium were referred to in many episodes as extremely hardalloys used instarship hulls and hand-held tools. Theplanet-killer in "The Doomsday Machine" had a hull made of solidneutronium, which is capable of withstanding a starship's phasers. Neutronium is considered to be virtually indestructible; the only known way of stopping the planet-killer is to destroy it from the inside via the explosion of a starship's impulse engines. Federation ships in the 32nd century also used this material in their construction. The NX-01 Enterprise partly consists ofhoronium, an element that is rare to find but can be synthesised. It is also used to power a time portal on Krulmuth-B.
Star Trek technical manuals indicate that transparentaluminium is used in various fittings in starships, including exterior ship portals and windows. It was notably mentioned in the 1986 filmStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Ultra-strong transparent panels were needed to construct water tanks within their ship's cargo bay for containing twohumpback whales and hundreds of tons of water. However, theEnterprise crew, without money appropriate to the period, found it necessary to barter for the required materials.Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott exchanges thechemical formula for transparent aluminum for the needed material. WhenDr. Leonard McCoy informs Scott that giving Dr. Nichols (Alex Henteloff) the formula is altering the future, the engineer responds, "Why? How do we know he didn'tinvent the thing?" (In the novelization of the film, Scott is aware that Dr. Marcus "Mark" Nichols, the Plexicorp scientist with whom he and McCoy deal, was its "inventor", and concludes that his giving of the formula is apredestination paradox/bootstrap paradox.) The substance is described as being as transparent as glass while possessing the strength and density of high-grade aluminium. It was also mentioned in theStar Trek: The Next Generation episode "In Theory".
The series' science consultant,André Bormanis, has concluded that the material would not be a goodelectrical conductor.
As water differs from its component hydrogen, so do compounds of aluminum differ from aluminum itself.
An aluminium windowpane "of glass-like transparency" was reported from Germany in 1933.[4]
Pure transparent aluminium was created as a newstate of matter by a team of scientists in 2009. A laser pulse removed an electron from every atom without disrupting the crystalline structure.[5] However, the transparent state lasted for only 40femtoseconds, until electrons returned to the material.
A group of scientists led by Ralf Röhlsberger at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg, Germany, succeeded in turning iron transparent during research in 2012 to createquantum computers.[6][7]
Trellium-D, shown inStar Trek: Enterprise, was an alloy used in theDelphic Expanse as a protection against spatial anomalies there. It had unusual effects onVulcan physiology, causing a loss of emotional control, and became a recurring plot element in the third season ofStar Trek: Enterprise, exploring the theme of drug addiction.
Other materials were occasionally mentioned in the scripts, such asnitrium, a radiation-resistant material.
Dilithium crystals, in allStar Trek series, were shown to be an essential component for a starship's faster than light drive, orwarp drive, since they were necessary to regulate the matter-antimatter reactions needed to generate the required energy. Dilithium was frequently featured inthe original series as a scarce resource. By the time the later series were set, dilithium could besynthesized.
Trilithium is a material used in astar-destroying weapon inStar Trek Generations, and an explosive in "The Chute" (VOY). This is due to the fact that trilithium is termed a "nuclear inhibitor," which is believed to be any substance that interferes with nuclear reactions. In the film, trilithium is known to be capable, when used to its full potential, of stopping all fusion within a star, thereby collapsing the star and destroying everything within its solar system via a shock wave.Trilithium resin is a toxic byproduct of warp engines, and can be used as a powerful, and quite unstable, explosive (see "Starship Mine", the 18th episode of the sixth season ofStar Trek: The Next Generation). It is not known whether this is related to the nuclear inhibitor.
Latinum is featured in many episodes ofDeep Space Nine as amedium of exchange used byFerengi and other races. It exists as a liquid at ambient conditions, has an extremely high value per unit weight/volume, and is impossible toreplicate. For easier handling, it is incorporated into gold casings of various standard sizes. (At one point,Jadzia Dax remarks that the idea of doing so may have come from "somebody who got tired of making change with an eyedropper.") The combination is referred to as "gold-pressed latinum" and is divided into denominations of slips, strips, bars, and bricks in ascending order of value. TheDeep Space Nine episode "Body Parts" establishes that there are 100 slips to one strip, and 20 strips to one bar; the conversion between the brick and any smaller unit is never mentioned. The Ferengi considered gold to be a valuable commodity in the past, but now regard it as worthless when not combined with latinum.
Tholian silk was a valuable fabric mentioned in multiple series.
Bio-mimetic gel is a volatile substance with medical applications. It is also highly sought after for use in illegal activities, such as genetic experimentation and biological weapons development. As such, its use is strictly regulated by theUnited Federation of Planets, and sale of the substance is prohibited. The substance was first mentioned in an episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, and was used as a plot element in several episodes ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Verterium cortenide is a usually synthetically generated compound, the only known substance to be capable of generating warp fields, when supplied with energy, in form of plasma, from the warp core. Warp coils are made of this material.
Benamite is a rare and unstable form of crystal required to construct and run a quantum slipstream drive. According to "Timeless" (VOY), benamite is extremely difficult to synthesize and creating enough for one slipstream drive can take years. Synthesized benamite is also known to decay and become useless over time. It is not known if naturally occurring benamite is subject to the same process of decay.
Kironide is a mineral by which, upon consumingplants containing the mineral, the Platonians (the inhabitants of the planet Platonius) acquiretelekinetic powers, including the ability tolevitate, in the original series episode "Plato's Stepchildren".[8]
Pergium is a substance mined in "The Devil in the Dark", and fictionally given the atomic number112 as achemical element in a non-canonStar Trek medical manual publication. It is also an element needed onVoyager thatNeelix seeks in "Fair Trade" (S3 E13; VOY).
Cordrazine, introduced in "The City on the Edge of Forever" is apowerful stimulant used to revive patients in an emergency. Overdoses cause hallucinations, madness and death.
Felicium, a highly addictive narcotic produced on the planet Brekka, but misrepresented as a medicine for a plague affecting the planet Ornara. It was introduced in the episodeSymbiosis.
Venus drug, introduced in "Mudd's Women", causes women to appear much lovelier and more exciting.
Inaprovaline, introduced in "Transfigurations". Helps resuscitate the neurological and cardiovascular systems by reinforcing the cell membranes. It is also frequently used as an analgesic.
Ketracel-White, introduced inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, is a narcotic stimulant drug intravenously taken among the Jem'Hadar soldiers of The Dominion. The Jem'Hadar were created by the Founders – a shape-shifting species in the Gamma Quadrant – with a genetic predisposition for addiction to the drug. This was done to ensure their loyalty to the Founders. The drug is synthetically manufactured and refined at guarded facilities throughout Dominion space. Ketracel-White is stored as a liquid in glass vials locked in portable cases held by Vorta field supervisors. A Vorta must dispense the drug among the unit they command at regular intervals, otherwise the Jem'Hadar will suffer withdrawal leading to death. A vial of White is inserted into a dispensing mechanism embedded in the soldier's chest armor, and automatically pumped through a tube inserted into thecommon carotid artery.The Son'a were also known for their production of Ketracel-White (Star Trek: Insurrection).
Retinax-5, introduced inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a drug that corrects vision problems.
Protomatter is a key component of the Genesis Device prototype—an experimentalterraformation device introduced inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Protomatter is presented as an unstable substance that, due to its instability, is considered unethical for usage in scientific research. The substance is used as a plot device to compare David Marcus with his father,James T. Kirk, both of whom, in LieutenantSaavik's words, "changed the rules"—David Marcus by using the forbidden protomatter, and James T. Kirk by "cheating" to win theKobayashi Maru test. The inclusion of protomatter ultimately results in both the accelerated maturation of the regeneratedSpock during his stay on the Genesis planet, and the planet's subsequent explosion into an asteroid belt.
In theDeep Space Nine episode "By Inferno's Light", Protomatter was used by aDominion changeling in a bomb plot that, if successful, would have destroyed the Bajoran sun and the forces of the Alpha Quadrant.
Protomatter is also mentioned in theStar Trek: Voyager episode "Mortal Coil", where it is said, "Protomatter's one of the most sought-after commodities. The best energy source in the quadrant."[9]
The Omega Molecule is a highly unstable molecule believed to be the most powerful substance known to exist. If not properly disposed of, it may destroy subspace and render warp travel impossible. InStar Trek: Voyager, during the episodeThe Omega Directive,Voyager encounters Omega particles andCaptain Janeway must comply with the Omega Directive and destroy the particles. Later in the episode, they spontaneously stabilize for a brief moment before they are destroyed.
Red matter is a red liquid material introduced inStar Trek (the 2009 film) that is able to create a black hole when not properly contained. Spock attempts to use it to stop a massivesupernova, but the resulting black hole causes his own ship and a Romulan mining vessel to travel back in time. Later in the film, the antagonist Nero uses it to destroy the planet Vulcan. Shortly after, the future Spock's ship containing the red matter is used to destroy Nero's Romulan mining vessel.
Corbomite was named by Captain Kirk in a bluff in "The Corbomite Maneuver" as a material and a device that prevents attack, because if any destructive energy touches the vessel, a reverse reaction of equal strength is created, destroying the attacker. This bluff was also used in "The Deadly Years" to escape the Romulans.
Archerite was named by Commander Shran also in a bluff in "Proving Ground" as a material that his ship was looking to mine, during an encounter at the test site of theXindi planet killer weapon.
| Television series |
|  | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Films |
| ||||||||||
| Setting |
| ||||||||||
| Production | |||||||||||
| Unmade projects | |||||||||||
| Spin-off fiction | |||||||||||
| Aftershows | |||||||||||
| Documentaries | |||||||||||
| Cultural influence |
| ||||||||||