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From: ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Science Questions in Star Trek III
Message-ID: <7251@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 3-Jun-84 21:10:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: rochester.7251
Posted: Sun Jun  3 21:10:05 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 5-Jun-84 20:17:18 EDT
Sender: ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 81

From: Mike Ciaraldi  
Someone asked "why did the Excelsior come to a stop
when the warp drive didn't work, instead of coasting on
momentum?"
How about this explanation: Just before the
warp drive goes on, the impulse engines get shut off
(let's suppose). When the warp drive did not engage in this case,
The Excelsior did indeed keep coasting on momentum.
However, it was not going very fast and was very close
to the space Dock (at most a few kilometers, since it
was only 4000 meters behind the Enterprise as
it rounded the corner.
The Space Dock is so large that it has the mass of a small asteroid, and its gravity was enough to strt the Excelsior
slowing down. Maybe not real fast, but the effect
might have been exaggerated by the camera angle.
What do you think?

Considering that in ST:TMP there was a prob;lem with going into warp
drive while still close to a planet (otherwise you 
fall down a woormhole, a problem which never seemed to 
arise in the series),
why was it now OK to go into warp or trans-warp drive
right next to the sSpace Dock, which presumably is in orbit around Earth?

Why did microbes on the photon torpedo case evolve into
worm-like creatures? Why not??


Other questions about the plot:

How much time elapsed between STTMP and ST2-TWOK?
If the Enterprise was not considered so old that
it was worth beibg completely rebuilt just before
the first movie, why is it now too old to be
refurnbished after relativley minor battle damage?

On the way back to Earth, Scotty tells Kirk that the automation
is almost complete. did Kirk expect to need to be able
to fly the ship with a skeleton crew, even befor e 
he asked if he could go back?

Why do Vulcans give their Katra to someone else
before dying? Assuming that physical death of the
body is usually irreversible, what purpose does
it serve? On Vulcan, we hear that the technique
used on Spock was last used so long ago that it
has assumed the status of legend.
So, did Spock anticipate that the Genesis effcet
would preserve his body, (or regenerate it,
maybe into Peter Davidson (nahhhhhh!)),
and therefore gave his katra to McCoy?
If his body had not regenerated, hwat would have
happened to his katra?

Re: photon torpedoes:
In ST2-TWOK, this was the firast time we actually saw
a photon torpedo. Halfway through, we see a crew
taking up the deck plates and exposing the tracack the
torpedo will ride on. That'a all we see until the very end
when Spock gets buried in space.
Is this the usual way of launching torpedoes?
Isn't it a little inefficient that when the captian
wants to fire torpedoes someone has to move the floor
out of the way by hand? Sure, you could do it before 
starting the battle, but what iwf you have to fire
on short notice?  "Fire photon torpedoes, Mr. Chevok".
"But Keptin, we an  can't destroy the enemy wessel,
the floor boards are still in the way."
Or maybe this is a special launching port just for
burials in space.
Does Star Fleet expect that so many cfrewmen will die
during voyages that it needs a special room in each
starship just for burying them?

Anf finally, if we didn't know that Pon Farr is the
mating ritual and thAt vulcans kiss with their finfgers,
would we deduce this from what Saavik says in the movie?

Mike Ciaraldi
ciaraldi@rochester
seismo!rochester!ciaraldi