Star Trek Technology
D
Decon chamber
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Facility aboard a 22nd century starship to remove possibly dangerous contamination of persons coming aboard.
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Deflector shield
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Forcefield around a starship, space station, planet or
other facility that serves for the protection against natural hazards
and hostile attacks. This shielding system is often simply referred
to as shields. Phaser and disruptor fire cannot directly penetrate the
shields, unless the shield frequency is known and exactly matched. Without
matching, weapons may weaken the shields by draining energy from them
and their respective energy sources. Transporters cannot be used when
the shields are in place. In contrast to the shields, the navigational
deflector usually provides a forcefield which focuses on single obstacle
such as a comet.
Deflector shields are supposed to be graviton-based according to the
TNG Technical Manual. However, such a shield would also cloak the ship.
More shield problems are discussed in Weapon Inconsistencies - Shields
& Cloaking.
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Dermal
regenerator Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Medical device used to seal small wounds or burns and
restore the original skin structure. Dermal regenerators are standard
equipment of Starfleet and other civilizations in the 24th century.
The hand-held dermal regenerator is supposed to support and accelerate
the natural healing process of the skin tissue, as has been demonstrated
on many occasions since TNG. Yet, there might be an improved regenerator
installed in sickbay that is capable of more than just emitting "healing
rays" and possibly equipped with a microreplicator, so larger injuries
can also be treated without leaving scars. Obviously the Doctor refers
to such a device when he tells Janeway that without a dermal regenerator
there will be scars left on her face and arms in VOY: "The Year
of Hell II", for it is quite improbable that all the small hand-held
devices are out of order.
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Dilithium crystal
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Component of the warp drive inside which the matter and
antimatter streams are converted to an electroplasma stream in a controlled
mutual annihilation. Dilithium is the only known element to be non-reactive
to antimatter when subjected to a high frequency electromagnetic field
in the megawatt range. The efficiency of the reaction inside the crystal
depends on its quality. While naturally occurring crystals had to be
used in the 23rd century, monocrystalline dilithium can now be produced
by means of epitaxy.
Although Dilithium does not exist in the real world (and would probably
not be a stable element if ever discovered), it is an efficient concept
to solve the problem of controlling the matter/antimatter reaction.
The use of natural crystals in the 23rd century was mentioned in the
TNGTM and is a tongue-in-cheek reference to TOS: "Elaan of Troyius"
where a necklace of raw dilithium saved the ship.
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Dimensional shifter
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Transporting device using space folding, as opposed to
the Federation transporter.
This transporting method is used by the Ansata group in TNG: "The
High Ground" and has the side effect of DNA damage. The Sikarian
trajector in VOY: "Prime Factors" is probably based on space
folding as well.
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Disruptor
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Discharge weapon, used by Klingons and Romulans. Disruptors
are available as shipboard and hand-held weapons.
The function principle of disruptors is probably similar to phasers,
however, further information on this issue is "classified".
It is not certain if all disruptors are alike. At least the Varon-T
disruptor is outlawed in the Federation (TNG: "The Most Toys").
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Docking port
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Facility for establishing a physical connection and mutual access between a shuttlepod and a starship or a starship and a space station.
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Doppler compensator
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Part of the transporter system that compensates for relative motion of the origin and the destination of the transport. Without this device, the Doppler effect would lead to a wavelength shift, thereby distorting the transport pattern.
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Drydock
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Facility in which starships are maintained and repaired, usually located in a planet orbit in combination with a starbase.
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Duck blind
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Cloaked observation post, built by the Federation for anthropological studies of native pre-warp civilizations.
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Duotronics
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Computer technology used aboard Federation starships
from the mid-23rd to the beginning of the 24th century, invented by
Dr. Richard Daystrom.
Daystrom was also responsible for a further development, the multitronics.
The experiment, however, failed in 2268 because the M-5 multitronics
computer was given consciousness and willfulness (TOS: "The Ultimate
Computer"). The Duotronics was eventually replaced by isolinear
technology from 2329.
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Dyson Sphere
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Artificial sphere built around a star in order to take
advantage of its energy emissions.
The Dyson sphere is named after Freeman Dyson who devised the concept.
There are several types of Dyson spheres discussed in the Dyson Sphere
FAQ (external link 1, 2). The one featured in TNG: "Relics"
is the most advanced type and completely envelops the star. Its radius
is 100 million km so as to provide moderate irradiation density on its
inner surface, maintaining Class-M living conditions throughout the
whole 125*10^15 km^2 area, 250*10^6 times Earth's surface. In an optimistic
estimation the sphere is only 100m thick and any element except for
hydrogen and helium can be employed for its construction. Still, about
12,000 Earth-like planets would be required in this case. As a result,
there should be a large space region without planets. Only a vastly
advanced and superior Q-like race would have the power to collect planets
and put them together to such a huge construction. However, a serious
objection is that a race able to build a Dyson biosphere would actually
not need one and a less advanced civilization with the necessary knowledge
would not give up their planet(s), everything that makes up their history.
Summarizing, this type of Dyson sphere is not a viable concept. Nevertheless,
scientists are engaged in a serious search for such objects. Dyson spheres
are supposed to have infrared emissions, because the light coming from
the respective star is absorbed and converted to heat. In order to maintain
a constant average temperature inside the sphere, it would be necessary
to allow the outer surface to emit the excess energy in form of infrared
radiation. Unlike the unrealistic Dyson biosphere a radiation collector
installed in space, inside the orbit of Mercury, could provide all the
necessary energy required for an advanced human civilization.
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