Generation Pop, an award winning art gallery located in Manchester, UK, will host an art tribute to Star Trek‘s 45th anniversary next month entitled Legacy: The Star Trek Fine Art Exhibit, which opens on Thursday, September 8th and runs through September 20th. The event is free to attend, however you must email the gallery to be added to the guest list.
The exhibit will feature artwork from a myriad of official Star Trek artists from all over the world.
The Generation Pop Art Gallery is located at E3 New York Street, Manchester, M1 4BD
More information from Generation Pop below.
Star Trek celebrates it’s 45th anniversary this September and Generation Pop has been asked to host the official Star Trek fine art collection.
The opening night event is on Thursday the 8th of September (the actual anniversary of the show) and tickets are free, however you will need to call the gallery or email us at generation.pop@googlemail.com to be added to the guest list. If you own a Star Trek uniform then why not wear it on the opening night, the press will be there and I am sure they would love to take your picture.
The exhibition itself lasts until the 20th of September and is free to attend. The collection includes work by a number of official Star Trek artists who actually work on the Trek TV shows and films. The exhibition is being sponsored by Fab Cafe, the worlds first movie, cult TV theme bar.
For further information please call 0161 247 7870.
Last week brought news of an exciting new development in astronomy. Astrophysicists serendipitously discovered a planet one might find only in a science fiction show like Star Trek, but we now have evidence of an extraterrestrial planet made of diamonds. Yes, that’s right — a Ferengi’s dream come true.
From November 2008 to today, Bailes and colleagues have been conducting a pulsar survey using a radio telescope at the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia to identify, characterize, and document millisecond pulsars along the galactic disk. When their instruments measured a millisecond pulsar (PSR J1719-1438) about 4000 light-years away, they detected a companion “star” that appeared to be as massive as Jupiter yet had a density of around 23 g/mL (gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter have densities of 0.7 g/mL and 1.2 g/mL, respectively). The only known objects in the universe with a density close to 23 g/mL are ultra-low mass white dwarfs, but this object is even stranger than that.
This companion object doesn’t have as much mass to be considered a typical white dwarf, and spectroscopic analyses indicate that it mostly consists of carbon and helium, and perhaps trace amounts of heavier elements. Though carbon-helium white dwarfs are known to exist, this special object is more or less a planet than an average, everyday white dwarf, and its location orbiting around a pulsar makes it one of the most bizarre, yet fascinating, finds in astronomy since the initial discovery of pulsars themselves. Essentially, we have a highly dense astronomical object with a relatively cool core of crystalline carbon, and it is about the same size of Earth with the same mass as Jupiter; in other words: a planet that is very likely made of diamond. Here is a video that explains how the team made the discovery.
One of the most fascinating facets of pulsars is how they originate. Pulsars are formed from an accretion disk of hot, swirling gasses and stellar fragments left over from supernovae. The center of this accretion disk collapses under gravity, and if it is formed sufficiently close to a companion star, the accretion disk will actually leech stellar material from the companion star.
Once the object reaches critical mass, the intense gravity collapses the atoms inside the object down to their individual neutrons; the pressure of which is equivalent to taking the mass of the Earth hundreds of thousands of times over and crushing it down to the size of Manhattan Island. This object is considered a neutron star, one of the densest objects known to exist in the universe. If spinning sufficiently fast enough (about 100 – 200 rotations per second), neutron stars may emit radio waves (sometimes they emit x-rays) at either pole, at which point the neutron star becomes a pulsar. This is why astronomers, like Bailes and colleagues, use radio telescopes to detect radio wave emissions far out in space. If they aren’t looking for extraterrestrial civilizations, then they are looking for pulsars. Here is recording of the Vela pulsar radio signal, formed by the conglomeration of supernova stellar fragments; very eerie, yet absolutely sublime (well, mostly eerie).
But what is so important about discovering a diamond-like planet in space? What is its relevance to pulsars and neutron stars? Other than the fact that it is a very awesome find, the data collected by Bailes and colleagues offer us a very keen insight into the origin and evolution of binary star systems. In fact, this is direct evidence that shows us how physics works in terms of white dwarf and pulsar formations. We first discovered these objects forty years ago and they were a complete mystery to us then; now, science has provided us with a very good idea as to how they formed and what their significance is in the universe. We can account for the formation of pulsars in binary systems (like the one described in this diamond planet discovery), but solitary pulsars are still difficult to explain. They seem to form spontaneously without a companion star from which to leech extra matter. Several more years of research and exploring will answer today’s most ponderous questions. Nonetheless, the discovery of a pulsar-companion mostly made of diamond is certainly deserving of significant recognition.
Zoe Saldana, who took over the role of Nyota Uhura from Nichelle Nichols for JJ Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot and stars in last weekend’s #2 film in the US, Colombiana, recently discussed the ever-present issue of racism in Hollywood.
“I’ve witnessed racism all my life. And of course there’s racism and discrimination in Hollywood. You go for a part and they say, ‘Oh, we really liked her, she’s amazing, but we wanted to go with something more traditional’. As if I’m not a traditional American!” said Saldana.
“I feel sorry for people like that. They need to educate themselves. Mostly you move on and say, ‘Well, I wasn’t meant to work with you or be around someone like you’. Other times you might say, ‘You’re ignorant, you’re a racist. That’s it. I’m out of here!’” she continued.
“It’s trendy to hate Americans right now. Deep down, some people are enjoying the fact that the most powerful nation on Earth is struggling a little – and then they deny that’s racist! And that frightens me.” Saldana commented.
Sir Patrick Stewart was the guest of honor at this year’s Chicago Comic Con. During his panel, in which he appeared on stage with his son Daniel, he discussed his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, his co-stars on the show, dancing and singing on the bridge of the Enterprise D, falling asleep while shooting an episode, filming Extras with Ricky Gervais and more.
Wizard World has posted Sir Patrick’s panel discussion on Youtube.
Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard for seven seasons of TNG and four films, tells a story about being somewhat serious when initially filming the first two seasons of the show, saying for him it was “all about the work”. While Stewart attempted to take his work seriously he says some of his castmates “fooled around too much,”.
After calling a meeting to tell them they shouldn’t be fooling around, Stewart says Denise Crosby spoke up and said “but Patrick we need to have some fun” to which he replied “you are not here to have fun”.
Stewart credits the first two seasons of TNG as the time he realized both could be possible. “it was possible to work very hard, do the best work you could and to have fun,” said Stewart.
“They [his TNG castmates] gave me a sense of humor” Stewart admitted.
Watch the embedded videos below.
Part 1
Part 2
If for some reason you haven’t seen the “musical number” Stewart refers to in part 1, enjoy.
Whether employed to tow a shipment of grain to Sherman’s planet or to stop a fleeing enemy ship in the middle of space combat, tractor beams are a common technological theme of Star Trek.
Zero-point technology is one of the geekiest facets of science fiction to interest physicists ever since their initial conception; indeed, the ability to lasso an object from half a kilometer away using an invisible force field or energy stream interests even the least of science fiction enthusiasts. It is a featured characteristic of any advanced society we imagine would exist in the future, yet it is one of the most elusive pieces of technology one could ever conceive. In this post, science will determine just how plausible a tractor beam is.
The Breakdown
The tractor beam is a force field emitter that directs hypothetical particles known as gravitons to tether objects and, given the right signals, could manipulate the motion of the objects. I don’t know how plausible this explanation is in science (mainly because we haven’t yet discovered gravitons), but it seems to work on Scrubs.
When I think of tractor beams, I imagine a projection of magnetic fields that attract nearby objects toward the source of the field. It’s simple enough that we could potentially apply it in the future to perform many tasks (tractor beams being one of them). What’s more is that magnetic fields are a much more realistic approach than trying to invent some new phenomenon of science fiction that mystically molds energy into an invisible lasso using a yet undiscovered particle of physics. I’m not saying that’s impossible, I’m just saying it isn’t realistic. Before we can get into the engineering concept of a tractor beam, let’s first go over the science of magnetism and why it’s applicable for all intents and purposes.
Magnetic fields are lines of force propagated by moving charged particles (i.e. electrons in atomic orbiatls). Largely, a material’s magnetic strength is determined almost exclusively by the magnetic spin states of their orbital electrons. Atoms and molecules with unpaired electrons are paramagnetic because an external magnetic field propagated against these atoms causes them to align electron orbitals with the field and be attracted to the magnet. Atoms and molecules with paired electrons are diamagnetic because fields propagated against these atoms cause them to orient themselves in such a way as to oppose the magnetic field and be repelled by it. This is because the magnetic force applied to one paired electron is cancelled out by an equal, yet opposite, magnetic force applied by the other electron. This will be important later on when we get into the actual tractor beam itself.
Materials with unpaired electrons in which the atoms are oriented in the same direction (that is their magnetic moments are all aligned without the intervention of any external magnetic fields) tend to form strong magnets; these magnets are termed ferromagnetic. Iron is one metal that conducts magnetic charge very well due to its atomic structure, and molding iron in a manner that aligns the magnetic moments of all the atoms in it is one way to make a strong, ferromagnet (like the common U-shaped magnet below).
Another important feature of magnetism is how they are created by charged particles. Using the Right Hand Rule (explained in greater detail in my post on shields), one can predict the direction of magnetic field lines propagated by an electric current. If an electron is moving toward you from your computer screen (the direction of your right hand thumb) and a magnetic field is propagated upward from your keyboard (direction of your right hand fingers), then the electron will react by moving toward the right (direction of your right hand knuckles). If it were a proton, it would move left (direction of your right hand palm). If an electric current were to run in a copper wire (from your eyes into the computer screen), then the magnetic field would be propagated clockwise around the current-carrying wire. The field would go counterclockwise if the current ran in the opposite direction.
Believe it or not, I was stuck on this last step for the past several weeks. I couldn’t think of a way to realistically use magnetic fields in such a way as to tug ships, asteroids, and other massive objects because all magnets could possibly do were attract or repel, not tug. After thinking and sulking in the meantime, I gained inspiration from my old physics text book: a solenoid!
A solenoid is a metallic cylinder (usually with an empty, hollow interior, but an iron bar can be inserted to help conduct its magnetic charge) with a copper wire coiled around it a few hundred times. Applying an electric current through the copper wire establishes a magnetic field through the cylinder, and the field can be propagated in any direction for the purpose of attracting objects or repelling them. It all depends on the direction of the current through the wires and on the magnetic fields of the object in question.
Metallic and paramagnetic objects (like iron-nickel asteroids and other ships) can be pulled in toward the solenoid by mere virtue of the fact that they are attracted by magnetic fields. Diamagnetic objects (like comets) would be unaffected by any magnetic field. In any case, a very long solenoid with superconducting wires would be necessary to create a tractor beam-like device. A space ship with this kind of implementation could guide or attract (or even repel) metallic/paramagnetic/ferromagnetic objects through space. Though weak, solenoids could potentially set the framework for a working tractor beam in the future. Unfortunately, its limitations (see below) would make the design and implementation of solenoids as tractor beams hardly worthwhile.
USS Defiant uses its modified tractor beam
The Final Verdict
Tractor beams may not be entirely plausible (or even fulfill our greatest expectations if they are). Such a beam using electromagnetic designs (i.e. a solenoid) could be possible, but unfortunately I cannot say with any certainty that it will become that. As of yet, the tractor beam is still a facet of Science Fiction. Our magnetic solenoid is the closest we can get (probably ever get) to tractor beams, but with severe limitations and problems that may render it an impractical solution to zero-point technology (nothing is ever perfect).
For one, they are not actual tractor beams. The solenoid cannot simply tug on to an object and suspend it midair. In space, where gravity and air resistance are negligible, a solenoid would continue to pull objects in toward the tractoring ship even after the solenoid has been deactivated. A good workaround that I came up with would be to tug an object by initially using the solenoid, put it in motion, and then finally allow it move with you the entire way to your destination. The lack of air resistance in space can work in your favor because the vacuum of space does not impede the velocity of space ships, but sometimes, it can work against you.
Another limitation to using solenoids as a tractor beam is that when pushing objects away, the transmittance of momentum in a vacuum becomes an issue. Suppose a torpedo is on a collision course with the Enterprise and that Captain Kirk decided to use solenoids instead of tractor beams. Let’s next assume that torpedoes have magnetic fields. A magnetic solenoid can be applied against an incoming object such that the orientation of the magnetic field lines run anti-parallel to the magnetic field lines of the other object (in other words, the solenoid’s North Pole is facing the torpedoes North Pole). The opposition of the magnetic fields would repel the incoming object away from the Enterprise (given a sufficiently powerful solenoid and the right momentum), but there’s a catch. Due to Newton’s Third Law of Motion and the lack of air resistance, the force propagated against the torpedo would also be propagated against the Enterprise (every action has an equal, opposite reaction).
The momentum transferred against the other ship would be absorbed by the Enterprise as well, so the incoming torpedo would be repelled to an even lesser degree and may still be racing toward the Enterprise (it might not even slow it down if the object was more massive than the Enterprise). Luckily, since the Enterprise is pushed further away from the incoming object, it could work to Kirk’s advantage. A higher gain on the magnetic field would be required to effectively push objects away, but even that itself presents another severe limitation.
The strength of the magnetic field charged in the solenoid must have a Goldilocks medium, and here’s why. Imagine the Enterprise is trying to push an incoming torpedo away using a high-powered solenoid. The magnetic field can’t be too weak or else it would barely affect the momentum of the torpedo. It can’t be too strong either because the magnetic field would violently twist the torpedo around and reorient the torpedo’s field with the solenoid. The Enterprise’s repulsive beam becomes tractor beam of death; the torpedo is now racing toward the Enterprise at an even faster velocity than before because the solenoid is tugging it in toward the ship.
While torpedoes are much lighter than space vessels like the Enterprise, an anti-parallel, moderately-strong solenoid can still be a working solution to repel torpedoes, but what about much larger objects like asteroids or planetoids? Assuming they are diamagnetic and given a scenario in which an asteroid threatens a nearby planet, using a solenoid against these massive objects may very well push the Enterprise away from the asteroid at full force with little to no influence on the asteroid’s trajectory. Even worse, diamagnetic materials tend not to be influenced by magnetic fields because their electron orbitals reorient themselves to counteract any change in magnetic moments. No matter the strength of the magnetic field, a large, diamagnetic asteroid or comet inevitably spells doom for the Enterprise and whatever planet it threatens. It may actually work for iron-nickel asteroids (largely ferromagnetic), but a much, much, much higher gain on the solenoid is required to influence these massive objects
And finally, there is the issue of whether or not solenoids can even be practical. The magnetic field inside the solenoid center is at is strongest because the electrons encircling the cylinder propagate the magnetic field from either end inside the cylinder, but the motion of electrons around the cylinder have little (if any) affect on the space outside the cylinder. Thus, the magnetic field weakens and diverges outside the solenoid; in other words, solenoid-based tractor beams may only be effective if applied on objects at an extremely close range, perhaps inside the cylinder itself. Not a bad way to tug a shipment of grain to the famished Sherman’s planet, but repelling asteroids and torpedoes with this encumbering limitation is too close for comfort!
In 2010, a group of scientists at the Australian National University managed to create a tractor beam that was able to carry a few bits of glass midair across the length of an office desk. It works by using high-intensity lasers (termed “hollow lasers”) to heat up the air molecules around a narrow, cold center. Objects suspended in the colder region are repelled by the pressure surrounding the center and so they remain within this narrow band of cool air. A force applied on the object at this point allows it to move effortlessly through air without falling out of the tractor beam. Even if it falls or rises too close to the laser, the heated molecules bounce the object back into the colder region (like a ball bouncing against a wall). Prior to this paramount discovery, scientists had only been able to make oil droplets travel midair, riding a stream of light no longer than a few centimeters; this time, we were able to move glass particles 5 feet!
But like all things awesome in science, there is always a catch: it requires air. In order to create a pressure difference between the center and the space surrounding it to prevent the object from falling out if its tractor beam, air molecules must be able to get excited by the lasers and push against the air molecules inside the cold region. A tractor beam would work great in atmosphere, but in space it is no more elaborate than a simple laser shooting into the infinite expanse that is our Cosmos. Should a working tractor beam ever be developed for employment in space, it may not be this (or even solenoids). Until the next great physicist discovers gravitons or some similar particle of physics with the ability to suspend objects in space, we will have to make do without it.
Tom Caldwell holds a Bachelor’s of Science in biochemistry from UCLA. He is currently working towards a Ph.D. in molecular biology.
David Warner, who fans will remember as Ambassador St. John Talbot in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and the Cardassian Gul Madred in Star Trek: The Next Generation, recently made his first appearance at a Creation event two weeks ago at their Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas. During his time on stage, Warner discussed the various roles he’s played in Star Trek and throughout his career.
Warner recently sat down with StarTrek.com after the event to talk about his experience and further discuss his relationship with the Star Trek franchise.
“I’ve done some conventions in England. They weren’t Star Trek conventions, but I’ve done other conventions because of the stuff I’ve done, a lot of sci-fi and horror and whatever it is. And people dress up for those, as well. The ones I’ve gone to were not quite so big as this particular Star Trek convention is and most of the ones I’ve done were just signing and chatting to people. Here, I did a Q&A. But it’s not too strange for me. What’s interesting is people are bringing up things that I did 20, 25 years ago, so it’s not always easy to remember everything. I also make a practice of not seeing a lot of what I’ve done. That’s just one of those superstitions I have. I do a job and I don’t necessarily watch it, so sometimes it’s very hard to talk about it. Some things I may have just seen once. It’s not that I don’t like the work; I just don’t enjoy watching myself. So I talk about my memories of working on them.” Warner said, as he discussed the Las Vegas event where he appeared in from of thousands of fans.
He went on to talk about getting his first Star Trek role in The Final Frontier, which was directed by William Shatner.
“Someone said ‘Would you like to meet William Shatner.’ I said, ‘I’d be delighted.’ I went into an office and there he was. As far as I know they wanted me for it, instead of having me audition and screen test. The part itself was not all that huge. Actually, it was bigger than it turned out in the film, because they’d cut quite a bit out of it. So I was actually just standing around on the Enterprise bridge for the most of it. So that’s it, I was just offered the part. I’d just arrived and was living in Los Angeles, and I’ve been offered a job in Star Trek. ‘Thank you.’”
David Warner on stage at the 2011 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention
His role as Chancellor Gorkon in The Undiscovered Country is fondly remembered by Star Trek fans.
“I don’t know why I turned up in VI when I’d been in V, but I’d been a human in V and they had me be a Klingon. I read somewhere that everybody had forgotten that I was in V. So I was sort of invisible in V and they could cover me in makeup for VI. Plus, I’d done Time After Time with Nick Meyer.” said Warner.
“It was a three-hour job before I started acting to have the makeup put on. You see what you see as a member of the audience, but I don’t say, “Now, I’m the character.” I’m not that kind of actor.” Warner said regarding the Klingon makeup he wore in The Undiscovered Country.
Warner went on to discuss the makeup involved with his role as the Cardassian Gul Madred, in the TNG episode “Chain of Command” saying “It was another makeup job. It was with Pat Stewart, who’s an old colleague. It was great to be a part of that. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve done two of the others, the old classic ones, and here I am in The Next Generation. I’ll go for it.’ So I wasn’t aware of it, of the Cardassians. I didn’t know there history at all, except of course, that they weren’t very nice.”
Even with the smash hit that was JJ Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot and a sequel on the horizon, fans continue to clamor for Star Trek to return in its original form — on the small screen. In recent months reports and rumors have circulated with news of Jonathan Frakes, William Shatner and even director Bryan Singer pitching a new Star Trek television series. While most of these rumors have been shot down and regarded is little more than a pipe dream, none have been as fully developed as the latest addition by David Foster.
Foster, who recently spoke with Deep Space Nine writer Jack Treviño for TrekWeb, said his concept for a new show has been in development for years.
“I have to be very careful with the information that is released on this proposed Star Trek series, as we are still working with several people that can hopefully make this happen.” said Foster, on the topic of the new series.
“The original interview with Frakes was somewhat inaccurate. In it, he had actually said “I had a Star Trek project that was developed for TV…” Since then, several other media outlets have spun this in very wrong directions. Frakes did not develop the series, but was considering becoming attached to it. After being told that Brian Singer and William Shatner had pitches turned down by CBS (which has since been revealed to not be true in Singer’s case), Frakes decided to pass at that time, also noting his doubts that CBS would ever allow a television series to run simultaneous with the 3 contracted movies from J.J. Abrams.” said Foster.
“The fact remains that the height of the franchise came in the early to mid 90′s with the movies: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Generations (1994), and First Contact (1996), while the series: The Next Generation (1987-1994, and Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) were both on television. The lesson should be that good writing will always draw audiences like moths to a flame. We can only hope that the next flame is written with a vision and vigor that resembles that of the latest movie, while remaining accessible to the fans on a wider reaching outlet than the ill-fated UPN.”
Foster went on to discuss the series he developed along with Kevin Severson by saying “In 2006, Kevin Severson and I co-created our Trek series idea. It went through various stages of development over recent years. In September 2010, Kevin Severson died suddenly from a stroke. He left behind his wife and two children, his friends and family, and a dream that has yet to be fully realized, though Kevin was already living his dream during the development of this series.”
“The series concept is fully developed, subject to change of course, with a solid 5-7 year series plan, pilot script and a conceptualized finale that intends to define Star Trek for generations, extensive character bios, costume and ship/set designs, and more. This is a drastic departure from the typical 8-10 page treatment of the previously pitched Star Trek series ideas that have not included even a pilot script.” Foster remarked.
While JJ Abrams decided to go with an alternate timeline for his 2009 Star Trek film, Foster’s planned television project is quite different.
“The series is set in the post-Voyager era, and is designed to return Star Trek to its original series roots in big and mighty ways, without disregarding the other series and movies. As Star Trek (2009) was an alternate timeline, it will not conflict with any canon there either (Note: David does accept it as an “alternate canon”, if you will). The co-creators are avid believers in Gene Roddenberry’s ‘positive view of the future’ and intend to bring Star Trek back to its origins while moving forward with the timeline, integrating the best aspects of each of the previous series.” said Foster.
“The series is highly energized with a much younger cast, and uses cutting-edge future technologies with newly envisioned special effects and designs. It includes Klingons, Ferengi, Andorians, Vulcans, Trill, and many more. The Klingons are getting very restless since the Praxis incident forced them to come to the peace tables, and are tired of having to rely on the Federation for support. The Ferengi have discovered a vast new resource that has propelled them towards instant riches and power beyond anything they have previously experienced.”
“While all of the feedback and news has been completely positive and we continue to make great progress and garner support from key individuals, 1947 Entertainment has not yet, officially, pitched this to CBS.” Foster explained.
The project is currently listed as “in development” under the codename S.E.T.I. on David Foster’s 1947 Entertainment website. We’ll have more information on Star Trek‘s possible return to television, if details become available.
Mondo will be releasing the latest addition to their Star Trek print series on Friday, August 26th.
The latest print, titled Star Trek: The Motion Picture, designed by Daniel Danger, measures 24″ x 36″ and depicts the crew of the Enterprise crew looking in awe at the power of V’GER. The posters are limited to 320 and have all been hand numbered and will be available for $45.
While the print was available at a very limited amount at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, tomorrow will be the first (and last) time the print will be available online.
The Star Trek: The Motion Picture print will be released at a random time tomorrow. Follow @MondoNews on Twitter for the on-sale announcement.
Official description from the Mondo newsletter:
Tomorrow, we release Daniel Danger’s great STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE poster in our ongoing STAR TREK series. The poster features the crew looking on in awe at the power of V’GER. We also have very few copies of the variant version we released at San Diego Comic Con this year.
Please follow us on Twitter for the on sale announcement. This poster will be for sale online at a random time on Friday, August 26th.
Poster by Daniel Danger. 24″x36″ screen print. Hand numbered. Edition of 320. Printed by D&L Screen Printing. $45
Poster by Daniel Danger. 24″x36″ screen print. Hand numbered. Variant edition of 165. Printed by D&L Screen Printing. $75
Kicking off today and running through Sunday, August 28th FanExpo Canada takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario.
Celebrating its 17th year, the annual gathering will be playing host to several Star Trek personalities.
William Shatner will host a special screening of his documentary The Captains on Sunday August 28th. He will also be signing autographs and will be available for photo ops that day.
Also appearing as guests throughout the weekend will be Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Tolian Soran from Star Trek: Generations), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from TOS), Marina Sirtis (TNG’s Dianna Troi) and Ethan Phillips (Neelix from Star Trek: Voyager).
Other non-Trek guests include Eliza Dushku, Hayden Panettiere, Katee Sackhoff, Kevin Sorbo and more.
While advance tickets are sold out, single-day passes will be available at the box office for same-day purchase.
A new Star Trek TV series is something fans have been clamoring for since the cancellation of Enterprise in 2005. In a recent interview, JJ Abrams was asked about the possibility of Trek’s return to the small screen with himself along with the Bad Robot crew at the helm.
“I don’t know,” Abrams said. “It’s never really come up, frankly, but depending on what that would sort of be and how it would be done I’d be open to the idea of it. Right now we’re just sort of focusing on making a movie that’s worth people’s time.” he continued.
Fresh off the success of his summer hit Super 8, JJ Abrams is hard at work on the next Star Trek film.
Aside from the fact that the cast of the 2009 blockbuster will be reunited, not much is known about the next film at this time. However, Abrams seems very positive about its direction.
While Abrams has yet to officially sign on as director of the next Star Trek film, most industry insiders expect that it’s inevitable. He promises news regarding the film is on its way.
“I’m excited. We’re working hard. We’re very close and I hope to have something to talk about concretely soon. I do feel like if ‘Trek’ happens as we hope that it will, it will be a fun return to that group of people, because it’s an amazing group.” said Abrams.
For those of you who’ve been anxiously awaiting that Janice Rand shirt, you’re in luck!
Today Mighty Fine, a web-based clothing boutique, released a new line of art deco-inspired Star Trek T-shirts. The latest additions to their 80′s Fashion series depicts some of the women of Star Trek, including Uhura, an Orion Slave Girl and Yeoman Rand.
The brightly colored shirts are designed by artist Arty Perez and are available in a variety of sizes for $25 on MightyFine’s website.
See the images of the new shirts below.
Mighty Fine also holds licences to and produces shirts depicting Star Wars, G.I. Joe, TRON, The Muppets and more.
Zachary Quinto is ready to get back into Starfleet uniform and had a few words to say on the topic of the next Star Trek film, in a recent interview. During the interview with the Showbiz 411, Quinto talked about the anticipation for the upcoming sequel, what may be in store for his character Spock along with a few of the possible directions the story could go in.
“I feel like people are going to be ready for a second one by the time it comes out. It’s not like ‘Already’ ‘Really?’ ‘Again?’” Quinto said.
“I imagine we’re going to pick up right where we left off, but it could be a completely different timeline. They now basically created a device that allows them to go anywhere with it.”
“We could be in a parallel universe. We could be in a parallel time.” He remarked. “It’s the joy of science fiction. Vulcan could be back. Who knows.” he added.
Another important feature of magnetism is how they are created by charged particles. Using the Right Hand Rule (explained in greater detail in my post on shields), one can predict the direction of magnetic field lines propagated by an electric current. If an electron is moving toward you from your computer screen (the direction of your right hand thumb) and a magnetic field is propagated upward from your keyboard (direction of your right hand fingers), then the electron will react by moving toward the right (direction of your right hand knuckles). If it were a proton, it would move left (direction of your right hand palm). If an electric current were to run in a copper wire (from your eyes into the computer screen), then the magnetic field would be propagated clockwise around the current-carrying wire. The field would go counterclockwise if the current ran in the opposite direction.
A solenoid is a metallic cylinder (usually with an empty, hollow interior, but an iron bar can be inserted to help conduct its magnetic charge) with a copper wire coiled around it a few hundred times. Applying an electric current through the copper wire establishes a magnetic field through the cylinder, and the field can be propagated in any direction for the purpose of attracting objects or repelling them. It all depends on the direction of the current through the wires and on the magnetic fields of the object in question.
Foster went on to discuss the series he developed along with Kevin Severson by saying “In 2006, Kevin Severson and I co-created our Trek series idea. It went through various stages of development over recent years. In September 2010, Kevin Severson died suddenly from a stroke. He left behind his wife and two children, his friends and family, and a dream that has yet to be fully realized, though Kevin was already living his dream during the development of this series.”
