this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
629 points (99.4% liked)
Risa
6900 readers
14 users here now
Star Trek memes and shitposts
Come on'n get your jamaharon on! There are no real rules—just don't break the weather control network.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Wouldn't blowing up also render the console inoperative? I would think safely shutting down would be preferable to exploding if the end result is still a dead console.
Depends on your proximity to Scotty/LaForge/O'Brien
That's true. In modern times if your phone or tablet touchscreen breaks with enough explosive force to knock you over and require medical intervention, that phone or tablet is toast and probably won't work ever again.
On Star Trek, after a console explodes, the person who was using it is helped away and someone just slips into their seat and keeps using that same console without issue. Maybe the downside to extremely robust electronics is that they're prone to explosions. Like, you get the world's most robust, bulletproof mechanical keyboard, but the downside is that it requires a 240v high-power power supply. For... reasons.
This is one of the better explanations for the exploding consoles I've seen. It still doesn't justify them, but at least it's something.
The main issue is that there's no reason that consoles should explode. These are effectively touchscreens. If you push a touchscreen beyond its operational parameters, it should glitch, it should have trouble recognizing inputs, but it shouldn't blow up. If it was pushed beyond what was safe it should either break or be annoying to use. Not dangerous.
Even with 21st century technology, a touch-screen type thing basically sips power. Smart phones can sometimes explode, but that's only because they contain a relatively huge battery. These things are hooked into the ship's power so they should only be drawing a few watts.
Still, if we combine your suggestion about battleshorts with the idea that for some ridiculous reason they run everything on the ship on plasma that comes directly from the warp core, then maybe...
[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]
Sure, but that explanation isn't interesting.
As an Other Place fan whose experience with trying to befriend Star Trek fans IRL has hit the tragic third - thank you for being reasonable. I've met some people pretending that the Other Place is "space wizards for children", while Star Trek is "real science fiction". While in fact they're the same - for most part space magic and for the select few areas, yes, real science fiction.
[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]
I saw someone once theorize that the console designers knew their creations would get dumped with tons of heat and current under battleshort conditions, and had to come up with some fallbacks. So they just filled it with a ton of mass to soak it up as long as possible, a big hunk of basalt. Unfortunately, when it gets overloaded, it tends to explosively fracture. But that's better than cooking every ensign to touch a panel when under fire