Andre Bormanis Q&A Session

The official site has posted part one of its Q&A session with Andre Bormanis, Star Trek science consultant turned script writer and author. In this segment, he answers questions from genetic manipulation on Voyager to the possibility of Warp Drive.

Chris L.: How close are we to a fully-functional Matter/Antimatter drive?

AB: We can already create and store miniscule amounts of antimatter in the laboratory, a few atoms worth at a time. The problem is creating and storing it in quantity. Nobody knows how to efficiently make even a few million atoms at a time, let alone the trillions upon trillions of atoms' worth you would need to propel a spaceship. But it certainly would be a potent fuel: a paper clip's worth of antimatter would be enough to send the space shuttle into orbit! Check out the NASA-sponsored website "Warp Drive When?" for more info on warp drive and antimatter fuel.

Kurt G.: I have noticed that the orientation of ships to each other in space is always the same most of the time on Star Trek. That is to say, the ships'dorsal and ventral surfaces are always oriented the same in space. Since there is no up or down, right or left in space. Why are some of the ships not "upside down" or "perpendicular" to each other when they are shown on the screen? I think this would be a more realistic portrayal of how things are in space. Granted, some fight scenes have shown this, but not often enough.

AB: I agree. I think the feeling among the producers and special effects people is that ships upside down relative to each other might just look odd to the average viewer, especially on something as small as a television screen. There is also some justification for orienting planet-orbiting spacecraft relative to the planes of their orbits.

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