# Star Trek - 'Inertia Dampners' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2001, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067 "2001-05-31T11:50:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PerfectDark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@PerfectDark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerfectDark)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/1 "2001-05-31T11:50:36Z")
In Star Trek TNG they refer to a device called an ‘Inertia Dampner’. I am not sure exactly what it is or how it works I think it’s used to stop people inside the Star Ship from becoming puddles of goo on the back walls when the Star Ship accelerates forward faster than the speed of light. Anyone have any ideas what it is or what it does? While were on the topic of Star Trek… Does anyone know how impulse engines work? PerfectDark ---
**Author:** ![tdk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@tdk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdk)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/2 "2001-05-31T12:09:13Z")
That’s exactly what it is/does… All those nifty relativistic manuevers the ENTERPRISE makes as it does battle and stuff, unless you were VERY securely strapped into an acceleration couch of some kind, would quickly leave anyone standing around a messy puddle on a bulkhead somewhere. The analogy I always thought of to explain it is from ‘Doc’ Smith’s bergenholm (as seen in the Lensman books): A gizmo that shoots out a field which neutralizes most if not all inertia associated with being a material object. This can happen either by making the inherent inertia not there to begin with, or have the field accelerate each and every atom of substance within the walls of (in this case) the vessel with the same force. IIRC, “impulse engines” were just the Trek Universe fancy name for a big elaborate fusion propulsion system. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/3 "2001-05-31T13:52:40Z")
OK, I’m going to start by assuming you know this is fiction. 🙂 But the answer to your question is in the _Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual_ by Rich Sternbach and Michael Okuda, page 24, which explains the “intertial damping field system.” I’ll quote very briefly so as to avoid being sanctioned: > [@](#): > > The IDF operates by maintaining a low-level forcefield throughout the habital volume of the spacecraft… As acceleration effects are anticipated, this field is distorted along a vector diametrically opposed to the velocity change. The IDF thereby absorbs the inertial potential which would otherwise have acted upon the crew… There is a characteristic lag time for the shifting of IDF direction and intensity. The authors explain in a footnote that the “tremendous accelerations” of the Enterprise “would instantly turn the crew to chunky salsa unless there was some kind of heavy-duty protection” and that the “characteristic lag time” is “to ‘explain’ why our crew is occasionally knocked out of their chairs.” It should be remembered before you laugh too hard that a lot of the technology created for ST:TNG was in direct reaction to the complaints of fans that there was too little “real science” in the first series. "Be careful what you ask for … " 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PerfectDark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@PerfectDark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerfectDark)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/4 "2001-05-31T14:04:18Z")
Authors didn’t really think hard. The acceleration due to vector changes are due to commands into the ships computer… There for it’s not the ship being told to move then the ship moves then the ship detects which way it’s moving and then compensates the inertial field… It’s the ship is told to move, at the same time it calibrates for the inertial fields and then as it engages the engines it changes the inertial field. Therefore eliminating the ‘Lag’ and the stupid throwing yourself forward thingy when you move. And I thought Star Trek was a documentary? JK. 🙂 PerfectDark ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/5 "2001-05-31T14:26:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PerfectDark \* > \*\*Authors didn’t really think hard. The acceleration due to vector changes are due to commands into the ships computer… There for it’s not the ship being told to move then the ship moves then the ship detects which way it’s moving and then compensates the inertial field… It’s the ship is told to move, at the same time it calibrates for the inertial fields and then as it engages the engines it changes the inertial field. Therefore eliminating the ‘Lag’ and the stupid throwing yourself forward thingy when you move. > > And I thought Star Trek was a documentary? > JK. 🙂 > > PerfectDark \*\* Hey, Perfect, you’re forgetting that so much of the jumping around on the _Enterprise_ is the result of outside influence – enemy fire, collisions, etc. The lag time comes from the computer calculating for ship movement it didn’t expect. We rarely see the crew reacting to changes in acceleration, velocity, or heading. The thing I find so amazing is that, by the twenty-fourth century, we have forgotten something as simple as seat-belts. What’s up with that? At least you wouldn’t fall out of your chair so easily. How many times have Sulu or Chekhov had to pick themselves up off the floor during a critical moment? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2001, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/6 "2001-05-31T16:14:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drum God \* > The thing I find so amazing is that, by the twenty-fourth century, we have forgotten something as simple as seat-belts. What’s up with that? Another two-edged sword. Don’t forget that in _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_, Kirk’s chair (and possibly others) actually _had_ a restraint system. Everybody I knew who talked about it at the time thought it looked silly and ridiculous, and I’ve always assumed that many fans voiced the same objections. For what that’s worth. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/7 "2001-06-01T00:28:32Z")
In the spirit of **manhattan** : It works however the authors want it to work, and does whatever the authors want it to do, because it’s _fiction_! It’s made up! This forum is for real questions!! Rant rant rave! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![asphodel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@asphodel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asphodel)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/8 "2001-06-01T00:38:15Z")
> [@](#): > > **The thing I find so amazing is that, by the twenty-fourth century, we have forgotten something as simple as seat-belts. What’s up with that?** Another low-tech invention that apparently has been forgotten by the 24th century is a gadget known as a _fuse_. Practically every time they get in a battle or something at least one of the computer panels at the back of the bridge explodes with a cascade of sparks due to a power overload. I guess fuses just aren’t high-tech enough for the Enterprise. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/9 "2001-06-01T02:31:43Z")
That reminds me - check out the list of [“Vows every Starfleet captain should take”](http://enphilistor.users4.50megs.com/hero.htm) halfway down the page. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/10 "2001-06-01T05:46:58Z")
> [@](#): > > The acceleration due to vector changes are due to commands into the ships computer… There for it’s not the ship being told to move then the ship moves then the ship detects which way it’s moving and then compensates the inertial field… Actually, that’s not quite the way it works (although that’d be the smart way of doing it). In an episode of _Voyager_, (the ep. where they encounter the very-lingual alien who introduces Slipstream Technology… he tries to get the ship assimilated? Don’t know the episode name), Seven programs the ship to generate random twists and turns to the vessel’s direction… every time it does, there was a noticable lurch. If the commands were all routed through the same computer, the inertial dampers would’ve eliminated that lurch. And sparta… the reasons computer consols explode is because somebody in Starfleet had the brilliant idea to use plasma conduits for EVERYTHING, even if a simple copper wire would have easily done the job. Apparently, only the highest-of-high-tech stuff is good enough for Federation ships… ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/11 "2001-06-01T09:13:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\*the reasons computer consols explode is because somebody in Starfleet had the brilliant idea to use plasma conduits for EVERYTHING, even if a simple copper wire would have easily done the job. Apparently, only the highest-of-high-tech stuff is good enough for Federation ships… \*\* Because electrical wires would’ve been prone to out-of-date nuclear and EMP attacks… …Or, so I heard… somewhere… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tdk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@tdk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdk)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/12 "2001-06-01T11:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > And sparta… the reasons computer consols explode is because somebody in Starfleet had the brilliant idea to use plasma conduits for EVERYTHING, even if a simple copper wire would have easily done the job. Apparently, only the highest-of-high-tech stuff is good enough for Federation ships… \*\* Oh… I thought it was that fancy charcoal-stuff that they built all the consoles out of. Plasma, you say? ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/13 "2001-06-01T17:02:36Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* \*\* > [@](#): > > …And sparta… the reasons computer consols explode is because somebody in Starfleet had the brilliant idea to use plasma conduits for EVERYTHING, even if a simple copper wire would have easily done the job. Apparently, only the highest-of-high-tech stuff is good enough for Federation ships… \*\* But then again, who cares? It’s not like you have to call starfleet and wait for a new helm console. You just radio Engineering or wherever the big replicators are and say “Computer, replicate new helm console, part #N3507G-01” Must be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/14 "2001-06-01T22:18:50Z")
To hijack this back into factual territory for a little while: To produce an effective “inertial damper”, you’d want to exert a force on every particle in the ship proportional to the particle’s mass. The only known force that does this is gravity, and the only known way to manipulate gravity on the required scale is to move planetary-mass bodies around. However, there’s a few approximate solutions which might be technically feasible, such as diamagnetic effects. Everyone knows that magnets exert a force on iron and a few other metals, but they also exert a much weaker force on most other materials. For water and most organic substances, this force is repulsive, and is referred to as diamagnetism. Since it’s not gravity, the effect won’t be perfectly uniform, but a person inside the bore of a powerful magnet could take accelerations much higher than would be allowed by any acceleration couch. This method has been used to levitate frogs (current magnets aren’t big enough to hold a person), and it’s not believed to have any health effects. The technology is currently out of our reach, but it’s conceiveable that a future space vessel might be equipped with “diamagnetic dampers”. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2001, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/15 "2001-06-01T22:33:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*To hijack this back into factual territory for a little while: To produce an effective “inertial damper”, you’d want to exert a force on every particle in the ship proportional to the particle’s mass. The only known force that does this is gravity, and the only known way to manipulate gravity on the required scale is to move planetary-mass bodies around. However, there’s a few approximate solutions which might be technically feasible, such as diamagnetic effects. Everyone knows that magnets exert a force on iron and a few other metals, but they also exert a much weaker force on most other materials. For water and most organic substances, this force is repulsive, and is referred to as diamagnetism. Since it’s not gravity, the effect won’t be perfectly uniform, but a person inside the bore of a powerful magnet could take accelerations much higher than would be allowed by any acceleration couch. This method has been used to levitate frogs (current magnets aren’t big enough to hold a person), and it’s not believed to have any health effects. The technology is currently out of our reach, but it’s conceiveable that a future space vessel might be equipped with “diamagnetic dampers”. \*\* Chronos, Remember in the ST future, artifical gravity has been discovered, so maybe that’s what they use to control the IDs. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/16 "2001-06-02T02:00:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > maybe that’s what they use to control the IDs Yep. > [@](#): > > _ibid._ > Flux generation for the IDF is provided by four field generators … in the Primary Hull and by two generators … in the Engineering Hull. Each generator consists of a cluster of twelve 500 kW graviton polarity sources feeding a pair of 150 millicochrane subspace field distortion amplifiers. Last quote, mods, I swear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chocobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Chocobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chocobo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/17 "2001-06-02T08:05:25Z")
Strange though, isn’t it, how in every single battle the Enterprise (or any other starship, for that matter) gets into, the very first thing to go offline is the Inertial Dampers, and then after the enemy ship escapes, the Enterprise follows them into warp speeds? “Pursuit course!Engage!” _SPLAT!_ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/18 "2001-06-02T09:31:06Z")
Huh? Since when have the Inertial Dampers EVER gone offline. Shields, hull integrity, helm control, engines, life support, and general power all go down regularly, but I can’t think of a single case where the Inertial Dampers have malfunctioned. In or out of battle. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/19 "2001-06-02T11:13:55Z")
Aw, Tengu, the questions about “why does such-and-such go offline?” is a GQ in and of itself. Although I bet Manny would prefer it be placed in IMHO… I’m still wondering how the ship can take damage before the shields are completely down… must be some pretty poorly-designed shields. ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2001, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067/20 "2001-06-02T11:29:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tengu \* > \*\*Huh? > > Since when have the Inertial Dampers EVER gone offline. > > Shields, hull integrity, helm control, engines, life support, and general power all go down regularly, but I can’t think of a single case where the Inertial Dampers have malfunctioned. In or out of battle. \*\* Have you noticed that the even after ALL those go O/L, the gravity STILL works? Talk about screwed up priorities… “Can’t breathe… but at least… we won’t be …floating around…” Then again, it’d be more expensive to film all that… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-inertia-dampners/67067.md?page=2)