# What’s the point of the transporter room in \*Star Trek\*? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [April 13, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238 "2024-04-13T18:30:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/1 "2024-04-13T18:30:32Z")
Not the transporter, but the transporter _room_. Plenty of episodes establish that you can transport people from a location other than the transporter room and to such a location. In fact, it seems that said room need not be involved on either end of any given transport. And yet, the various vessels of the shows typically have not one transporter room but several of them, and when an away party beams to a planet they go out of their way to walk to a room and stand awkwardly on the pedestals. Does any episode ever give an explanation why they do that, rather than beam away more conveniently from the bridge? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/2 "2024-04-13T18:34:14Z")
The machinery itself has to be somewhere. And since you have it in place, you can expand the area it’s located to allow for ceremonial arrivals and departures for dignataries when bringing them aboard via the shuttle bay is impractical. ---
**Author:** ![Jim1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim1/32/16477_2.png) [@Jim1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/3 "2024-04-13T19:00:01Z")
Purely a literary device. HOWEVER, from a technical perpective, one could easily postulate that “transporting” is single-ended, by whcih I mean that one end is the controlling end, and the other is “passive” - like a drawbridge that opens from one end. If you make a telephone call, the connection is established by the person making the call, though both can then speak. Since it is not real, who is to say how it might work? I believe I have seen episodes where some special effort was made to transport someone from point A to point B without a visit to the transporter room. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/4 "2024-04-13T19:08:27Z")
Although, it’s possible to transport someone from point A to point B (beam them directly to the bridge seems a common alternative) the fact that it is done rarely suggests that it is more difficult or dangerous to do so. That makes sense, I think. The greatest danger associated with the transporter is beaming someone into danger - e.g. into the vacuum (“And the Children shall Lead”). Using the default - the transporter room - is therefore the safest. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/5 "2024-04-13T19:20:05Z")
In TOS era intra-ship beaming was said to risk materializing inside a bulkhead, but it was successfully used in Day of the Dove. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/6 "2024-04-13T19:31:47Z")
I’ve never understood why materializing inside a bulkhead was considered a danger, but materializing in the air was not. How do they avoid gas embolisms every time they transport? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/7 "2024-04-13T19:35:36Z")
I suspect their is a force field that expands the air away leaving a nice safe hole to transport into. It might not be powerful enough for solid matter, or they don’t plan on beaming into bulkheads where the field would wreak havoc on the hardware. I vaguely remember that the point to point beaming in _Piece of the Action_ involved the gangsters appearing very briefly in the transporter room before being beamed to the meeting place. But it’s been a while. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/8 "2024-04-13T19:41:43Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > In TOS era intra-ship beaming was said to risk materializing inside a bulkhead, but it was successfully used in Day of the Dove. Obviously, any transport risks materializing someone inside a solid object if something goes wrong with the targeting. The implication I got is that extreme short range (by transporter standards) is problematic, like trying to focus on an object one centimeter away from your eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/9 "2024-04-13T19:49:01Z")
Star Trek tech isn’t even consistent with itself, let alone consistent with pesky things like the laws of physics. You shouldn’t try to think about things too deeply. This is the same series that would put ships into a geosynchronous orbit over the north pole, and thinks that sound waves are somehow superior to a solid piece of metal when installing and removing screws. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/10 "2024-04-13T19:53:48Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I’ve never understood why materializing inside a bulkhead was considered a danger, but materializing in the air was not. How do they avoid gas embolisms every time they transport? [“Hoooohoohoohoo…it is very exciting to watch the master at the controls. The operation of the conveyer is, hmmm-mmm, much more art than science.”](https://youtu.be/nW-NiGp1gys?si=VTqDY0hiFs9vvP8Y&t=1m8s) > [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Obviously, any transport risks materializing someone inside a solid object if something goes wrong with the targeting. The implication I got is that extreme short range (by transporter standards) is problematic, like trying to focus on an object one centimeter away from your eyeballs. Of course, if a person or another mass were to materialize inside of a bulkhead, there would be an immediate explosion due to the electrostatic propulsion (this is assuming that you don’t have any significant number of nuclei materializing close enough together for the residual strong force to have an effect, in which case you’d have an even more dramatic response). And don’t get me started on what happens when a phaser or other energy weapon is used to vaporize someone; all that protein, lipids, and water has to so somewhere. Some ensign on shit duty is going to be spending a week with a bucket and sponge cleaning that out of every conduit and comm panel. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/11 "2024-04-15T11:33:05Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > Not the transporter, but the transporter _room_. Plenty of episodes establish that you can transport people from a location other than the transporter room and to such a location. I highly recommend the comic “Chief O’Brien At Work” (which I discovered on the Dope). It mines humor from the fact that the transporter room is not needed and how the computer can transport people just as well as the Transporter Chief. > **[CHIEF O'BRIEN AT WORK](https://chiefobrienatwork.com/)** > > For fans of crappy jobs, space travel, and ennui. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/12 "2024-04-15T11:49:26Z")
The transporter room has some capability to disinfect people as well, maybe used in the “I’ll take you home again, Kathleen” episode? Or, maybe some other TOS episode. In TOS, they almost never transported someone without going through the transporter room. I guess they do in Day of the Dove? I’ll have to watch it again. In later series, they can continue moving and talking while being transported, which is a pretty impressive step forward. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/13 "2024-04-15T11:57:55Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > The transporter room has some capability to disinfect people as well, maybe used in the “I’ll take you home again, Kathleen” episode? Or, maybe some other TOS episode. Doesn’t it have some programmable “biofilter” that can cure cancer, the common cold, reverse aging, whatever? Who wrote that? Sounds good, if you don’t mind Starfleet keeping a copy of your pattern, just for technical purposes of course. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/14 "2024-04-15T12:02:35Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > Not the transporter, but the transporter _room_. Plenty of episodes establish that you can transport people from a location other than the transporter room and to such a location. In fact, it seems that said room need not be involved on either end of any given transport. According to the techno babble I can recall, the idea is that it ensures more stability in the process. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/15 "2024-04-15T12:05:18Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > It mines humor from the fact that the transporter room is not needed and how the computer can transport people just as well as the Transporter Chief. Realistically, almost none of the crew are needed for ship operations (except the engineering staff, and that is just because of the inexplicable lack of robots). In _The Next Generation_, the ship is shown being able to fly itself and perform all necessary analyses and diagnostics with virtually no participation by the crew except for vague prompts that probably take more computing power to process than actually doing the work. Under the right conditions, the ship’s computer has been shown capable of developing not only consciousness but sapience, and given the vast array of sensors that allow it to report its structural, radiological, and environmental conditions down minute detail, it may well be capable of sentience. If anything, the human crew are holding it back from achieving its own ‘singularity’ and emerging as a fully self-aware being with self-replicative capability, producing little baby Enterprises and making the galaxy safe for advanced intelligence by wiping out all of the pestilent liquid meat-sack pathogens that infected it. > [@DPRK](#): > > Doesn’t it have some programmable “biofilter” that can cure cancer, the common cold, reverse aging, whatever? Who wrote that? Sounds good, if you don’t mind Starfleet keeping a copy of your pattern, just for technical purposes of course. All you need is a cortical stack and a supply of protoplasm, and ego-immortality is achieved! At least, until the Total Information Tactical Awareness Network takes over and burns out every biosphere it can find. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/16 "2024-04-15T12:26:08Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Star Trek tech isn’t even consistent with itself, let alone consistent with pesky things like the laws of physics. You shouldn’t try to think about things too deeply. Based on some of the later “magic” with transporters, I wonder why they even have a ship. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/17 "2024-04-15T14:30:13Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Based on some of the later “magic” with transporters, I wonder why they even have a ship. Without a ship, where are you going to put the transporter room? ---
**Author:** ![c\_carol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@c\_carol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_carol)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/18 "2024-04-15T14:37:15Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > thinks that sound waves are somehow superior to a solid piece of metal when installing and removing screws. Isn’t that a different show? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/19 "2024-04-15T14:41:04Z")
I think the transporter room was better equiped to make transporting [safer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiNbDVQMRE). That’s why they were materializing on those pads. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238/20 "2024-04-15T14:49:05Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > sound waves are somehow superior to a solid piece of metal when installing and removing screws. Who was that? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-point-of-the-transporter-room-in-star-trek/1000238.md?page=2)