The Computers of Star Trek by Lois H. Gresh Read Free Book Online Page A

which we assume to be 2.15 x 10 18 bytes. These kiloquads are in “standard holographic format.” Is this plausible?

    As we mentioned in the first chapter, many computer scientists predict that holographic storage units will be the memory units of the future. Lambertus Hesselink of Stanford University believes that a cube a centimeter on a side eventually may store a terabyte of data (10 12 bytes). 7
    Keeping in mind that a floppy disk doesn’t have a depth of one centimeter, we can still approximate the amount of holographic storage contained on our kiloquad floppy disk.
    First, suppose that Hesselink is correct. Suppose also that future scientists will do a bit better than Hesselink’s prediction and will store a terabyte in a volume of 1 by 1 by *¼ centimeter.
    Recalling that one inch equals 2.54 centimeters, we quickly determine that 3.5 inches yields 8.89 centimeters. If we store a terabyte of data in 1 by 1 by ¼ centimeter, then we end up with something like the holographic floppy disk in Figure 2.6 .
    But 81 x 10 12 bytes per chip is not even close to 2.15 kiloquads, which is 2.15 x 10 18 bytes. On the other hand, if scientists predict today that we’ll store a terabyte in a cubic centimeter, then perhaps within three or four hundred years, we’ll store 2.15 kiloquads in “standard holographic format.” It seems possible. Further, it’s quite possible that the Enterprise has a total of 634,060 kiloquads of memory and/or storage capacity.
    That’s a lot of memory. Which is why the writers of Star Trek are astute in not assigning a value to a kiloquad!
    Which leads us to ask if so much memory is necessary.
    In “Wolf in the Fold” ( TOS ), Captain Kirk has the ship’s computer search for crimes similar to those Mr. Scott is accused of committing. He also asks the computer to search for certain keywords like “Redjack.” In both cases, the computer finds matches on other worlds over a period of centuries. This implies that the computer contains a vast amount of information about life on Federation planets over the centuries.

    FIGURE 2.6 Holographic Floppy Disk

    In “The Neutral Zone” ( TNG ), Clair Raymond searches for her descendants using the computer. Not only does she find her family tree, but she locates information about her grandson many times removed, his photo, and where he lives. Leading us to believe that the ship’s computer maintains extensive files about every citizen in the Federation.
    In “Eye of the Needle” ( VGR ), the crew of Voyager contacts a Romulan science vessel through a wormhole that cuts through both space and time. They tell their plight to a Romulan scientist, Telek R‘Mor. He promises to send a chip containing information
about Voyager to the Federation in 2371. But Voyager’s computer reveals that Telek R’Mor died before the delivery date. Implying that information about Romulans is also available in the ship’s memory banks.
    Throughout all the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine , and Voyager adventures, the main computer is used to access famous plays, music, and books composed over the centuries. Extensive medical data on all known species belonging to the Federation is stored in the core memory. Thousands of battles fought by Federation starships are kept on file as reference, as are records of the adventures of other starships. As noted in “Legacy” ( TNG ), the computer stores every crewmember’s complete DNA pattern. The computer seems to contain all knowledge and records compiled by the Federation. Is this possible, even with 630,000—or 1,290,240,000—kiloquads of memory?
    Futurist Michael Dertouzos describes information in terms of units called LOCs. 8 One LOC is all the data contained in the United States Library of Congress. If we count only words, not pictures, films, or sound recordings, Dertouzos estimates this to be 100 terabytes (100 x 10 12 bytes).