The Geology of Star Trek

Sixty years ago, Star Trek changed the face of science fiction, bringing television viewers alien species, unfamiliar worlds and a bold vision of future science and technology. Its stories also challenged social conventions, from its famous inter-racial kiss to LGBTQ+ and disability representation, Star Trek championed “infinite diversity in infinite combinations” and encouraged audiences to reconsider their own ideas of acceptance.

Using warp drive to travel faster than the speed of light, the USS Enterprise and other Starfleet vessels travelled the galaxy “seeking out new life, and new civilisations”. Along the way, rocks, minerals, elements, and fossils have become everything from starship components and energy sources to improvised weapons. Meanwhile, the definition of ‘life’ has expanded to include silicon-based entities, while dinosaurs have appeared both on Earth and in unexpected corners of the galaxy.

For Star Trek’s 60th anniversary, we explore some of the real geology and palaeontology behind the franchise. Could Kirk’s sulphur cannon actually work? Would a tyrannosaur chew up Starfleet personnel? What were communicators made of and what is dilithium? Using the Museum’s collections, here we investigate the geology of Star Trek, and help separate science fact from science fiction.

Model of a 'starfleet communicator' from Start Trek

Starfleet communicators (Original Series)
Elements L-R: Silicon, beryllium, carbon, gold

Original Series communicators were handheld devices purportedly made of silicon, beryllium, carbon, and gold. These are all real elements, and all used in smartphones today. Despite its small size, the Starfleet communicator was capable of facilitating clear voice communication between a planet and a starship in outer space.

 

ornithopod dinosaur tail vertebrae

Voth (Voyager)
Ornithopod dinosaur tail vertebrae

Voth are humanoid dinosaurs, featured in ‘Distant Origin’, and descended from the crested dinosaur Parasaurolophus. In their 73 million years since leaving Earth, they evidently lost their tails and reduced their number of fingers from four to three. They also evolved opposable thumbs and mammalian teeth. Being descended from Parasaurolophus may explain their American accents however.

 

star trek sulphur cannon

Sulphur cannon (Original Series)
Saltpetre, charcoal, sulphur, bamboo, diamonds

In ‘Arena’, Kirk and a Gorn captain make weapons out of raw materials. Kirk fashions a cannon out of bamboo, using sulphur, saltpetre and charcoal to create an explosive mixture. Experiments suggest that whilst the cannon may have fired, the bamboo would have exploded in Kirk’s hands, rather than shoot the diamond ‘cannonballs’.
 

 

therapod jaw cast

Cretaceous dinosaurs (Strange New Worlds)
Theropod jawbone (cast)

When Enterprise gets transported back in time, in ‘Valles Marineris’, the landing party encounters prehistoric dinosaurs. Fearful a tyrannosaur has eaten her colleague, Ortegas exclaims “Did it eat her? Is it chewing?”. With their thin, serrated, recurved teeth, theropod dinosaurs could not chew, but likely swallowed their prey whole or in large mouthfuls.
 

 

rose quartz

Dilithium crystals (Original Series)
Rose quartz

In its ‘crystalline mineral state’, dilithium is referenced in numerous Star Trek series as a critical stabilising component of warp cores. Dilithium is said to be an element, but it does not exist in the real world. The props used in the Original Series are made of quartz to give the dilithium a crystalline appearance.