Evolution (TNG Episode)
"Evolution" is the first episode of the third season of the syndicated American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The 49th episode overall, it first aired in the United States on September 25, 1989. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, escaped nanites threaten the ''Enterprise'' as well as its critical research mission. Plot The Federation starship ''Enterprise'', under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), approaches the Kavis Alpha binary star system to perform astrophysics research under the guidance of Dr. Paul Stubbs (Ken Jenkins), analyzing the decay of neutronium as a result of a stellar explosion that occurs every 196 years and is due to occur in the next few hours. Stubbs plans to launch a probe, dubbed the Egg, to gather the data, a result of a lifetime's development. Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Dr. C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
The Next Generation
Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young and middle-aged figures from British poetry Technology Next generation often means a new state of the art: * AMD Next Generation Microarchitecture (other), AMD products * Next Generation Air Transportation System, the Federal Aviation Administration's massive overhaul of the national airspace system * Next Generation Internet (other), various projects intended to drastically increase the speed of the Internet * Next Generation Networking, emerging computer network architectures and technologies * Next-generation lithography, lithography technology slated to replace photolithography beyond the 32 nm node * Next-Generation Secure Computing Base, software architecture designed by Microsoft * NextGen Healthcare Inform ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
First-run Syndication
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates. Syndication is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates. Shows can be syndicated internationally, although this is less common. Three common types of syndication are: ''first-run'' syndication, which is programming that is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show and is made specifically to sell directly into syndication; ''off-network'' syndication (colloquially called a "rerun"), which is the licensing of a program whose first airing was on network TV or in some cases, first-run syndication;Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gates McFadden
Cheryl Gates McFadden (born March 2, 1949) is an American actress and choreographer. She is usually credited as Cheryl McFadden when working as a choreographer and Gates McFadden for acting work. She is best known for playing Dr. Beverly Crusher in the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' television series and in the four subsequent films. Early life McFadden was born in Akron, Ohio. She attended Brandeis University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts ('' cum laude'') in the theatre arts, before moving to Paris, where she studied theatre with actor Jacques Lecoq at his school of physical theatre. McFadden is of Lithuanian descent on her mother's side. Career Early work McFadden worked at The Jim Henson Company as the director of choreography and puppet movement for '' Labyrinth'', '' The Muppets Take Manhattan'', and uncredited work on '' Dreamchild''. As a way of distinguishing her acting work from her choreography, she is usually credited as "Gates McFadden" as an actress a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Beverly Crusher
Beverly Crusher is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise played by Gates McFadden. Debuting in the television series, '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', McFadden appeared in every season except for the second, as well as its spin-off feature films: '' Star Trek Generations'', '' Star Trek: First Contact'', '' Star Trek: Insurrection'', and '' Star Trek: Nemesis''. McFadden returned to the role for the filming of the third season of '' Star Trek: Picard. Crusher was the chief medical officer of the ''Enterprise''-D and ''Enterprise''-E, two starships in the Star Trek universe. Casting Gates McFadden was reluctant to accept the role of Dr. Crusher because of her commitment to appear in the play '' The Matchmaker'' at the La Jolla Playhouse.Adam Schrager, ''The Finest Crew in the Fleet: The Next Generation Cast On Screen and Off''. New York: Wolf Valley Books (1997): 126 During the second season, the character was written out of the series, with the explanatio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Neutronium
Neutronium (sometimes shortened to neutrium, also referred to as neutrite) is a hypothetical substance composed purely of neutrons. The word was coined by scientist Andreas von Antropoff in 1926 (before the 1932 discovery of the neutron) for the hypothetical "element of atomic number zero" (with zero protons in its nucleus) that he placed at the head of the periodic table (denoted by -, or Nu). However, the meaning of the term has changed over time, and from the last half of the 20th century onward it has been also used to refer to extremely dense substances resembling the neutron-degenerate matter theorized to exist in the cores of neutron stars; hereinafter "''degenerate'' neutronium" will refer to this. In neutron stars Neutronium is used in popular physics literature to refer to the material present in the cores of neutron stars (stars which are too massive to be supported by electron degeneracy pressure and which collapse into a denser phase of matter). This term is very ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the heavenly bodies, rather than their positions or motions in space–''what'' they are, rather than ''where'' they are." Among the subjects studied are the Sun, other stars, galaxies, extrasolar planets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background. Emissions from these objects are examined across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, ''astrophysicists'' apply concepts and methods from many disciplines of physics, including classical mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Binary Star
A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in which case they are called ''visual binaries''. Many visual binaries have long orbital periods of several centuries or millennia and therefore have orbits which are uncertain or poorly known. They may also be detected by indirect techniques, such as spectroscopy (''spectroscopic binaries'') or astrometry (''astrometric binaries''). If a binary star happens to orbit in a plane along our line of sight, its components will eclipse and transit each other; these pairs are called ''eclipsing binaries'', or, together with other binaries that change brightness as they orbit, ''photometric binaries''. If components in binary star systems are close enough they can gravitationally distort their mutual outer stellar atmospheres. In some cases, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 16 December 1996. In 2010, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. In 1966, Stewart became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stewart made his Broadway theatre debut in 1971 in a production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. In 1979, he received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in ''Antony and Cleopatra'' in the West End. His first television role was in the ITV series ''Coronation Street'' in 1967. His first major screen roles were in BBC-broadcast television productions '' Fall of Eagles'' (1974), ''I, Claudius'' (1976), and '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (1979). In 2008 he played King ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and two episodes of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', as well as the feature films ''Star Trek Generations'' (1994), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), '' Star Trek: Insurrection'' (1998), and '' Star Trek: Nemesis'' (2002). He is also featured as the central character in the show '' Star Trek: Picard'' (2020–present). Picard was born in La Barre, France, to Yvette and Maurice Picard. Casting and design After the success of the contemporary ''Star Trek'' feature films, a new ''Star Trek'' television series featuring a new cast was announced on October 10, 1986. ''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry named Picard for (one or both of) the twin brothers Auguste Piccard and Jean Piccard, 20th-century Swiss scientists. cited in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Starship
A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in ''Oahspe: A New Bible''. While NASA's Voyager program, ''Voyager'' and Pioneer program, ''Pioneer'' probes have traveled into local interstellar space, the purpose of these uncrewed craft was specifically interplanetary, and they are not predicted to reach another star system (although ''Voyager 1'' will travel to within 1.7 light years of Gliese 445 in approximately 40,000 years). Several preliminary designs for starships have been undertaken through exploratory engineering, using feasibility study, feasibility studies with modern technology or technology thought likely to be available in the near future. In April 2016, scientists announced Breakthrough Starshot, a Breakthrough Initiatives program, to develop a proof-of-concept flee ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
United Federation Of Planets
In the fictional universe of ''Star Trek'' the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is the interstellar government with which, as part of its space force Starfleet, most of the characters and starships of the franchise are affiliated. Commonly referred to as "the Federation", it was introduced in the original ''Star Trek'' television series. The survival, success, and growth of the Federation and its principles of freedom have become some of the ''Star Trek'' franchise's central themes. The Federation is an organization of numerous planetary sovereignties, including Earth and Vulcan. The franchise focuses on Starfleet, the exploration and defence arm of the Federation, rather than the government. Viewers are rarely given details of the internal workings of the government; however, many episodes refer to the rules and laws that the Federation imposes on the characters and their adventures. Development Early in the first season of ''Star Trek'', Captain Kirk had said the ''Enter ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Nanorobotics
Nanoid robotics, or for short, nanorobotics or nanobotics, is an emerging technology field creating machines or robots whose components are at or near the scale of a nanometer (10−9 meters). More specifically, nanorobotics (as opposed to microrobotics) refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots with devices ranging in size from 0.1 to 10 micrometres and constructed of nanoscale or molecular components. The terms ''nanobot'', ''nanoid'', ''nanite'', ''nanomachine'' and ''nanomite'' have also been used to describe such devices currently under research and development. Nanomachines are largely in the research and development phase, but some primitive molecular machines and nanomotors have been tested. An example is a sensor having a switch approximately 1.5 nanometers across, able to count specific molecules in the chemical sample. The first useful applications of nanomachines may be in nanomedicine. For example, biological mac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |