Classroom 4

[Rylaan Brish]

Rylaan silently waits for his teacher's next lesson.... *OOC Sorry I didn't post this earlier...*

[Dominic Hobson]

"Astronomy, if I have it right, its the study of the stars and solar systems in general".

[Dominic Hobson]

"..I didn't. That would probally be why I asked our instructor the question".

[Dominic Hobson]

Nothing specific for me, no. Future plans are to begin as a science officer and to become a chief science officer by promotion or to get lucky enough to start as a chief.

[Baphomet]

"Sorry Cadet Hobson but no, I was only wishing you the best in your decided occupation."

[Baphomet]

OOC: Now I shall give you the entire information, that you will be tested on.
Seeing as Cadet Hobson has waited so long, which in my book is inexcusable and on behalf of those of us in EF who find the Academy situation of an online RPG illogical, I appologise.
*********************************************
SCIENCE CURICULUM

Planetary Classification
AAA
•   No Known Intelligent Indigenous Life-Forms
•   Examples: Ceti Alpha 5, Manark 4, Melnos 4, Miridian 4, Nelvana 3, Nervala 5, Ohniaka 3, Omicron Ceti 3, Quazulu 8, Regulus 5, Septimus Minor, Sherman's Planet, Tethys 3, Titus 4, Vilmor 2, Zayra 4

AA
•   Prehistoric Age, no tools
•   Examples: Alpha Carinae 2, Alpha Majoris 1, Bardakia, Berengaria 7, Dimorus 4, El-Adrel 4, No'Mat, Ruah 4, Surata 4

AS
•   Primitive Space Dwelling
•   Examples: Alpha Omicron System (Junior), Giant Amoeba, Nitrium Parasites from the Pelloris Asteroid Belt near Tessen 3, Ordek Nebula (Wogneers)

A
•   Stone Age
•   Examples: Altair 3, Gamma Trianguli 6, Hanson's Planet

AR
•   Primitive
•   RESTRICTED: No contact permitted
•   Examples: Tarchannen 3, Tarella, Taurus 2

B-
•   Agricultural Age
•   Examples: Malkus 9, Miramanee's Planet, Rousseau 5

B
•   Metal Age
•   Examples: Apella, Capella 4, Sigma Draconis 6, Galvin 5, Malurians (before demise), Rigel 7, Zeta Bootis 3 (Neural)

C-
•   Scientific Intelligence (no tools)
•   Examples: Janus 6, Tyrellia

C
•   Scientific Age
•   Examples: Barkon 4, Fendaus 5, Mintaka 3

D-
•   Pre-Industrialization
•   Examples: M-113 (before demise), Omega 4, Organian Society's Outward Appearance, Sigma Draconis 3

D
•   Steam Age
•   Examples: Argo, Brax, Canopus 2, Omicron 4, Rigel 7, Tartarus 5

D+
•   Electric Age
•   Examples: Landris 3, Minara 2 (before relocation), Mintonia, Rubicun 3 (Edo)

E-
•   Liquid Fuels Age
•   Examples: Kraus 4, Loren 3, Stakoron 2, Suvin 4

E
•   Atomic Age
•   Examples: Barzans, Deneb 4 (Bandi), Beta 3, Mordan 4, Sigma Iotia 2

F
•   Space Age
•   Examples: Alpha Carinae 5, Altec, Argelius 2, Balosnee 6, Brekka, Kea 4, Penthara 4, Sarona 7, Straleb, Talin 4, Theta 7, Turkana 4

F+
•   Conscientious Space Age
•   Examples: Halkans, Marejaretus 6, Norpin Colony, Tagus 3, Thalos 7, Tohvon 3

G
•   Fusion Age
•   Examples: Antica (Beta Renna System), Deneb 2, Drema 4, Gamma Vertis 4, Jaros 2, Ligon 2, Manu 3, Minos Corva, Nahmi 4, Niau, Ophiucus 3, Regula, Selay (Beta Renna System), Sigma Draconis 4, Solais 5, Thelka 4, Ventax 2, Xelata

H
•   Planet Age
•   Examples: 892 4 (Magna Roma), Angel One, Bre'el 4, Ekos, Elas, Kataan, Kenda 2, Krios, Malcor 3, Ornara, Phylos 2, Quadra Sigma 3, Relva 7, Rochani 3, Troyius, Vault Minor, Zeon

I
•   Star Age
•   Examples: Algolia, Altair 6, Antide 3, Barolia, Breen, Chalna, Corvan 2, Gamelan 5, Largo 5, Ligos 7, Miradorns, Pakleds, Pelleus 5, Pentaurus 5, Regulus 2, Rura Penthe

J
•   Expansion Age
•   Examples: Alcyones, Berellians, Brakas 5, Gault, Lysia, Mudor 5, Nausicaa, Ogus 2, Otar 2, Qualor 2, Sothis 3 (Sataarans), Shiralea 6, Styris 4, Tarsas 3, Tormen 5, Tyrus 7A, Valeria, Zibalia

K
•   Introversion Age
•   Examples: Acamar 3, Alpha Proxima 2, Beta Antares 4, Coridan, Epsilon Hydra 7, Gamaris 5, Mizar 2, Narendra 3, Nimbus 3, Peliar Zel, Persephone 5, Setlik 3, Vadris 3, Xanthras 3, Zytchin 3

K+
•   Enlightenment Age
•   Examples: 15 Lyncis 2 (Cait), Bajor, Duronis 2, Gaspar 7, Hoek 4, Hurkos 3, Kurl (before demise), Mariah 4, Mataline 2, Meles 2, Memory Alpha, Pacifica, Parliment, Risa, Sauria, Sirius 9, Valo 2, Valo 3, Wrigley's Pleasure Planet, Zeta Alpha 2

L
•   Power Age
•   Examples: Angosia 3, Beltane 9, Benzar, Devidia 2, Dopteria, Eminiar 7, Epsilon Canaris 3, Lenaria, Mantilles, Mariposa, Melina 2, Midos 5, Milika 3, Morikin 7, Oceanus 4, Promelians, Rakhar, Rigel 2, Rutia 4, Tagra 4, Tarsus 4, Vendikar, Zadar 4

M
•   Ion Age
•   Examples: Alpha Cygnus 9, Ardana, Bilana 3, Catualla, Canopus 3, Dachlyds, Daran 5, Delos 4, Deneb 5, Gonal 4, Hurada 3, Kaelon 2, Kaldra 4, Krisa, Kostalain, Lemma 2, Makus 3, Menthars (before demise), Merak 2, Nehru Colony, Zaldor

MR
•   Ion Age
•   RESTRICTED: No contact permitted
•   Examples: Kavis Alpha 4 (Evolved Nanites), Ktaria, Mab-Bu 6 A, Moab 4, Rigel 8 (Orion), Sarthong 5, Tanuga 4, Velara 3

N-
•   Pre-Technocracy Age
•   Examples: Aurelia, Axanar, Beta Lankal, Beta Thoridar, Beta 6, Beth Delta 1, Bolarus 9, Cardassia, Edo (Edoans), Ferenginar, Kora 2, Malaya 4, Talaria, Tau Ceti 3 (Kaferia), Tiburon

N
•   Technocracy Age
•   Examples: 61 Cygni 5 (Tellar), Alpha Centauri, Alpha 3, Andor (Epsilon Indii 8), Arvada 3, Babel, Benecia, Bersallis 3, Beta Agni 2, Boreth, Borka 6, Cygnet 12, Deneva, Earth, Gideon, Gornar, Haven, Klaestron 4, Marcos 12, Minos Korva, Q'onos (Klinzhai), Rigel 4, Rigel 5

NR
•   Technocracy Age
•   RESTRICTED - Avoid contact
•   Examples: Minos, Platonius, Remus, Romulus, Scalos, Sheliak Corporate, Tau Cygna 5, Tholia, Tilonus 4

N+
•   Civil Technocracy Age
•   Examples: Betazed, Caldonia, Chandra 5, Danula 2, Delb 2, Delta 4, Efrosia, El-Aurians, Icor 9, New Fabrina, Ramatis 3, Tamaria, Trill, Ullians, Vulcan, Yonada, Zakdor

N+PR
•   Civil Technocracy Age
•   RESTRICTED - No physical contact permitted
•   Examples: Gagarin 4, Torona 4

NS
•   Space Dwelling Civil Age
•   Examples: Beta Renna Cloud, Beta 12-A Entity, Calamarain, Crystaline Entity, Dikironium Cloud Entity, FGC-47 Entities, Gamma Canaris Entity (Companion), Space Jellyfish

O
•   Techno-Power Age
•   Examples: Bynaus, Cerebus 2, Legara 4, Medusa, Mudd, Sarpeidon (before demise), Vorgons (from the 27th century)

P
•   Super Techno-Power Age
•   Examples: Amusement Park Planet, Borg Collective, Dyson Sphere Builders, Iconia (before demise), Old Ones of Exo 3 (before demise), Rubicun 3 (Edo God), Sargon's Planet (before demise), Triacus (Epsilon Indii 4, before demise)

PS
•   Space Dwelling Super Techno-Power Age
•   Examples: Gomtuu (Tin Man), V'ger, "Whale" Probe

Q
•   Cloaking Age
•   Examples: Aldea

R
•   Exploratory Age
•   Examples: Cytherians, Tkon Empire (before demise), Makers (of androids on planet Mudd), Vians

S
•   Transformation Age
•   Examples: Antos 4, Daled 4

T
•   Illusory Age
•   Examples: Melkotia, Prakal 2

TR
•   Illusory Age
•   RESTRICTED - No contact permitted
•   Examples: Talos 4

U
•   Dimensional Age
•   Examples: Guardian of Forever, Tau Alpha C (Traveler), Triskelion (Providers)

V
•   Altering Age
•   Examples: Excalbia, Trelane of Gothos, Kelvans, Pollux 5 (Apollo - before demise), Pyris 7 beings (Korob & Sylvia)

W
•   Galactic Age
•   Examples: Bajoran Wormhole Entities (Prophets), Dowds, Kalandans, Metrons, Preservers

WR
•   Galactic
•   RESTRICTED - No Contact Permitted
•   Examples: Vagra 2 (Armus), Lactra 7

X-
•   Pre-Non-corporeal
•   Examples: Discarders of Armus, Zalkonians

X
•   Non-corporeal Age
•   Examples: Organians, Thasians, Koinonians, Zetarians

XX
•   Nigh Omnipotence Age
•   Examples: The Q Continuum
Stellar Cartography
Terminology

Quadrants
Our galaxy is divided into four quadrants, defined by one meridian passing through the galactic core and the Sol System and a second one perpendicular to the first.
•   Alpha Quadrant
•   Beta Quadrant
•   Gamma Quadrant
•   Delta Quadrant
The United Federation of Planets and its neighbouring powers are located in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Sometimes, smaller sections of the galaxy are referred to as a quadrant, too. This terminology was most widely used in the 23rd Century, although some of these references still exist in the 24th Century. One example of this usage is the Morgana Quadrant.

Sectors
A sector is a much smaller, cubical volume of space. Sectors typically contain several stars and are consecutively numbered; some also have a label, normally, but not always, named after an important star system in that sector.

Delta Quadrant - List of inhabited Planets

Borg Collective
•   Borg homeworld
•   El-Auria

Kazon Collective
•   Ocampa
•   Sobras
•   Tarok
•   Trabe homeworld

Vidiian Sodiality
•   Avery III
•   Vidiia

Haakonian Order
•   Rinax (destroyed)
•   Talax

Non-Aligned
•   Hanon IV
•   Sikaris

Types of Stars

Lazarus star
A super nova remnant which, instead of being forced inward into neutron-star mode, survives as a normal star. After expansion into red giant phase, Lazarus stars collapse and undergo supernova for a second time.

Neutron Star
Usually type B-0 and measures only a few kilometres in diametre. An early main sequence star that has completed the nuclear burning processes often explodes. The reactive force of the explosion and the starâ⿬⿢s self-gravitation eject shell electrons (as in a white dwarf) and nuclear positrons. This leaves a neutroneum core, possibly covered by a thin degenerate matter shell.

Population I
Stars are old stars well down the main sequence (class F, G, K, and M stars) and short on heavier elements. Planetary systems accompanying Population I stars primarily consist of gas giants without accompanying satellites.

Population 2
Stars are younger stars showing traces of heavier elements, hydrogen, and helium. Planetary systems accompanying Population 2 stars include gas giants, stony worlds, satellite companions and planetoid and comet shells.

Red Giant Star
The red giant phase is common in the evolution of many less massive stars. When core hydrogen is exhausted, gravitational collapse ignites hydrogen shell burning outside the core. The starâ⿬⿢s envelope expands far beyond the photosphere limit. The starâ⿬⿢s atmosphere is relatively cool.

Runaway Star
A star with a velocity significantly different from its neighboring stars.

Supernova
When a massive young star exhausts its core hydrogen it undergoes second-stage gravitational collapse. The resulting core temperature increase leads to runaway nuclear burning of helium, carbon, nitrogen and an explosion that blasts the starâ⿬⿢s outer layer into space. Supernova explosions are the major source of metals and other galactic elements.

T Tauri Star
One manifestation of a star in formation undergoing initial nuclear burning.

Dwarf Stars
'Dwarf' is a category comprising various small and dim energy-radiating or formerly energy-radiating objects.

Black Dwarf
An object of stellar mass that has undergone gravitational collapse, reaching minimum potential energy and maximum entropy. Black dwarfs are sub-planetary size and do not radiate.

Brown Dwarf
A gaseous body producing much more energy through self-gravitation than it receives from the ambient medium, but which is not massive enough to initiate internal fusion reaction and, therefore, not truly a star. Brown dwarfs hot enough to produce visible light (substellar objects) are listed as Class S planets. They are both also known as supergiant gas planets. Some giant gas planets (Class A) may produce slightly more energy than they receive, but they are not generally considered to be brown dwarfs.

Red Dwarf
Main sequence star of type M. The vast majority of stars in the galaxy are red dwarfs: small, dim and long lived.

White Dwarfs
Primarily degenerate matter, this main sequence star, usually of type G-late A, has completed nuclear burning processes and has collapsed into a configuration roughly the size of a small planet. White dwarfs radiate at various levels of intensity through self-gravitational collapse. Nuclear burning occurs only on the surface through accretion of unburned matter from other sources; in such cases, nuclear ignition can regularily occure and is the source of the â⿬˿recurrent novaâ⿬⿢ effect. The spectral class of white dwarf stars is usually prefixed with a 'D'.

Spectral Types
There are seven major spectral types of stars, forming a continuous band of types from 0 through M:
0 B A F G K M
These are divided into ten numbered subtypes. For example:
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A0
Stars at the '0' end of this band are hotter (around 50,000 degrees K); bluer in colour and more massive; those at the other end are cooler (around 2,000 degrees K), redder in colour and less massive. A conventional code for star colour is:
•   0 â⿬⿿ Violet = White
•   B â⿬⿿ Blue = White
•   A - White
•   F â⿬⿿ Yellow = White
•   G â⿬⿿ Yellow
•   K â⿬⿿ Orange
•   M â⿬⿿ Red
While a 'Giant' star may have a radius of up to 1,000 times that of Sol and be up to 100,000 times as luminous, most of the stars are in the 'main sequence' portion of their lifetimes and have values near the typical main sequence ones for their type. Sol, Earthâ⿬⿢s sun, is a type G. Its spectrum, as filtered by Earthâ⿬⿢s atmosphere, is the basis for standard illumination in Human quarters.

Type 0 : (Violet-White)
Main Sequence Value Ranges: (Approximate)
•   Temperature: 30,000 - 50,000k
•   Mass: 10 - 30 Solar Masses
•   Radius: 2.5 - 3.0 Solar Radii
•   Luminosity: 1,000 â⿬⿿ 100,000 SOL

Type B: (Blue-White)
Main Sequence Value Ranges: (Approximate)
•   Temperature: 10,000 â⿬⿿ 30,000k
•   Mass: 3-5 Solar Masses
•   Radius: 2.0 â⿬⿿ 3.5 Solar Radii
•   Luminosity: 10 â⿬⿿ 1,000 SOL

Type A: (White)
Main Sequence Value Ranges: (Approximate)
•   Temperature: 7,500 â⿬⿿ 10,000k
•   Mass: 2 â⿬⿿ 3 Solar Masses
•   Radius: 1.5 â⿬⿿ 2.0 Solar Radii
•   Luminosity: 5 â⿬⿿ 10 SOL

Type F: (Yellow â⿬⿿ White)
Main Sequence Value Ranges: (Approximate)
•   Temperature: 6,000 â⿬⿿ 7,500k
•   Mass: 1 â⿬⿿ 2 Solar Masses
•   Radius: 1.0 â⿬⿿ 1.5 Solar Radii
•   Luminosity: 1 â⿬⿿ 5 SOL

Type G: (Yellow)
Main Sequence Value Ranges: (Approximate)
•   Temperature: 4,500 â⿬⿿ 6,000k
•   Mass: 8 â⿬⿿ 1 Solar Masses
•   Radius: 0.8 â⿬⿿ 1.0 Solar Radii
•   Luminosity: 0.1 â⿬⿿ 1 SOL

Type K: (Orange)
Main Sequence Value Ranges: (Approximate)
•   Temperature: 3,500 â⿬⿿ 4,500k
•   Mass: 0.5 â⿬⿿ 0.8 Solar Masses
•   Radius: 0.5 â⿬⿿ 0.8 Solar Radii
•   Luminosity: 0.01 â⿬⿿ 0.1 SOL

Type M: (Red)
Main Sequence Value Ranges: (Approximate)
•   Temperature: 2,000 â⿬⿿ 3,500k
•   Mass: 0.02 â⿬⿿ 0.5 Solar Masses
•   Radius: 0.01 â⿬⿿ 0.5 Solar Radii
•   Luminosity: 0.00001 â⿬⿿ 0.01 SOL

Wormholes
Journeys that would take decades at high warp speed can be accomplished in minutes by using wormholes - shortcuts through the space-time continuum.
The discovery of wormholes is of great importance to StarFleet. These rare phenomena allow passage between distant regions of space almost instantaneously. Whenever a wormhole is found, it is thoroughly investigated to determine if it is stable and large enough to be used by starships. The vast majority of wormholes are, however, small and unstable.
In 1915, a breakthrough in the human concept of the space-time continuum came when Albert Einstein presented his â⿬ſGeneral Theory of Relativity.â⿬? This thesis described the space-time continuum in terms of a mathematical statement which became known as â⿬ſEinsteinâ⿬⿢s field equation.â⿬? A year later, a â⿬ſsolutionâ⿬? to the field equation was found that appeared to allow for the existence of shortcuts connecting separate locations in space. This was the first time that science had predicted wormholes.
This solution proposed that the shortcut had to exist outside the three dimensions of space and the fourth of time familiar to humans. A good analogy is to imagine a two-dimensional creature that lives on the surface of a sheet of paper. As far as this creature is concerned, depth does not exist. If it wants to travel from the bottom left-hand corner of the paper to the top right, it has to make a journey across the diagonal length of the paper. If the paper were to be folded in such a way that they opposite corners were made to touch, however, the creature could make its journey with one small step it would appear as if these two regions were magically joined together.
A wormhole is almost identical to this principle, but as humans perceive the universe through only three dimensions of space, the curvature must be through another dimension. This means wormholes probably travel through subspace. Often, wormholes can be characterized not just by the subspace disturbance they cause but by their emission of verteron particles. In the Bajoran wormhole artificially created verteron particles allow vessels to travel safely through. Verterons produce a cascade of secondary tunneling particles that are readily detected by starship sensors and can be used to identify wormholes. When an object passes through a wormhole, its arrival can be predicted by elevated neutrino levels.
Another 20th-century theory that helped to advance the understand of wormholes is quantum theory, which posits almost every interaction as an exchange of minuscule, invisible, particles much smaller than an atom. These are known as virtual particles. According to this theory, if it were possible to look at the space-time continuum with a magnifier capable of seeing things over a thousand billion times smaller than an atom, space would contain infinitesimal wormholes that form and collapse all the time.
The comprehension of wormholes made its next great jump with the introduction of a complete theory of quantum gravity in the 21st century. Scientists realized that it was possible to reach into the quantum â⿬ſfoamâ⿬? of the space-time continuum and grab one of the tiny wormholes there. In principle it could then be expanded and used for travel. The energy and engineering skills required are, however, beyond even 24th-century science.
Another way to make a wormhole is to purposefully deform an area of the space-time continuum so much that it passes a critical point an deforms a link to another region. This way of constructing the wormhole requires material and equipment to be moved not only through space but also through time. This technology is beyond the Federationâ⿬⿢s abilities. It is possible that the noncorporeal entities who live in the Bajoran wormhole formed their wormhole in this way. These non-linear creatures are not bound by the concepts of past, present, and future, so they would not be restricted by the boundaries of time travel.
The creation of wormholes can also occur by accident. In 2271, the refitted USS Enterprise NCC-1701 engaged its warp drive before the engines were balanced. The resulting entry into subspace formed a wormhole that temporarily trapped the Enterprise and a nearby asteroid.
Naturally occurring wormholes are rare, and when they are found most are unstable. In 2366, the discovery of the Barzan wormhole created much interest because it appeared to connect the Alpha Quadrant to a far distant region of space. Further investigation showed that it was only semi-stable â⿬⿿ the Alpha Quadrant end was fixed, but the other jumped between different locations in an apparently random fashion.
As well as shortcuts through space, wormholes can provide shortcuts through time. In 2371, the USS Voyager NCC-74656 discovered a micro-wormhole that would have sent them several decades back in time if they had passed through it.

Micro-Wormholes
Some extremely old wormholes in an advanced state of decay collapse in on themselves, leaving only a tiny corridor between different parts of the galaxy.
Most wormholes are unstable, and fluctuate wildly between many points in normal space; however, there are some rare examples of stable wormholes.
In 2371, on stardate 48579.4, the crew of the USS Voyager NCC-74656 discovered a stable wormhole. Because Voyager was lost in the Delta Quadrant, the wormhole offered the possibility of a much faster way back to the Alpha Quadrant. But this spatial singularity exhibited some properties not commonly associated with wormholes.
The crew first detected the wormhole when Voyagerâ⿬⿢s sensors registered verteron emanations and tunneling secondary particles on extreme long-range subspace bands. Although it was not clear at first whether these readings indicated the presence of a wormhole, Captain Janeway decided that they were significant enough to warrant further investigation. When Voyager arrived at the anomalous readingâ⿬⿢s coordinates, the crew discovered that it was indeed a wormhole, but one of a type never before encountered by a Starfleet vessel.
The wormhole appeared to be extremely ancient and in an advanced state of decay; it had most likely been collapsing in on itself for several centuries. It would best be described as a micro-wormhole, since it had mostly dissipated, leaving an extremely narrow passageway through subspace. In fact, the aperture of the wormhole was only about 30 centimeters in diameter, far too small for a vessel to traverse. The micro-wormholeâ⿬⿢s great age had caused extremely powerful gravitational eddies to develop in its interior.
Because the wormholeâ⿬⿢s aperture was so small, the crew were not able to determine where it exited, but they could gather data by launching a microprobe, which was only a few centimeters in diameter itself, into the interior of this minute phenomenon. Because of the extremely constricted spatial dimensions of the interior, and the strong gravitational currents, the probes became trapped midway on its journey through the wormhole. Efforts to free it proved futile, but despite being stuck it till functioned for more than 72 hours. The data that it relayed back to Voyager indicated that the far end of the wormhole terminated in the Alpha Quadrant. It also indicated a strange phase variance in the radiation stream that was at first of unknown origin.
Although Voyager was unable to pass through the wormhole, Ensign Harry Kim managed to use the trapped microprobe as an amplifying relay station to send a signal.
The data transfer rate was extremely limited and the phase variance made it difficult to transmit a clean signal, but the crew managed to boost the signal enough to establish communication with a vessel in the Alpha Quadrant. It was received by the Romulan science vessel Talvath, commanded by Telek Râ⿬⿢Mor, operating near the Alpha Quadrant terminus of the wormhole in sector 1385.
After communications were established with the Talvath, Voyagerâ⿬⿢s chief engineer, Bâ⿬⿢Elanna Torres, realized that the phase amplitude of the visual link with the Romulan ship was within a few megahertz of meeting transporter protocols and that it was feasible to piggyback a transporter beam onto it. The transport involved substantially modifying the matter transmission rate, and matching the data transmission to the phase amplitude of the Romulan comm signal.
The first transport involved a test cylinder, which had a varietal molecular matrix that simulated most organic and non-organic compounds. There were some complications, but the transport proved a success. Râ⿬⿢Mor was then transported through the wormhole to Voyager, with equally impressive results. This meant that technically the entire crew could be transported via the probe to the Alpha Quadrant using this technique.
Unfortunately for the crew of Voyager, it was discovered that the strange phase variance discovered earlier was a by-product of the fact that this micro-wormhole not only traversed space but time as well. The crew determined that the Alpha Quadrant terminus of the micro-wormhole was located 20 years in the past.
Captain Janeway decided that it would disrupt the timeline if she allowed Voyagerâ⿬⿢s crew to transport themselves back in time, but Râ⿬⿢Mor agreed to take message back through the wormhole and deliver them to Starfleet and the families of Voyagerâ⿬⿢s crew when the time was right. Unfortunately, Telek Râ⿬⿢Mor died in 2367, four years before he was due to deliver the messages.
In 2376, Starfleet engineer Reginald Barclay, working on the Pathfinder project, managed to create a micro-wormhole by directing a 60-terawatt tachyon beam from the Mutara Inter-dimensional Deep Space Transponder Array (MIDAS) at a Class-B itinerant pulsar. The beam eventually produced a gravimetric surge that was powerful enough to generate a tiny wormhole.
Barclay was able to move the micro-wormholeâ⿬⿢s exit point to the specific locations by altering the phase alignment of the tachyon beam. He succeeded in sending a message through the micro-wormhole and managed to briefly establish communication with Voyager, thousands of light years away from Earth.

BlackHoles

Black holes generate enormous gravitational forces that can present great danger to passing starships.
The black hole is one of the most mysterious of all the space phenomena found in the universe. It is an incredibly dense ball of matter that possesses such a large gravitational field that anything straying too close will be pulled into it. Every celestial object has a gravitational field. This means that to escape from its pull a starship must accelerate away from the surface with enough speed to overcome the force of gravity pulling it back.
In 1795, the mathematician Pierre-Simon Leplace wondered what would happen if a start were so massive that it had an escape velocity equal to the speed of light. In such a case, the light the star produced would not be able to escape from its surface, and so the start would appear to be completely dark. The concept was termed a â⿬ſblack sun.â⿬?
Early in the 20th century, Albert Einstein theorized that nothing could travel faster than the velocity of light, and so nothing could ever escape from a black sun. Einstein went on to develop his General Theory of Relativity, in which the concept of a black sun was further refined into what became known, in his time, as a black hole. Zefram Cochraneâ⿬⿢s development of warp propulsion in the 21st century used subspace technology to overcome the velocity restrictions Einstein had theorized.
If the Earth could be squeezed into a tiny sphere of about the diameter of a small coin, its density would be sufficient for its escape velocity to surpass the speed of light. It would then become a black hole.
A different way of thinking about a black hole is to imagine what it does to the space-time continuum. Space-time can be thought of as an imaginary rubber sheet, supporting all of the celestial objects â⿬⿿ whose mass deforms the rubber sheet, creating gravitational wells. The energy needed to escape a gravitational well depends on how steeply the rubber sheet is curved â⿬⿿ and a black hole curves space into a tiny bottleneck that spirals infinitely down. It was once thought that black holes might be corridors to other parts of the universe, but this idea is no longer seriously considered.
There are three different types of black holes. The most common is the heart of a dead star. Any star with a mass eight times greater than the Earthâ⿬⿢s sun will end its life in a cataclysmic explosion of a supernova. A supernova begins to occur when the heart of a massive start comes inert and collapses under its own weight, often leading to a black hole.
The second type are the tiny, primordial black holes that were created in the first 10 to 35 seconds after the â⿬ſBig Bang.â⿬? They are much smaller than stellar black holes and can still be found in relative abundance; they are known as quantum singularities.
One hundred thousand years ago, an unknown race of beings harvested some of these black holes and used them as power sources for a network of relay stations that covered almost half the Galaxy. The USS Voyager NCC-74656 discovered one of these relay stations, which used a one-centimeter quantum singularity to generate four terawatts of power. In one minute, the relay extracted as much energy as a typical star gives out in one year.
The final type of black hole is incredibly massive; some are in excess of one billion times the mass of Earthâ⿬⿢s sun. These form naturally at the center of most galaxies. StarFleet ships avoid the center of the Milky Way galaxy, as a black hole of this type is widely believed to be located there.
There is a specific anatomy to a black hole. The event horizon is a spherical surface that marks the point beyond which it is impossible to escape from its gravitational pull, unless subspace techniques are used.
In 2371, the Voyager was caught within the event horizon of a type-4 quantum singularity. The gravimetric fluctuations and spatial distortions in this region of space affected the crew with headaches, muscles spasms, and dizziness. Voyager escaped by flooding the surrounding space first with warp particles and then with dekyon particles, lighting up the event horizon and highlighting the fracture caused when they entered.
At the very heart of a spherical event horizon is the singularity itself. This is a point of infinite density but minimal spatial dimensions, a place where the laws of physics break down. Any starship that encounters such a singularity will be crushed instantly.
Most black holes rotate because the stars that formed them were rotating, and a rotating black hole drags the space-time continuum just outside the event horizon around with it. This spinning, twisting motion produces large spatial distortions and is responsible for the gravimetric fluctuations that are felt in the vicinity of black holes. The affected region is known as the ergosphere.
In 2266, the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 collided unexpectedly with a black star and was thrown back in time to the 20th century. An analysis of the accident led to the discovery of the so-called â⿬ſslingshot maneuver,â⿬? in which a starship flies toward the heart of a starâ⿬⿢s gravitation field, just skimming the surface. This is highly dangerous, but under appropriate conditions this procedure permits the vessel to enter a time warp.

The Great Barrier
The Great Barrier is a spectacular energy field located at the center of the Galaxy that was thought to be impenetrable by any starship.
This article comes from Star Trek Magazine, v. 1, i. 12.
While the galactic barrier is at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, the Great Barrier surrounds the center of the Galaxy. It crackles with energy, and a starshipâ⿬⿢s sensors will not function in or near it. Until 2287 there were no records of a starship having successfully passed though the Great Barrier; and because no probe sent into the phenomenon had ever returned, it was believed that any vessel attempting to breach the Great Barrier would be destroyed.
However, these reports were proves to be inaccurate by Sybok, the half brother of Ambassador Spock. He believed that the mythical Vulcan planet of Sha Ka Ree (the equivalent of the human heaven, or Eden) lay beyond the Great Barrier at the center of the Galaxy.
In order to prove his beliefs, Sybok hijacked the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A and its crew, and set course for the Great Barrier. Despite all previous evidence, Sybok was convinced they would survive then transit through the Great Barrier because â⿬ſGodâ⿬? had told him so in a vision.
As the Enterprise approached the Barrier, a giant blue-green field of crackling energy filled the viewscreen. Helm Officer Sulu voiced his doubts about navigating the phenomenon, but Sybok insisted that they continue. The starship ploughed directly into the Barrier and through an incredible conduit of light and color before emerging into a serene area of space. Sybok thus proved that the danger posed by the Great Barrier was mostly illusory, and that a vessel could pass through it without sustaining serious damage.
Once beyond the Great Barrier, they discovered a blue planet with a dry desert surface and a resident life form. At first Sybok believed that he had found Sha Ka Ree and God. However, it soon became apparent that this was not God, but an extremely powerful being who had been imprisoned by the Great Barrier for thousands of years. This malevolent being had used Sybok to lure a starship to the planet so it could escape. However, it was destroyed by the combined crews of the U.S.S. Enterprise and a Klingon Bird-of-Prey after it attacked Captain Kirk and his landing party.

The Hekras Corridor
This narrow, safe passage through a perilous area of space was severely polluted by warp emissions.
This article comes from Star Trek Magazine, v. 1, i. 12.
The Hekaras Corridor is a 12-light-year-long plotted route through the Hekaran system, established by the Federation as a safe means of passage though an otherwise dangerous sector. The Corridor is a necessity, as without it starships using warp drive propulsion systems would be unable to navigate effectively due to the unusually intense tetryon field surrounding this region of space. The phased ionic pulse necessary to the warp engine is disrupted by the connecting fields of subatomic particles comprising a tetryon field, and they have an equally disruptive affect on sensors.
The only inhabited planet within the Hekaras Corridor is Hekaras II, and the inhabitants have expressed concerns about the large gravitational shifts experienced throughout the system as a result of continuous use of warp drive propulsion units through the Corridor. The manifestation of problems was indicated by regions of potential subspace instability, which, if they continued to be exposed to warp field energy, would cause ruptures permitting the extrusion of subspace into normal space.
A theory was developed by the Hekaran scientist Serova that this is a cumulative erosive effect with serious side effects, and may lead to subspace rifts; unless warp travel through the Hekaras Corridor ceased, such rifts were inevitable. Putting this theory to the test would require warp levels one million times greater than those emitted by a passing starship.
In 2370, a warp core breach from the explosion of the Federation starship U.S.S. Fleming NCC-2036 ruptured one of the unstable regions, causing a subspace rift of approximately 0.1 light years in diameter. The resulting swirling mass of purple-shaded energy was disastrous for future travel through the Corridor as it emitted extremely high levels of tetryon radiation. The consequent high energy distortion waves generated from within the rift had a potentially devastating effect on starship shields, and although there were areas of stability within the rift, further warp engine activity in their vicinity was not desirable as it might accelerate an already expanding process.
If required, it is possible for a starship to enter the rift by means of a brief high intensity warp pulse from the outside. This permits a two-minute approximation of warp speed once inside; the momentum can be consolidated by steering the ship on impulse power, and allows for the velocity required to escape the rift. But given the potential navigational dangers, and the inability to rely on sensors once within the rift, this is a very risky procedure.
Once caught within the distortion field, a skillful starship crew can maneuver their craft into a position to be able to â⿬ſsurfâ⿬? the distortion waves. This can be achieved by phase matching the variance of the shipâ⿬⿢s deflector shields with the energy and mass of the distortion wave, and thus riding the wave back out into normal space until it dissipates. However, this is only an emergency procedure as it raises the stress factors on the hull beyond acceptable safety limits.
The subspace breach can be avoided by traffic passing through the Hekaras Corridor, but scans have revealed that smaller subspace instabilities have also developed outside the rift. This being the case it was estimated that continued use of the engines would render the area impassable within 40 years.
The worrying effects of the gravitational pull on Hekaras II can be countered by the application of thermal stabilizers, and pervious climatic conditions can be restored through the use of a weather control matrix. Current scientific knowledge, however, has no known method of either resealing the already open rift, or even reducing its size.
Given the ongoing effect caused by warp engines, the Federation has restricted travel through the Corridor to essential traffic, and instituted a limit of warp 5 in all but extreme emergency situations. This knowledge has been shared with all space-faring species in the hope that they will also observe the restrictions. By 2371, StarFleet had introduced a new design of warp engine that does not appear to damage the fabric of space at high warp speeds. The Intrepid-class U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 was one of the first starships to make sure of the new design, utilizing variable geometry warp drive nacelles, and similar technology was later incorporated into every new class of vessel designed by Starfleet.
*********************************************


OOC: Read then I will see if I can get them to let you take the exam.

[Baphomet]

"I have made up the test for you take."
"Once you have answered each question, I will check your answers, good luck."

Science Exam
Ten multiple choice questions

Q1. An Earth type environment is known as what class.
A)   J class
B)   K class
C)   M class
Q2. What is Subspace?
A)   A domain outside or below the normal space-time continuum i.e. the quantum level, where matter and energy are transferable
B)    Another name for Hyperspace
C)   A popular Klingon beverage
Q3. Tachyons are what
A)   A type of life form
B)   A sub-atomic particle that exists only at Faster-Than-Light speeds.
C)   A sweet
Q4. LCARS is an acronym which stands for what
A)   Large Cardassians Are Ridiculously Selfish
B)   Library Cataloging And Researching System
C)   Library Computer Access and Retrieval System
Q5. Most life forms DNA consists of which elemental base
A)   Carbon
B)   Silicon
C)   Mercury
Q6. Most life forms, including humans, hemoglobin uses Iron molecules to transfer oxygen to each cell of the body which gives it the red color. Vulcans and other Vulcanoid races' on the other hand is green, because it is
A)   Copper based
B)   Was red but subjected there race to genetic engineering
C)   Phosphor based
Q7. Warp 1 is what Km/s
A)   100 000
B)   200 000
C)   300 000
Q8. After acknowledging an order from the Captain, due to the discovery of some type of spatial anomaly, a Chief Science Officer does what first
A)   Takes a Shuttle out to investigate
B)   Ponders why there is an anomaly out there in the first place
C)   Checks the Sensor readouts at the Science Station
Q9. In space, asteroids are what
A)   Pieces of rock, dust particles and raw metal, usually the remnant of a destroyed planet
B)   Alternative name for a space station
C)   A primitive video game of earths 20th century
Q10. What are the four main forces of the universe?
A)   Gravity, Neutrinos, Electro-magnetic, Nuclear
B)   Gravity, Electro-magnetic, Natural, Elemental
C)   Gravity, Electro-magnetic, Strong nuclear, Weak nuclear


Note: Eight out of Ten will be considered a pass, good luck.

Science teacher: Lt. Commander Baphomet.

[Baphomet]

"Congratulations Cadet Brish eight out of ten.

LCARS stands for:
Library Computer Access and Retrieval System

Warp 1 is 300 000 km/s not km/hr.
But still a pass.

Live long and Prosper."

OOC: That's why I couldn't resist putting it in there.

[Baphomet]

"So be it, I will give you an 8 and a half out of ten."
"Which as I have stated is still a pass."

[Rylaan Brish]

*sits patiently awaiting his first lesson while typing up a random spec that popped into his head for a Phased Thermodynamic Inverted Coupling for the doors he saw on the way in that seemed to open a tad slow...*

[Baphomet]

OOC: Brish, with what you have been posting, wouldn't Engineering be more logical, Science is mostly theoretical, it's up to you.

IC: Baphomet hands the two Cadets PADD's containing the Starfleet Scientific Database.

"Please read the following Database and then if you have any questions do not hesititate to ask."

OOC: Read the Online Database.
I will see if I can get the Curiculum.

[Baphomet]

OOC: I did not write the Database you know, please just ask relevant questions, consider the Database canon and Scientifically sound.

"I have not been to the Van'Gu cluster and therefore can not answer your question on this with any certainty, but theorising I would have to say Highly advanced technology."

Raises left I brow...

"As to your second question, at the centre of a Black Hole is a Quantum Singularity where all matter and energy is compressed into singular particles."

"A Quantum Singularity has the penultimate gravity well of absolute mass, that light and time cannot escape, so no once a vessel is caught in the event horizon of a Black Hole, there is no escape, that goes against all known laws of physics."

[Rylaan Brish]

Rylaan looked at his classmate with tilted head, and raised eyebrow. "Another time period? I believed that the only method of time travel around was the exceeding of the old scale Warp 10, and rocketing around a sun, or a focused Chronoton emmission combined with a teleportation device..."

[Dominic Hobson]

"No questions sir. I can say that your last statement really brought it together for me. For me at least, the travels of space have been something I've been holding onto by the edge in terms of knowing it or understanding it, this has very much helped my understanding of it".

[Dominic Hobson]

"Thank you. I am eager to get in the field".
OOC: Its been since July 16th, the thought of getting out of this place is a treat now http://www.expansionfleet.com/ikonboard/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>