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From: moose@ames.UUCP (Mary Kaiser)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: Stupid Viewscreens and Dumb Captains
Message-ID: <1012@ames.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 30-May-85 15:33:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.1012
Posted: Thu May 30 15:33:21 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Jun-85 11:54:45 EDT
References: <768@voder.UUCP> <518@panda.UUCP> <1466@sdcc7.UUCP>
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 69

> In article <518@panda.UUCP> plw@panda.UUCP (Pete Williamson) writes:
> >>   There's supposed to be so much static interference that the viewing
> >>sensors are hoplessly overloaded, as such the main viewscreen is all but
> >>useless.  We see the great Admiral Kirk peering intensely at the screen,
> >>trying in vain for a mere glimmer of the enemy ship and his deadly opponent.
> >>*Where are they?* he silently murmurs.
> >
> >>   Quick dramatic cut to an exterior view as the great starship Enterprise
> >>sails by, COVERED FROM BOW TO STERN WITH WHAT LOOKS LIKE A HUNDRED WINDOWS
> >>AND PORTS PLASTERED OVER THE HULL!  One can imagine the rest of the crew is
> >>up forward, gathered around a port, watching the Reliant sail back and forth
> >>while betting on whether or not the Captain will see it this time!
> >
> >>   How difficult would it have been to write into the script that Kirk orders
> >>Scotty to send someone up forward to install an optical viewer in a port
> >>and hook it into the optical fiber network to send the picture to the main
> >>viewer?  
> >
> >	I agree ... the writers screwed up on this one ... Captain James
> >T. Kirk is a student of American History and would certainly know US Naval
> >Procedures ... FOG has plagued Earth's naval traffic for centuries ... one
> >of the best and easiest deployed "weapons" against poor visibility is to
> >"lay all available hands on deck" to LOOK and REPORT. This is especially 
> >true during a "RED ALERT" at "BATTLESTATIONS". Uhura should have been 
> >continually advised on Kahn's whereabouts ... Federation Procedure would
> >clearly deal with "low viz" situations ... in excruciating detail probably.
> >
> >	Regards,
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >-- 
> >						Pete Williamson
> >"By hook or by crook, we will !!" ... #2
> 
> 	That would work great, against *OPTICAL* poor visibility.
> The poor visibility was supposed to be *ELECTRONIC*, i.e. radar,
> sub-space ranging, or whatever they use.  Remember, these battles,
> even at sub-light speeds, are being fought in a *LARGE* area.  Human
> eyesight is good to maybe twenty miles.  With a lot of dust and
> crapola in the way, maybe ten?  These ships are moving quickly, even
> on impulse engines only.  There would be no great advantage to
> having the crew watch, since they'd see it at about the same time
> the video cameras did.  Most sensing on a starship would be
> electronic.  I suppose we can consider the viewscreen to normally be
> a sophisticated computer image integrating all the sensor data.
> 
> 			David Smith
> 			UC Sandy Eggo
> 			{ucbvax, ihnp4} sdcsvax!sdcc7!li63sdl
> "Fascinating"

     If eyesight is good to maybe 20 miles, how can we see the moon, sun,
and stars (to wax poetic).  Visual acuity is a function of visual angle
(i.e. the retinal size of the image).  Granted, an absorbing medium
(e.g. our atmosphere) comes into play at large distances, but come on...
in the episode the two ships almost ran into each other!!!

     Probably the better cop-out is to say that even with their advanced
technology, they having developed a good transparent material that 
provides adequate protection against high energy particles (a _big_
problem unless you want a cosmic scale suntan), so that all optical
windows had to be shielded when then entered the zone.

     In general, though, I could never understand how or why they
would navigate the Big E. with a single screen.  What happened to
peripheral cues and wrap around screens....oh Desilu, your budget
was too small and you went bankrupt anyway.