Dilithium (Star Trek)

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It has been suggested that Trilithium be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

This article is about the fictitious substance. For other uses, see Dilithium (disambiguation).

Dilithium is well known as a fictional chemical element in the universe of Star Trek, although the name also applies to a real-world molecule.

In Star Trek, dilithium typically occurs as a crystalline mineral. Streams of matter and antimatter directed into crystallized dilithium generate plasma that is used to power the warp drives that allow starships to travel faster than light. The specific details of this reaction were officially established in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series; in earlier works it is not clearly defined.

Dilithium's chemical symbol is Dt, its atomic weight is 87 and it is a member of the hypersonic series of elements, according to an in-joke filled periodic table seen in episodes of The Next Generation^[1] and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.^[2] The dilithium crystal structure is 2(5)6 dilithium 2(:)l diallosilicate 1:9:1 heptoferranide, according to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual.

In the original series, dilithium crystals occurred only naturally, making the search for them a major plot element for a number of stories. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Spock discovers a method of re-crystallizing dilithium that allows the crew to regenerate the crystals on board their Klingon Bird-of-prey. This involves using 20th century fission reactors that generate high-energy photons that could cause the crystals to regenerate. Presumably this technique was not used earlier in the series because fission reactors had long been replaced by cleaner and more efficient technology.

It is established that a large amount of dilithium can cause a planet to become geologically unstable, leading to a number of planets that had broken apart. The crew of the Enterprise-D found a method of eliminating the dilithium from such planets in order to save them.

To avoid plots based on searches for dilithium crystals, the back-story of The Next Generation has dilithium synthesized artificially. These crystals can also be re-crystallized using technology that had been developed during the time between the original series movies and the events of The Next Generation.

The props used in place of dilithium crystals appear to be rose quartz in some instances and calcite in others. Dilithium has been called "lithium" crystals in Mudd's Women, a Star Trek episode originally aired Oct. 13, 1966, an episode that displayed a prop crystal.

[edit] References

^ "Rascals". Star Trek: The Next Generation.
^ tableofelements.jpg (JPG). Spike's Star Trek page. Retrieved on October 30, 2006., accessible from T. Graphics, Okudagrams, Displays, Maps, and Labels. Spike's Star Trek page. Retrieved on October 30, 2006.