Dilithium (Star Trek)

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

In the Star Trek universe, dilithium is a fictional chemical element, although the name also applies to a real-world molecule.

Dilithium typically occurs as an extremely hard crystalline mineral, which occurs naturally on some planets. When placed in a high frequency electromagnetic field, magnetic eddies are induced in its structure which keep charged particles away from the crystal lattice. This prevents it from reacting with antimatter when so energized, because the antimatter atoms never actually touch it. Therefore, it is used to contain and regulate the annihilation reaction of matter and antimatter in a starship's warp core, which otherwise would explode from the uncontrolled annihilation reaction. Though low-quality artificial crystals can be grown or replicated, they are limited in the power of the reaction they can regulate without fragmenting, and are therefore largely unsuitable for warp drive applications. Due to the need for natural dilithium crystals for interstellar travel, deposits of this material are a highly contested resource, and as such, dilithium crystals have led to more interstellar conflict than all other reasons combined.

The streams of matter and antimatter directed into crystallized dilithium are unbalanced: there is usually much more matter in the stream than antimatter. The energy generated in the annihilation reaction heats up the excess deuterium gas, producing a plasma that is used to power the warp drives that allow starships to travel faster than light. In addition, most starships use this plasma as a power source for the ship's systems; in the series Enterprise, this was referred to as an electro-plasma system. The specific details of this reaction were officially established in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series and technical manual; 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 a periodic table graphic 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 were rare and occurred only naturally (could not be replicated), 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.

To avoid plots based on searches for dilithium crystals, the back-story of The Next Generation allows for dilithium to be 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.

It is established in the TNG episode "Pen Pals" that large deposits of dilithium crystals in the upper crust of a planet can create tectonic instability, resulting in a completely molten surface if left unchecked. The crew of the Enterprise-D devised a method of eliminating the dilithium from such planets in order to save them.

[edit] References

^ "Rascals". Star Trek: The Next Generation.
^ tableofelements.jpg (JPG). Spike's Star Trek page. Retrieved on 2006-10-30., accessible from T. Graphics, Okudagrams, Displays, Maps, and Labels. Spike's Star Trek page. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.