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Col. Crackpot wrote: Mike, imagine the economic impact of either of these. Suddenly every manufacturing plant in the world is deemed useless. Farms are deemed useless. With transporters the entire transportation indistry would be deemed useless. either way we are looking at tremendous economic turmoil.

Manufacturing would not necessarily go down the tubes. As stated, replicators could be used to make components; components that would still require assembly. Several plants would indeed disappear, but there would still be plants for assembly purposes. To make an analogy, GE could lose the plants in Warren and elsewhere that make lamp parts, but the Ravenna plant which does assembly only would still be running.

Farms would still be around, replicators still need some sort of raw material to work and recycling poo back into food has conservation of matter working against it. Besides, I doubt that any demand for real food would diminish just because replicators would be available.

I don't know if the ENTIRE transportation industry would be gone. UPS and FedEx may be out of a job, but the airlines and auto industry would be running just fine, assuming people aren't actually going to consider committing suicide a travel option. Some transportation would still be around as well for those instances that it's cheaper/more efficient use of energy than those energy-intensive transporters.

DarthBlight wrote:

Col. Crackpot wrote: Mike, imagine the economic impact of either of these. Suddenly every manufacturing plant in the world is deemed useless. Farms are deemed useless. With transporters the entire transportation indistry would be deemed useless. either way we are looking at tremendous economic turmoil.

Manufacturing would not necessarily go down the tubes. As stated, replicators could be used to make components; components that would still require assembly. Several plants would indeed disappear, but there would still be plants for assembly purposes. To make an analogy, GE could lose the plants in Warren and elsewhere that make lamp parts, but the Ravenna plant which does assembly only would still be running.

Farms would still be around, replicators still need some sort of raw material to work and recycling poo back into food has conservation of matter working against it. Besides, I doubt that any demand for real food would diminish just because replicators would be available.

I don't know if the ENTIRE transportation industry would be gone. UPS and FedEx may be out of a job, but the airlines and auto industry would be running just fine, assuming people aren't actually going to consider committing suicide a travel option. Some transportation would still be around as well for those instances that it's cheaper/more efficient use of energy than those energy-intensive transporters.

regardless, entire sectors of the economy would be gutted. Most manufacturing is component production. engine blocks, airframes, plastics etc. not only that but the ENTIRE agricultural sector would be eliminated. True, everyone would have food, but no one will have a job and will become dependant on the (presumably) state run replicators because they won't be able to afford one themselves. Add it up. Agriculture, most heavy manufacturing, all delivery and transport, most of the foodservice industry...that is at least half, if not more of the world workforce. and without them working you can sure as hell bet no one will be able to afford the services offerd by the service sector. Total economic collapse.

And that explains how we end up with TNG era Star Trek.

Amazing.

Jeremy wrote:And that explains how we end up with TNG era Star Trek.

Amazing.

exactly! a government run replicator system is the ultimate control over the populace! step out of line and you don't eat, or have clothes, or any other type of consumer goods. Same thing goes for transporters. Look at the technology embraced by society in trek, everyone is portryed as happily taking handouts from the glorious replicators with recipes straight from the 'federation database'. Need the latest style clothing? replicate something from the files of the 'federation database'. Let them keep that orwellian technology.

Hmmm, a transporter would have been useful to get me home from the US the other day... instant transport or 7 hour plane journey? I know which I prefer!

Of course, then the civilian transport industry goes boom. The military would probably keep airforce jets and stuff, but the public would jump at the chance of a far quicker means of transport. Imagine the 22 hour flight from the UK to Australia being reduced to a matter of seconds!

People would probably keep planes, trains and cars around as items of historical interest, and possibly means of transport if the cost of using transporters were high. I doubt that waiting times in 'transporter ports' would be any better than modern airports

Replicators...not just to make useful, needed stuff people want, but to get rid of crap that takes up space.

Imagine...

Billions of tons/hundreds of cubic kilometers of landfill absolutely full of important elements and compounds locked up in a form not accessible to present forms of recycling.

You know you're a dork when you think about replicators and the only thing that comes to mind is, "Cool, I'll never run out of miniatures again!"