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Something I was wondering about the planet Vulcan.

The official Star Trek site says that Vulcan is a hot, dry world. However, I had this mental image of the planet being a firey world with lots of lava. I remember seeing lava from somewhere (it's been a while and I can't remember exactly what the context was) and besides, the name of the place is Vulcan for goodness sakes. Vulcan wasn't exactly the god of dusty deserts.

So what exactly is that world supposed to be like? It seems illogical that there'd be life at all on a planet covered with lava with occasional cooled lava flows, much less sentient life, but what would I know?

Would anybody mind filling me in?

Watch Star Trek III and IV they show Vulcan in those movies.

Star Trek I, III, and IV, actually. And the Director's Edition of TMP fixes the "no moon" discontinuity.

It is also seen in a TOS episode, where Spock goes wacko or whatever it's called.

Howedar wrote:It is also seen in a TOS episode, where Spock goes wacko or whatever it's called.

Amok Time. You uneducated infidel.

Aya wrote:

Howedar wrote:It is also seen in a TOS episode, where Spock goes wacko or whatever it's called.

Amok Time. You uneducated infidel.

Thus, the reason Trek is considered inferior to Wars in any tactical scenario.

Aya wrote:

Howedar wrote:It is also seen in a TOS episode, where Spock goes wacko or whatever it's called.

Amok Time. You uneducated infidel.

You forgot to add that Spock had Ponn Farr(sp) in other words he was as horny as Aerius.

Mayabird wrote:So what exactly is that world supposed to be like? It seems illogical that there'd be life at all on a planet covered with lava with occasional cooled lava flows, much less sentient life, but what would I know?

We've seen Vulcan in the movies, which confirm it is a hot and dry world. This is canon.

As for the lava, I dimly recall seeing an image of Vulcan in some book form - perhaps the Federation Travel and Tourism Passport, which basically had colour photos of some of the major planets in the Federation, as well as allies and enemies. The photos, I think, were essentially screenshots of certain episodes of the TNG, so has there ever been an episode of TNG where the crew have beamed down to Vulcan and taken a look around?

Incidentally I've lost the booklet, so I can't re-examine it. Another possibility for the Vulan Lavaworld is the Art of Star Trek Book, but I doubt it's there. To be honest, I don't know where you got the impression Vulan was a Lavaworld.

Stofsk wrote:so has there ever been an episode of TNG where the crew have beamed down to Vulcan and taken a look around?

Reunification I think had some, when Picard went to see Sarak.

Sharp-kun wrote:

Stofsk wrote:so has there ever been an episode of TNG where the crew have beamed down to Vulcan and taken a look around?

Reunification I think had some, when Picard went to see Sarak.

As I recall though, all we see of Vulcan was Sarek's deathbed.

Stofsk wrote:

Sharp-kun wrote:

Stofsk wrote:so has there ever been an episode of TNG where the crew have beamed down to Vulcan and taken a look around?

Reunification I think had some, when Picard went to see Sarak.

As I recall though, all we see of Vulcan was Sarek's deathbed.

Hmm, can't remember...

AFAIK, every outdoor shot we've seen of Vulcan has shown desert terrain, so we can safely conclude that Vulcan is largely arid.

"Amok Time" revealed that while the Vulcan atmosphere is breathable to humans, the oxygen concentration is lower than what we're used to. McCoy was able to use that as an excuse to inject Kirk with "triox compound" before his duel with Spock.

In another episode ("Obsession", I think), Spock spoke of his ancestors "evolving in another ocean" when explaining why the blood-sucking sentient gas cloud didn't harm him. This comment suggests that there are oceans on Vulcan, but they presumably cover much less of the planet's surface than ours.

Vulcan apparently also has a relatively close or bright sun, since Vulcans have nictitating membranes in their eyes to reduce damage from high-intensity light ("Operation: Annihilate").

Vulcan's Surface, ST:TMP

There ya go.