io9

  • io9
  • science
  • overmind
  • kotaku
  • gizmodo
Profile logout login
12 Successful SF Authors Who've Written Racy Fanfic

12 Successful SF Authors Who've Written Racy Fanfic #romance3000 #slashfiction

Neither Snow Nor Sleet Can Stop This Week's Comics - Or Can They?

Neither Snow Nor Sleet Can Stop This Week's Comics - Or Can They? #comicswecrave #xmen

The Complete History Of Pandora, According To Avatar's Designers

The Complete History Of Pandora, According To Avatar's Designers #exclusive #avatar

This Week, io9 Plunges Into The Throbbing Future Of Love

This Week, io9 Plunges Into The Throbbing Future Of Love #specialfeature #romance3000

Dark Knight's Nolan To Reboot Superman?

Dark Knight's Nolan To Reboot Superman? #superman #thedarkknight

Goodbye, Heroes, Goodbye

Goodbye, Heroes, Goodbye #heroesrecap #heroes

Couch is Benjamin Parzybok's Slacker Odyssey

Couch is Benjamin Parzybok's Slacker Odyssey #bookreview #couch

io9

FAQ. Include # before tag:
#observationdeck, #tips, #calendar, etc.

San Francisco, 10:05 PM
Tue Feb 9
26 posts in the last 24 hours

IO9 TEAM

Tip your editors:

Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz |

News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders |

Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner |

Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis |


Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan |

Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier |
Ed Grabianowski |
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan |
Lauren Davis |
Chris Hsiang |
Lynn Peril |
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins |

Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox |

Interns:
Tim Barribeau |
Julia Carusillo |
Alex Eichler |
Cyriaque Lamar |
Caitlin Petrakovitz |
Mary Ratliff |
Josh Snyder |

More:
io9 on Facebook
follow io9 on Twitter

SUBSCRIBE TO IO9 RSS

New: Breaking news and daily top stories via email
1428 Subscribers


Please confirm your birth date:

Please enter a valid date
Please enter your full birth year
This content is restricted.

What To Put Into Your Spaceship's Gas Tank

Since most science fiction vehicles don't run on unleaded gasoline, would you even know what to fill the tank with if you were lucky enough to get behind the wheel? With everything out there from warp cores to specialized space fuel, here's a handy list that lets you know what powers some of the more popular vehicles around the galaxy, just in case you find yourself stranded and need to call AAA.

  • Enterprise.jpgAny vehicle from the Star Trek Universe: Dilithium Crystals. This is an element created just for Star Trek that powers everything from the U.S.S. Enterprise to a Klingon Bird of Prey. Dilithium had to be mined, just like we have to drill for oil, and could be hard to come by. Of course, when Star Trek: The Next Generation came out the writers decided to just cheat and make it something that they could make synthetically, thereby killing any future "we're out of gas!" storylines.
  • Delorean.jpgThe Time-Traveling Delorean from Back to the Future: plutonium, gas, and/or garbage. Doc Brown's time-tripping Delorean actually has an engine that does run on gas, although when he came back from the future he'd converted the flux capacitor to run on a Mr. Fusion device, thereby eliminating the need for plutonium pellets for driving through the decades. Just toss some trash inside, and you're good to go.
  • Galactica.jpgAnything in the Battlestar Galactica universe: Tylium. In the world of BSG, both Cylon and Human ships run off of a fictional ore called tylium. It's only found on certain planets, and has to be mined, just like dilithium crystals. But unlike the crystals, it also has to be refined and turned into a gasoline like substance. No idea what kind of mileage you get out of it, but it also powers their "faster than light" drives, so it must pack quite a punch.
  • Tardis.jpgThe TARDIS from Doctor Who: artificial black holes, radiation, life force... take your pick. The TARDIS in the world of Doctor Who looks like a giant blue phonebooth, and travels through both time and space. However it's actually a sentient being that draws its power from one of several different sources, depending on what season of the show you're watching. In the current incarnation of the show, the Doctor has to stop periodically near a space-time rift and suck up the leaking radiation in order to keep things going. A sort of interstellar pit stop, if you will. Photo by lizardian.
  • HeartOfGold.jpgThe Spaceship Heart of Gold from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: a cup of hot tea. The Heart of Gold ran on an infinite improbability drive that took it through "every point in the universe at once" when it was switched on. Not too shabby. All it took was an electronic brain and a good Brownian motion generator, like a cup of tea, and you're off. Probably the cheapest form of travel ever invented.
  • X-Wing.jpgAnything in Star Wars: your guess is as good as ours. While you sometimes see strange hoses and gizmos hooked to the ships before they launch, it was never made clear in these movies what they run on. George Lucas apparently never wanted us to get bored by the details, so you could fill in the blanks on your own for this one. Lando was running a gas-mining facility on Bespin in The Empire Strikes back, so maybe he was in the spaceship fuel business. We may never know, so be careful with whatever you put in the tank of your X-Wing.
  • As always, extinguish all smoking materials while refueling and be sure to hold on to your receipts. Your own mileage may vary.


Contact information for this author is not available.


Upload an image | Add an image URL ×
×
×
Choose a file to upload:
×
Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
Loading comments ... -/|\
Earlier discussions Paging in progress... | Other discussions | Show all discussions | Show featured discussions only | Expand all threads Collapse all threads
Start a new discussion
By Kevin Kelly
Jan 2, 2008 03:40 PM 8,537 71
Edit » Set to Draft » Invite » Syndicate »

Syndicate this post


Site:
Mode:

sending request
cancel
more about #backtothefuture
The 10 Worst Scifi Snubs In Oscar History
Is Zac Efron This Generation's Marty McFly? Warner Brothers Thinks So
Worst Recastings Of Science Fiction's Rock-Star Characters
read more: #triviagasm, #backtothefuture, #battlestargalactica, #cylon, #delorean, #doctorwho, #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy, #starwars, #xwing, #fuel, #scififuel, #spaceship, #startrek, #tardis, #timetravel, #vehicle
 
  • Archives
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Legal
  • Help
  • Report a Bug
  • FAQ
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.

Login

Enter your username and password.

Please enter a username.
Please enter your password.
logging in
Login via Facebook | Sign Up | Forgot Password?

Reset Password

Please enter your email address to have your password reset.

Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
requesting password reset

Register

Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.

Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.

Please enter a username.
Please enter a password.
Please confirm your password.
Passwords are not identical.
Please enter a valid email address.
registration sent, waiting for reply

Submit Your Comment

You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.

See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.

Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
logging in

Login with your Facebook or io9 account.

Sign up here.



Send An Invitation

To invite commenters to this page, paste in a list of comma-separated email addresses, and then select send invites.

Please enter at least one email address.
Please use valid email addresses.
Please use unique email addresses.
Please enter fewer addresses.
requesting invites

Send a link

Send a link to this post 'What To Put Into Your Spaceship's Gas Tank' via email:

Please enter your name.
Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter your recipient's email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter your message.
Sending message