science fiction

Minerals
Neutronium			Neutronium is the super dense mineral used for fuel on starships. It is far too unstable for use in building ship components.
			Neutronium is a colloquial and often misused term for an extremely dense phase of matter that occurs in the intense pressure found in the core of neutron stars and is currently not well understood. It is not an accepted term in astrophysics literature for reasons which will be explained below, but is used with some regularity in science fiction. When a massive star creates an iron core whose mass exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit, it will collapse and create a type II supernova. The neutrino is emitted from the core, leaving the neutron behind. The material that remains has a density of approximately 10¹⁴-10¹⁵ grams per cubic centimeter. A teaspoon full of this matter would have a mass of 100 million metric tons. This material has often been termed neutronium. [Source]

Duranium			Duranium is a very strong mineral used to build the frame work of starship components and the armor skin of starbases and fighters.
			Star Trek. Artificially generated by crew. A hard metal alloy used for the hull of spacecrafts. TOS: "The Menagerie, part I" - Duranium is used to build Federation shuttlecraft. DS9: "Q-Less" - The hull of a Federation runabout is made of duranium. VOY: "Initiations" - Used for the construction of Kazon vessels. ENT: "Dead Stop" - Duranium pins are used in the nacelles. [Source] Also used in Star Wars as Duranium Steel.

Tritanium			Tritanium is a mineral that can withstand very high pressures and temperatures. It is used widely in starship construction.
			Star Trek. Extremely hard substance used in construction of starship hulls. 21.4 times as hard as diamond. TNG: "Rascals" - La Forge and O'Brien determine that "something" caused the tritanium to crumble in their hands while they examined the wreckage of the shuttle from which Picard and fellow shuttlers emerge as children. TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom" - Found on Minos, a planet of former armaments dealers throughout the galaxy, by Cmdr. Data and Lt. Yar as a heap of scrap metal amidst thick foliage on the ground. TOS: "Obsession" - Kirk, Spock, and a security team (most of which ends up dead, natch) find a large deposit of it. Spock phasers off a sample, since it is too hard to cut with tools. [Source]

Molybdenum			Molybdenum is used mainly in high power energy wave guides. It is important for weapon construction and engine construction. High tech components tend to use greater amounts of molybdenum than lower tech components.
			Molybdenum has a high melting point and is used to make the electrodes of electrically heated glass furnaces. Some electrical filaments are also made from molybdenum. The metal is used to make some missile and aircraft parts and is used in the nuclear power industry. Molybdenum is also used as a catalyst in the refining of petroleum. Molybdenum is primarily used as an alloying agent in steel. When added to steel in concentrations between 0.25% and 8%, molybdenum forms ultra-high strength steels that can withstand pressures up to 300,000 pounds per square inch. Molybdenum also improves the strength of steel at high temperatures. When alloyed with nickel, molybdenum forms heat and corrosion resistant materials used in the chemical industry. [Source]

Races
Federation			The Solar Federation Of Planets.
			In the fictional Star Trek universe, the United Federation of Planets is a federation of more than 150 member planets and thousands of colonies, based in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants of the Milky Way galaxy. It was founded in 2161 by the Andorians, Humans/Terrans, Tellarites, and Vulcans. Loosely based on the United Nations, the Federation stresses the values of peace and cooperation. One of their most important precepts is the Prime Directive. It is led by the Federation President, headquartered in Paris, Earth. Starfleet is the military and exploration corps of the Federation. [Source]

Lizards			The Lizard Alliance. The Lizards are a very small alliance of large boulder throwing humanoid lizard men with large nasty teeth.
			The Gorn are highly intelligent reptilians from the Beta Quadrant in the fictional realm of Star Trek. They made first contact with Starfleet at Cestus III when a misunderstanding nearly led to war.The Gorn have a long history of war, art, culture and pride. The average Gorn stands 2.7 meters tall and weighs 320 pounds (145 kg). They have compound eyes, cold blood, little sense of smell, bumpy skin, and an extremely high metabolism. They can heal injury at a rate of two pounds (1 kg) of flesh per hour, and knit bones in less than 15 minutes. The only way to kill a Gorn for good is to cut off its head. The Gorn language, Gornouf, is a combination of guttural sounds and hissing, and some have no vowels in them at all. A good example is the Gorn Republic's creed: "FOKHSS IP'KAKAROO OIIAASS'YU" which means "Fight the weak". [Source]

Bird Man			The Empire of the Birds.
			The Romulans are a fictional race in the Star Trek universe that are descended from Vulcans. This group split off from the main Vulcan race before Vulcans were able to master the ability to control their innate tendency toward rashness and emotional outbursts. Romulans are therefore characterized as being deceitful, cunning, and brutal. The Romulan homeworld is Romulus, which, with several other systems, comprises the political organization known as the Romulan Star Empire. The Romulan Empire is one of the largest nations in the Beta Quadrant of our galaxy. Planets known to be under Romulan jurisdiction include Romulus, Remus, Regulus and Nimbus III. Very little is known about the Empire, largely because the Romulans have frequently been at war with the United Federation of Planets during the past several centuries, and because the two powers have been separated by the Romulan Neutral Zone in times of peace. [Source]

Fascists			The Fascist Empire.
			Klingons, a race of humanoids in the fictional Star Trek universe, were the main antagonists in Star Trek: The Original Series and later became the uneasy allies of the United Federation of Planets. Roughly humanoid in appearance, Klingons typically sport long manes of luxuriant hair, and for males, mustaches, and beards. Perhaps their most prominent external feature is their ridged forehead. Klingon values center around honor. Those who die honorably are said to join the spirit of Kahless in Sto-Vo-Kor. The Klingon Empire was founded around 500 A.D. on the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS by Kahless the Unforgettable. The Empire went through several dynasties of rulers, experiencing a period between the 2nd and 3rd known as the "Dark Time," a 10-year experiment in democracy. Around the 14th century, Qo'noS was invaded by the Hur'q, who pillaged many treasures, including the sword of Kahless. By 2069 a High Council was formed, eliminating the position of Emperor until 2369. [Source]

Privateers			The Privateer Bands.
			The Orions are from a planet in the Rigel system. For the most part they are Human-like beings. The dominant species of Orions have skin colors ranging from ruggy, golden orange to the skin tones of Terran Caucasians. The Orion Colonies are allegdy neutral toward the Federation in external matters. They tend to encourage privateers (pirates), however, on an informal and unofficial basis. Orion pirates and smugglers are sometimes encountered. [Source]

Cyborg			The Cyborg.
			The Borg are a race of cyborgs in the fictional Star Trek universe. Borg are humanoids that are enhanced with cybernetic implants, giving them improved mental and physical abilities. The minds of all Borg are connected via implants to a hive, a collective mind, orchestrated by the Borg Queen. According to themselves, the Borg only seek to "improve the quality of life in the universe" and add to their own perfection. To this end, they travel the galaxy, improving their numbers and advancing by "assimilating" other species and technologies, and forcing captured individuals under the control of the Hive mind by injecting them with nanoprobes. As some may often hear the Borg say "resistance is futile", in some movie clips, they said something longer: "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile." [Source]

Crystalines			The Crystal Confederation.
			Tholians are a starfaring and extremely territorial race in the Star Trek fictional universe. They inhabit an area of space in the Alpha Quadrant, in close proximity to the Klingon Empire and the Badlands, known as the Tholian Assembly. Believed to be non-humanoid in form, Tholians dwell in an environment of extreme heat. They have crystalline heads, or perhaps helmets. Tholians have little tolerance for deception, and are insistent on punctuality. [Source]

The Evil Empire			The Evil Empire.
			In the fictional Star Wars universe, the Galactic Empire was the regime established by Palpatine to replace the Galactic Republic. The Republic ended following a period of intense political turmoil and war. At the height of the chaos the Republic's scheming head of government, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, proclaimed himself Emperor. This power was backed up by the use of state terrorism which threatened horrific retaliation to any defiance to the government. The instrument of that terror was the Imperial military, which included the Imperial Stormtroopers and a large fleet of intimidating war vehicles like Star Destroyers and All Terrain Armoured Transports (AT-ATs or Walkers) which were intended in part to spread fear as well as destroy the enemy. [Source]

Robots			The Robotic Imperium.
			The cylons are a robotic race whose aim is to annihalate the life form known as man. The cylons originally were the robotic servants of a reptilian race. But the cylons defeated their former masters in a great civil uprising. From then on out robotic Cylon life was to spread. The cylon's soul purpose is to colonize and control the entire universe; eradicating any other life forms that get in their path. Man seems to be the sole lifeform that has been able to resist the Cylons thus far. [Source]

Rebels			The Rebel Confederation.
			In the fictional Star Wars universe, the Rebel Alliance, or more formally, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, was a group formed in direct military opposition to the Galactic Empire. The Alliance formed after Supreme Chancellor Palpatine transformed the Galactic Republic into the Empire with himself as Emperor. The most notable equipment contributions include the defection of the Incom Corporation staff and all relevant material involved in the development of an advanced spacefighter, the X-Wing. Later the fish-like species called the Mon Calamari joined the rebellion and used their renowned skill in ship construction to supply badly needed capital ships that could take on the Imperial Navy. [Source]

Colonials			The Missing Colonies of Man.
			The Colonials of Man are from Battlestar Galactica, a show set in a distant part of outer space in what is disclosed as "the seventh millennium of time". There, the human colonies had been fighting a thousand-year war against the mechanoid Cylons. With the human colony civilization in ruins, Commander Adama proposed the only chance for humanity to survive. He would lead a refugee fleet in search of the lost human colony, a planet known only as Earth. [Source]

Technology
Ramscoop Device			The Cobol Class Research Vessel is equipped with a simple Ram Scoop as a part of its hull design. The Ram Scoop will produce 2 KT of Neutronium per light year traveled by the starship.
			The Bussard ramjet method of spacecraft propulsion was proposed in 1960 by the physicist Robert W. Bussard and popularized by Carl Sagan in the television series and subsequent book Cosmos as a variant of a fusion rocket capable of fast interstellar spaceflight. It would use a large scoop (on the order of miles) to compress hydrogen from the interstellar medium and fuse it. To save mass, some people have suggested using a magnetic field for a scoop. More recent calculations have shown that the drag of a scoop would be more than the thrust generated by the fusion reaction. However, the calculations (by Robert Zubrin and an associate) inspired the idea of a magnetic parachute or sail. Sagan called the construction of such a ship "engineering on the scale of small worlds." [Source]

Cloaking Device			Many ships can hide using a cloaking device built into their space frame. Cloaked ships do not show up on enemy scanners and are protected from enemy attack.
			In the fictional Star Trek and Star Wars universes, a cloaking device is an advanced stealth system which causes a spaceship to be invisible. However, the idea of a cloaking device could be extended to any object and is not restricted simply to spacecraft. Cloaking devices play a much less significant role in the Star Wars universe. None of the movies show a ship cloaking. The first Star Wars reference to cloaking devices is heard in The Empire Strikes Back when Captain Needa states that the Millennium Falcon is too small to be equipped with a cloaking device. In comparison, Star Trek cloaking devices are equippable on spaceships even smaller than the Falcon. The only Star Wars movie that mentions a cloaking device is The Phantom Menace, but only in passing. [Source]

Tachyon Pulse			The Loki emits a tachyon pulse that causes all cloaked ships within 10 light years of its' position to come out of cloak.
			In the Star Trek fictional universe, tachyons are frequently invoked to explain some aspect of the Romulan cloaking device. Cloaked ships have been detected by watching them pass through a tachyon beam. Also, ships using imperfect devices are implied to produce residual tachyon emissions. [Source] A tachyon is a hypothetical particle that travels at superluminal velocity. Many strange properties have been attributed to tachyons, which also play a role in some popular science fiction. In the language of the theory of special relativity, a tachyon is a particle with space-like four-momentum. A tachyon is constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph. Therefore, it can never slow to light speed or below. Curiously, as its energy decreases, its velocity increases. [Source]

Warp			Speed is your current warp factor. The number of light years your ship with travel in a turn increases as a square of your warp factor.
			In the fictional universe of Star Trek the warp drive is a form of faster-than-light propulsion that allows the user to go faster than the speed of light. The speed of warp travel is usually given only in warp factors. It is generally assumed that warp 1 is the speed of light, and that at higher factors speed increases exponentially. In the original series, warp factors were supposedly converted to multiples of light speed with the formula $s = w 3 c$ . However, this cannot possibly be the whole story, as it would make the Enterprise far too slow. For the later series, Mike Okuda devised a formula based on the older one. For warp 1-9, if w is the warp factor, s is the speed in km per second, and c is the speed of light, then $s = w 10/3 c$ . After warp 9, the exponent increases toward infinity. There is no exact formula for this section because the quoted speeds are based on a hand-drawn curve. [Source] The Alcubierre drive, also known as the Warp drive, is a hypothetical method for propelling a spacecraft faster than the speed of light. Ordinary matter distorts the geometry of spacetime, causing the effects of gravity. The physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed a method of stretching space in a wave, causing the space "ahead" of a spacecraft to contract along the axis the spacecraft wishes to travel in and the space "behind" it to expand. The ship would ride this wave inside a region of flat space. Since the ship is not actually moving within this region, but rather being carried along as the region itself moves, relativistic effects do not apply and so it can "travel" faster than light. There is no way known to induce such a wave, however, or to leave it once started; the Alcubierre drive remains a theoretical concept at this time. [Source]

Hyperjump			HYP Will cause a hyperdrive equipped starship to initiate hyper jump if it has a warp setting and a waypoint beyond 21 light years.
			In science fiction, hyperspace refers to a region somehow alongside and connected with our own universe which may be entered using some sort of energy field. While hyperspace is in some way anchored to the normal universe, it's much more compact, so traveling one mile in hyperspace is equivalent to traveling a thousand miles in normal space, or a billion miles, or a trillion. This makes for a very good explanation of faster than light (FTL) travel: pop your starship into hyperspace, move along for a while, pop back into normal space, and you end up light years from your starting point in original space, with only having spent several months, weeks, or even days in transit. In fact, hyperspace is the most common device used for explaining FTL in a science fiction story where FTL is necessary for interstellar travel. The Star Trek universe equivalent of hyperspace is known as subspace. Although similar in concept to hyperspace, subspace plays a slightly different role in FTL travel. When a starship is traveling at FTL speeds (Commonly known as "warp speed" in the Star Trek universe), the ship itself does not enter subspace. Instead, the ship is surrounded by a field of energy, a warp field. It is the warp field that extends into subspace, allowing the starship to travel at FTL speeds while it remains in normal space. [Source]






Miscellanious
Ion Storm			Ion disturbances can form in the deep void of spaces just outside of the echo star cluster. They are normally prevented from forming by the stellar winds radiating from the stars of the echo cluster. They are area high speedcharged particles that are bounded by a natural warp shell that enables them to travel at faster than light speeds. The energies within the disturbance are constant through out the disturbance.
			A solar wind is a stream of particles (mostly high-energy protons) which are ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. The point where the solar wind's strength is no longer great enough to push back the interstellar medium is known as the heliopause, and is often considered to be the outer "border" of the solar system. Unusually energetic outbursts of solar wind caused by solar flares and other such solar weather phenomena are known as "solar storms" and can subject space probes and satellites to strong doses of radiation. Solar wind particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field tend to collect within the Van Allen radiation belts and can cause the Aurora borealis. [Source]

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VGA Planets SF Library
Minerals	Races
Technology	Miscellaneous