There are three topics that should never be discussed at the table:religion, politics, and the relative merits of Star Trek and Star Wars. Lucky for us, MakeUseOf is not a table.
While any debate surrounding the two great Stars franchises tend to be... passionate... Will the web's unreasonable expectations ruin Star Wars:The Force Awakens? Will the web's unreasonable expectations ruin Star Wars:The Force Awakens? Read More I'm going to try to approach the subject as logically as Spock. I'm not going to talk about which canon is better, obviously it's Star Trek, but they focus on which canon is better. Let's take a look at Star Trek and Star Wars technology Star Trek and Star Wars:The Battle for Technological Supremacy Star Trek and Star Wars:The Battle for Technological Supremacy Which sci-fi giant had the best technology? If they went head-to-head, what gadgets from the sci-fi universe would lead them to victory? Read more.
Before delving into this discussion, it's important to lay down some ground rules.
I'm not an expert on any of the series, so I'm going to rely on the work of much more enlightened thinkers; Trek-Wars wars have been fought on countless forums and websites for many years. In general, what was considered canon before Disney acquired Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek is going to be admissible.
Also, what is shown will be favored over what is said. On Quora, Rom Lokken explains that a Star Wars Star Destroyer is reportedly capable of generating power equal to 1 percent of the sun's power output. This is ridiculously inconsistent with the actual observed performance of the Star Destroyers in the movie. "For those who cry disgustingly," he writes he, "a Star Destroyer that needs that much power (to create the abilities shown) would represent the most fantastic inefficiency ever conceived."
One major complication is that, while the Star Trek writers at least tried to come up with plausible explanations for the technology, George Lucas did what he wanted by throwing a random table discussion. When taken alongside the Force, it's easy to see why some fans consider Star Wars an epic space fantasy rather than a sci-fi story.
With all that in mind, let's dig deeper.
Actually, we are very interested in robots. Why does replacing humans with these robots make sense? Why does replacing humans with these robots make sense? Are there jobs where automation and precision are so valuable that robots really deserve them more than humans? Read more here on MakeUseOf. Star Trek and Star Wars feature great robot characters:C-3PO, R2-D2, and Data are all fan favorites. C-3PO is a talkative yellowish droid, while Data is a talkative yellowish android. So far so repetitive. Unfortunately for C-3PO, his technology is not up to the task.
C-3PO was built from scrap parts by a mad kid, while Data was carefully designed and created by a mad scientist. Data also has the advantage of being "fully functional," hyper-intelligent, and an integral part of the Enterprise team. C-3PO stands in the way, while R2-D2 is little more than a gunsight on wheels. The data even won the MakeUseOf staff vote by an overwhelming margin. Yes, I have actually surveyed my fellow authors.
Star Trek 1, Star Wars 0 .
This is another simple call. If the Skywalkers lived in the United Federation of Planets, they wouldn't have to worry so much about their weapons. Yes, they can replace them with cybernetics, but Bones could probably put the originals back. While my colleague Philip Bates is interested in getting up to speed How Bionics Will Extend and Improve Your Life How Bionics Will Extend and Improve Your Life Thought of as a science fiction pipedream, the science of bionics is often viewed as sinister. However, in the real world, bionic technologies can extend and improve your life. Read More
Everything but instant death, just don't wear a red shirt! - Seems to be curable on the Enterprise. With technology like tricorders that can instantly diagnose almost all ailments, Star Trek takes this one with ease.
Star Trek 2, Star Wars 0 .
This is interesting. The warp drives on Star Trek ships use a matter/antimatter reactor, while Star Wars ships use comparatively lower technology fusion and fission reactors. Sounds like another easy win for Star Trek, doesn't it? Maybe not.
The problem is in the actual performance of the units. ST-vs-SW.net puts the fastest speed achieved by a ship in the Star Trek universe at about 21,000 times the speed of light, with the slowest ships maxing out at about 9,000 times the speed of light. . However, most ships probably travel at speeds around 2,000 times the speed of light. In Star Wars canon, the fastest ships reach around 16,500 times the speed of light. but Typical cruising speed is around 11,000 times the speed of light. So while the fastest ships in Star Trek may be capable of greater speeds than those in Star Wars, they tend to cruise at much slower speeds.
Outside of light speed drives, Star Wars takes it easy. The Empire's Star Destroyers are shown to be lumbering beasts, slow to maneuver in real space, unlike the Federation ships which are practically capable of being hacked on a dime.
So, I'm going to call this a draw. Star Trek scores points for most advanced discs, fastest top speed, and maneuverability, while Star Wars scores points for average speed, which would be more important more often.
Star Trek 3, Star Wars 1 . Things are heating up.
Weapons are another controversial topic. Boba Fett's ship, Slave 1, is described as having 64,000 gigawatt lasers and 190 megaton missiles, while thinned out Enterprise-D only has a 3.6 gigawatt main gun and 64 megaton missiles. This is where Rom Lokken's rule of thumb kicks in.
“Some of the suggested energy readings for Star Wars laser weapons would instantly vaporize any unarmored ship, not to mention the atmosphere between them, quite spectacularly,” he explains, continuing, “Nothing in the physical behavior of these weapons supports these values..”
With that established, the case becomes much clearer. In his Quora article, Rom devotes several paragraphs to explaining how Star Trek weapons are superior to Star Wars weapons.
It is equally decisive in the matter of lasers..
I have to call it:Star Trek 4, Star Wars 1 .
When I started writing this article, I thought the Star Wars franchise would put up more than one fight. Instead, I'm combining sensors, shields, transporters, and replicators into one category to prevent outright slaughter. All four technologies deal extensively with sensing or manipulating energy. In all cases, Star Trek wins..
The sensors on the Enterprise are orders of magnitude better than anything in the Star Wars universe. Starfleet sensors can scan ships trillions of miles away, while ST-v-SW.net concludes that Star Wars scanners appear to be limited to a few hundred thousand miles. Star Trek scanners can read the opposing teams' DNA, while the best offered by Star Wars could only determine that Yoda was not a Wookiee.
While shields are a big part of the Enterprise's capabilities, the big ships in the Star Wars universe don't have anything comparable. An X-wing wouldn't be able to get through the shields of a Starfleet ship, but it can easily close in on the Death Star to destroy it.
Star Trek society is post-scarcity. Replicators mean that anything can be created anywhere. Poverty and hunger are things that simply don't exist in any meaningful way. The opposite is true in the Republic and, later, in the Empire. Slavery, hunger and poverty are seen in the movies. Another easy win for Star Trek.
Carriers are actually very similar technology to replicators, and once again Star Wars has no answer. Kirk and his crew can be beamed anywhere they want at his whim, while Han Solo gets stuck in his rust bucket..
I will be nice. Star Trek 5, Star Wars 1 . Even though this could easily be 8-1 to Star Trek.
The Force is the only thing that really takes Star Wars away from being science fiction. Its pseudo-religious undertones and absolutely inexplicable properties make it very difficult to compare to anything in Star Trek.
He picks up lightsabers, which only a Jedi can use as they depend on his ability to use the Force. Are they technicians? Or are they just a magic sword? If they're technical, they win Star Wars half a point for close combat gear, but if they're magical, I'm leaning toward the series losing half a point because George Lucas' constant reconfiguration annoys me.
Either way, it doesn't make much difference to the final score. It's either 5 moves 0.5 or 5 moves 1.5 depending on how you view the Force. Star Trek takes the trophy. Live long and prosper.
This is the bit where you can tell me how wrong I am. I've left out a bunch of different tech, like the holodeck Your Own Holodeck:Will The Star Trek Fantasy Become a Reality? Your Own Holodeck:Will the Star Trek Fantasy Become a Reality? Will advances in virtual reality technology make the Star Trek holodeck a common room in every home in our near future? The "holodeck" fantasy is getting a lot closer to reality than you think. Read More Please, if you don't agree with something I've said, let me know, in detail, in the comments. Comparing the two series is definitely an art, not a science..
