Not sure if this is the place for this question

writin52 · Mar 19, 2008

I am stuck on SF terminology. The beam that brings things up into a spaceship, is it a TRACKER or a TRACTOR beam?

blueobsidian · Mar 19, 2008

It's a tractor beam

small axe · Mar 21, 2008

Agree it's a "tractor" beam -- Have you thought about calling it something else though? Sometimes a phrase becomes a little tired or too-familiar (to me, just personally, "tractor beams" are too much STAR TREK) ... what if you use an alternative term, something that gives the reader a glimpse of the culture involved (do societies that HAVE "tractor beams" still use "tractors" ???) Just a thought ... aloud, allowed!

Melanie Nilles · Mar 21, 2008

On farscape it was the docking web. Same thing, different term. Play with it and have fun

astonwest · Mar 21, 2008

writin52 said:
I am stuck on SF terminology. The beam that brings things up into a spaceship, is it a TRACKER or a TRACTOR beam?

Or it could be the transporter...depends on how far away it is.

Myself, my main character's ship has winches and mechanical claws to pull cargo into its bays. I mean, terminology nothing, how does one pull something into the ship with beams of energy?
To each their own, I suppose...

MattW · Mar 21, 2008

Graviton beam?

Nanolasso?

Gitinhear Ray?

Matera the Mad · Mar 21, 2008

I don't think that a tractor beam and a transporter are close enough in nature to interchange the words. The word "tractor" has much older roots than any farm machine, BTW. It shares origins with attract, attractor, retract, tractable; all having to do with pulling in some way. True, it is a common Trek-term, but unless you use a lot of other ST related vocabulary (phaser, for instance), it shouldn't make anyone itchy.

waylander · Mar 22, 2008

If your story is Earth-future then you could call it a tractor beam and turn the ST reference around. Say that it is called that because the guy who invented it was a ST fan.

Shweta · Mar 22, 2008

cf. ansible in written SF

But personally I would stop reading at tractor beams, unless there was something else really keeping me in the story. It smacks of "this person doesn't read SF" to me.

astonwest · Mar 22, 2008

Matera the Mad said:
I don't think that a tractor beam and a transporter are close enough in nature to interchange the words.

It was a play on the phrase "brings things up into the spaceship"...apologies.

AuthorGuy · Mar 23, 2008

A tractor pulls the thing to the ship over an intervening distance. A transporter brings the thing to the ship without covering the intervening distance.

Phaeal · Mar 23, 2008

You could have a bunch of really big guys carry the stuff on board. Or shoggoths. Shoggoths are good.

Or just rename the tractor beam if the antiTrek bias bothers you.

(But, really, shoggoths are the way to go.)

Not sure if this is the place for this question

writin52

blueobsidian

small axe

memento mori

Melanie Nilles

What're you looking at?

astonwest

2 WIP? A glutton for punishment

MattW

Company Man

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Shweta

gone

astonwest

2 WIP? A glutton for punishment

AuthorGuy

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.