10 Examples Of Real Pop-Culture In Star Trek

Technobabble is basically just made-up words that writers can use to explain sci-fi technology. Star Trek really loves to use technobabble in dialogue, but it's far from the only franchise to do so.

Perhaps the most famous example of technobabble is the flux capacitor from Back To The Future, which, somehow, allowed Doc Brown to time travel.

Star Trek made an homage to this famously ambiguous device in the Next Generation episode Hollow Pursuits—albeit, accidentally. While trying to figure out why the anti-grav units failed, Wesley suggested that Lieutenant Barclay should check the 'flow capacitor'. Later in the episode, Barclay complained about the incident to a hologram of Counselor Troi, saying 'I knew about the flux capacitor, but I didn't need to hear about it from some 17-year-old kid'. Apparently, the term was accidentally changed from flow capacitor to flux capacitor by Dwight Schultz, but regardless, the inclusion of a flux capacitor into the Star Trek technobabble dictionary is certainly welcome.