- Jefferies tube
Jefferies tubes, in the "
Star Trek "fictional universe , are smalltunnel s orcorridor s that provide access tocritical starship systems. They can be vertically or horizontally oriented, and form a network that allowstravel throughout large volumes of a starship even when theturbolift s are not functioning.The term "Jefferies tube" was originally an inside joke among the original "Star Trek" production staff, a reference to
art director Matt Jefferies , the man who designed the original starship "Enterprise". The term was used frequently throughout "." In the laterprequel series, "",Captain Archer says "I had an argument once with Captain Jefferies; he was one of the designers of the NX class" (another inside joke), presumably referring to the inventor of theeponym ous tubes.Another in-joke reportedly appearing in the Jefferies Tube sets on the original Star Trek series are labels on the pipes marked "G.N.D.N.". This stands for "Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing." The labels are usually written so small as to be invisible to the audience, but can be seen in certain scenes from the Star Trek films.
In the "Next Generation" series the Jefferies tube is mentioned in the episodes "Quality of Life", "Lessons", and others. It is also mentioned in episodes of ' and '.
Other uses
The
US Air Force has taken the term for use within the Space Command community whereby any small or confined space is called a "Jefferies Tube".Fact|date=February 2007Scott Adams has made references to Jefferies Tubes in his comic strip and animated television series "Dilbert ". One such reference was in a March 20th, 1996 comic introducing Asok the Intern.External links
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