Photos: Star Trek weapons and gadgets - Engage!

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The communicator in the Star Trek universe surpasses the capabilities of modern mobile phone technology; it allows crew members to contact starships in orbit, without relying on an artificial satellite to relay the signal. Communicators use subspace transmissions that do not conform to normal rules of physics; signals can bypass EM interference, and the devices allow nearly instantaneous communication at distances that would otherwise require more time to traverse.