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Probably Not Drift Compatible: Seven Fantastic Examples of Technobabble

A selection of defining uses of technobabble in sci-fi and beyond

Flux-Capacitor

Technobabble — the scientific-sounding gibberish that scientist characters spew in every episode of Star Trek — is the dilithium crystal in the warp engine that makes science fiction run. It can get to ridiculous levels. Ron Moore steered clear of it in Battlestar Galactica because his Trek scripts filled up with [INSERT TECH HERE], but ultimately it’s hard to get by without it. Technobabble generally does make sense on a superficial level, since there’s so much speculative science out there that there’s bound to be a field related to whatever the story requires. For better or for worse, take a look at the greatest ways technobabble has been put to use.

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