Jefferies tube

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Jefferies tubes, in the Star Trek fictional universe, are small tunnels or corridors that provide access to critical starship systems. They can be vertically or horizontally oriented, and form a network that allows travel throughout large volumes of a starship even when the turbolifts are not functioning.

The term "Jefferies tube" was originally an inside joke among the original Star Trek production staff, a reference to Original Series art director Matt Jefferies, the man who designed the original starship Enterprise. The term was used frequently throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the later prequel series, Star Trek: Enterprise, 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 the eponymous 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 Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Scott 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. Comic