Vulcan (Species)

The Vulcansoriginate from the planet Vulcan which orbits 40 Eridani A, known as Nevasa to the Vulcans, the primary orange K class star in the trinary Vulcan system. The other two stars in the system, 40 Eridani B and C, blue and red dwarfs respectively, co-orbited the A star at some distance and were not immediately visible in the Vulcan sky. 
Vulcan's orbital period (year) is 203 days long. According to another source, Vulcan has an orbital radius of 0.56 AU, giving it a period of 177.6 standard days. However, the Vulcan calendar has set the Vulcan year to be about 1.5 times that, or 266.4 standard days. Vulcan has no moon, but did have a number of nearby planets, most notably T'Khut, with which it shares an orbit around a common center of gravity; the two worlds were a mere 149,895.3579 kilometers apart, and T'Khut would fill the sky of the single hemisphere of Vulcan it was visible from due to the planets being tidally locked. They are founding members of the United Federation of Planets.
*List of Vulcans
==Physical Appearance==
Genetically, Vulcans and Humans are similar enough that they can produce offspring without any problems. Externally, Vulcans are generally similar to Humans, the chief exceptions being the Vulcans' notably arched and upswept eyebrows and distinguished external ear structure, the top of which tapers into a clearly defined point. Most Vulcans have straight, glossy dark brown or, more commonly, black hair and pale skin with a very subtle greenish tinge, much as the skin of Humans of European descent has a very subtle reddish or pinkish tinge. However, some Vulcans, including Tuvok, have brown skin, tightly coiled black hair, and physiognomic features similar to those found in Humans of African descent. Others share physiognomic features similar to those found in Humans of East Asian descent. However, most Vulcans have a vaguely Eurasian appearance.
Vulcans have body hair similar to Humans, and some males can be very hirsute. Vulcan males are also capable of growing facial hair (as evidenced by Sybok and both Spock and Soval in the mirror universe), but rarely do so. Vulcans possess teeth that Humans do not have. These include anterior tricuspids, the presence of which implies that Vulcans also have posterior tricuspids. Vulcan teeth may be chemically capped, as Human teeth may be since the 20th century, in order to prevent decay.
In contrast to their external similarities, Vulcan internal anatomy differs radically from that of Humans. For instance, their heart is where a Human's liver would normally be, and beats several hundred times per minute. Vulcan blood is copper-based and is copper- or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins and green when oxygenated in the arteries (although it is unclear if this transport mechanism is a hemocyanin as in Earth molluscs). Bruises and dermal abrasions therefore take on a green color.
Vulcan hearing is very sensitive. Vulcan females possess a heightened sense of smell. Having evolved on a planet which is mostly desert, Vulcans have developed ways of surviving in desert conditions. For example, they can survive for several days without water and have inner eyelids which protect their eyes. Vulcans have a superior metabolism to Humans. Caffeine and sapotoxins have little effect on them. They are also capable of surviving for long durations without food or sleep. Under stress, Vulcans can do without sleep for weeks. Tuvok once claimed that as a Vulcan he was capable of going without sleep for two weeks, although shortly after making this claim he was observed to fall asleep in the command chair after having gone a little over 10 days without sleep.
Vulcans are on average three times physically stronger than Humans, and have considerably faster reflexes. This also means that Vulcan are somewhat stronger than Human males on average. Vulcans are very sensitive to nitrous oxide gas, which rapidly renders them unconscious. Vulcans typically have a lifespan of two hundred years or more.
==Ponn Farr==
The pon farr is a Vulcan time of mating and the rituals following it are shrouded under a veil of mystery and secrecy. It is considered to be a very private matter within Vulcan society, so much that only a handful of Starfleet doctors have ever handled it. Amongst themselves, Vulcans find it inappropriate to involve themselves with another's pon farr. During pon farr, adult Vulcans undergo a neurochemical imbalance, that takes on a form of madness (culminating in the plak tow). A Vulcan could die within eight days if their pon farr isn't satiated. Vulcan males (and females, according to T'Pol) experience pon farr every seven years of their adult life.
The imbalance during pon farr can be transferred to others via a telepathic mating bond. It can also be transferred to other species during the same telepathic bond. Certain microbes have also been known to trigger pon farr prematurely. Also during this period, the cortical levels rise and fall, as the brain's regulatory system appears to shut down when Serotonin levels become unbalanced. Vulcan females also endure pon farr. Normally, their hormones and endorphin's rise to dangerous levels. Like males, females must mate or otherwise receive treatment to survive. 
In ST_Deep_Space_9, it has been referenced that a Vulcan is only fertile and able to conceive during their ponn farr.
==Vulcan Practices==
*Meditation technique known as T'ok Shiath is used to clear ones mind and see real shapes in an abstract orb.
Category:Species Information