| Phaser (fictional Weapon) |
Article Index for Phaser |
Information AboutPhaser (fictional Weapon) |
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__TOC__ OVERVIEW According to '''' (''TOS''), the energy weapons first used by the crew were Laser s. However, this was changed to ''phaser'' shortly after the first pilot episode, " The Cage ", was filmed (and becoming a weapons innovation in the late 23rd Century ), on the grounds that a laser could not possibly produce the explosive effects seen in the episode. Phasers are available in a variety of sizes (''see '' (''TNG'')) that equip Starship s and various installations. (As well, a unique pulse phaser system equipped ''Defiant'' Class Warships .) A personnel phaser discharged at its lower settings stuns the victim (similar to the effect caused by a Taser ). At its highest setting, a personnel phaser kills and Vaporises the victim. In between, the various stun settings may have little or no effect on certain Lifeforms , forcing the user to set the phaser to progressively higher settings that may simply immobilise, char, or fatally burn a target or completely vaporise a large area. Phasers can also be used to heat rocks for a heat source when necessary and can be adjusted to emit a wide beam to simultaneously stun multiple targets. Later in ''TNG'', smaller handheld Type I phasers were said to have eight settings while larger Type II and III phasers have sixteen settings. A user could also vary beam width and beam intensity (''see ''TNG'' Personnel Phaser Power Settings ''). MECHANICS The prefire chamber is the part of the weapon where energy from the power cell is gathered, amplified, and processed; it is analogous to a Capacitor in use today. Once processed in the prefire chamber, the energy is then released through the emitter crystal as a focused beam of Collimated energy in the form of Subatomic Particle s called Nadion s. Phasers can sometimes be set to Overload , which results in a large explosion that can incinerate everything in the immediate vicinity. Overloads happen when energy from the weapon's power cell is pumped into the phaser's prefire chamber, but not released through the emitter crystal. To cause an overload, the user sets the phaser so that more and more energy is forced into the prefire chamber, but not released through the emitter crystal. Eventually, the prefire chamber cannot hold itself together under the pressure and it explodes, dually making the phaser a firearm and (when needed) a Bomb . The function's only drawback is it produces a distinctive whine that increases in pitch and volume as the weapon reaches critical mass. This can alert any potential victim to allow them to find and stop the weapon, or reach safety. TYPES There are many types and variations of phasers. The later series (''TNG'' and after) and Semi-canon materials have established at least twelve types of phasers of increasing size and capability: Types I, II, and III are personnel phasers, and Types IV through XII equip ships. In and since ''TNG'' (the following is not exhaustive):
These main types are further divided to distinguish the many variations and upgrades. ''TNG'' personnel phaser power settings In ''TNG'', personnel phasers were noted to have up to sixteen power settings: settings 1 to 8 were available to all personnel phasers (including the small Type I phaser), but 9 to 16 were available only to the larger Type II and III phasers. Settings 1 through 3 produced various levels of stun (through disruption of a target's Nervous and Muscular System s) and thermal effects, settings 5 through 8 produced fatal and (at 8) organic disintegration effects, while the higher settings produced a variety of explosive and nuclear effects. SEE ALSO Outside of Star Trek
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