m1b@rayssd.UUCP (M. Joseph Barone) (07/02/85)
Time for a new (perhaps repeat) topic:
How do photon torpedoes work? The name implies electromagnetic
energy. If this is true, the maximum speed should be the speed of light.
Therefore, the torpedoes could not be fired at warp speeds. Also,
in STII, they seemed to have some type of casing (which doubles as
a coffin!). Why don't they have some sort of guidance system like a
missile instead of a straight line trajectory? Go to it, trekophiles!
You can call me Andy Rooney or you can call me Joe....
Joe Barone, {allegra, decvax!brunix, linus, ccice5}!rayssd!m1b
Raytheon Co, Submarine Signal Div., Box 330, Portsmouth, RI 02871tli@oberon.UUCP (Tony Li) (07/06/85)
In article <812@rayssd.UUCP> m1b@rayssd.UUCP (M. Joseph Barone) writes:
How do photon torpedoes work? The name implies electromagnetic
energy. If this is true, the maximum speed should be the speed of light.
Therefore, the torpedoes could not be fired at warp speeds. Also,
in STII, they seemed to have some type of casing (which doubles as
a coffin!). Why don't they have some sort of guidance system like a
missile instead of a straight line trajectory? Go to it, trekophiles!
Photon torpedoes do contain small warp engines and guidance systems. However,
the guidance systems are not the most sophisticated in the world, so it is
possible to avoid them.
--
Tony Li ;-) Usc Computer Science
Uucp: {sdcrdcf,randvax}!uscvax!tli
Csnet: tli@usc-cse.csnet
Arpa: tli@usc-ecladolph@ssc-vax.UUCP (Mark Adolph) (07/09/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** > Why don't they have some sort of guidance system like a > missile instead of a straight line trajectory? According to the novelization of STII:WOK, photon torpedoes DO have a guidance system. If I'm not mistaken, Saavik is the one who changed the programming on Spock's tube so that it would soft land instead of burning up in Genesis' atmosphere. If Robin Curtiss had talked to Kirstie Alley before she attempted to masquerade as Saavik, she wouldn't have been so surprised in STIII. 8-) On a more general note, locking on to a target does not imply straight line flight. It only implies that the ship has to uniquely identify the target to the missile before launching it. -- Mark A. ...{uw-beaver|fluke}!ssc-vax!adolph "1 + 1 = 1, for sufficiently small values of 1..."
ftsjmd@ncsu.UUCP (Mike Davis) (07/11/85)
<> Well if we are going to get picky what about that episode where Kirk drank the local water and was speeded up (thus meeting the people who were taking over his ship). When Kirk fired his Phaser at the woman it traveled no where near the speed of light. And about the photons, if they traveled at the speed of light most of the other ships would be able to avoid them since these ships travel faster than light. Mike Davis
gmp@rayssd.UUCP (Gregory M. Paris) (07/17/85)
> > Why don't they have some sort of guidance system like a > > missile instead of a straight line trajectory? > > According to the novelization of STII:WOK, photon torpedoes DO have a > guidance system. If I'm not mistaken, Saavik is the one who changed the > > On a more general note, locking on to a target does not imply straight > line flight. It only implies that the ship has to uniquely identify the > target to the missile before launching it. If photon torpedoes are so smart, why do they miss??? I've never heard anyone on the shows talk about any ECM (or future equivalent). It seems that usually they're just hoping for a near miss with the torpedoes (a single direct hit on an enemy ship is almost always fatal). More on photon torpedoes: When the Enterprise met up with Nomad in the "Changeling" episode, Nomad pummelled the ship with some kind of energy weapon with the equivalent of 90 (if memory serves) photon torpedoes per. They survived a couple hits. When they finally got a single photon torpedo shot off and Nomad "absorbed" it, they were *amazed*. Why? They just managed to absorb 180 photon torpedoes... -- ++--------------------------------------------------------------------------++ || Gregory M. Paris || || ...!{allegra,linus,raybed2,ccice5,brunix}!rayssd!gmp || ++--------------------------------------------------------------------------++
ccs020@ucdavis.UUCP (Kevin Chu) (07/19/85)
References: <812@rayssd.UUCP> <33@ssc-vax.UUCP> <854@rayssd.UUCP> [...] > > More on photon torpedoes: When the Enterprise met up with Nomad in the > "Changeling" episode, Nomad pummelled the ship with some kind of energy > weapon with the equivalent of 90 (if memory serves) photon torpedoes per. > They survived a couple hits. When they finally got a single photon torpedo > shot off and Nomad "absorbed" it, they were *amazed*. Why? They just > managed to absorb 180 photon torpedoes... > -- > > || Gregory M. Paris || Nomad absorbed the energy rather than have it do damage. The Enterprise was getting blown apart while Nomad was absorbing the energy for his own use. As an aside, in Star Fleet Battles, not even the most powerful ship can withstand 90 photon torpedoes, let alone 180. Are you sure it was 90 torpedoes to one Nomad burst? The torpeodes in the show always seemed to be more powerful than the Star Fleet Battles torpedoes. --Kevin Chu ..ucbvax!ucdavis!vega!ccs020 /ex