Set Phasers To Fun

[Grimarlon Varner]

Phaserswere the most common and standard directed energy weapon in the arsenal of Starfleet and several other powers. Most phasers were classified as particle weapons and fire nadion particle beams, (Star Trek: First Contact; TNG: "The Mind's Eye"; VOY: "Time and Again", "Demon") but some, like the Ferengi hand phaser, were classified as plasma weapons and fired forced plasma beams. (TNG: "Descent") Based on the intensity and field of the beam and a variety of adjustments, a wide variety of effects could be achieved.

Phaser technology used by Starfleet was preceded by phase-modulated particle weapons in the mid-22nd century, including such weapons as the hand-held phase-pistol and ship-mounted phase cannon. Laser weapons, such as the laser pistol, were also used before phasers became the standard-issue weapon in the Starfleet arsenal. (Star Trek: Enterprise, all; TOS: "The Cage")

Although phase-pistols were intended to predate phasers, a phaser is referred to in the script for ENT: "Breaking the Ice", when Captain Jonathan Archer advises Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker to take one with him when the latter officer visits T'Pol with news that he accidentally read a very private letter she sent. The reference to a phaser isn't included in the final version of the episode, though, instead replaced with a reference to a phase-pistol.

The weapons used by the Human clones of the Mariposa colony were described in the script of TNG: "Up The Long Ladder" as "phaser-like weapons". The technology was presumably developed independently some time after the colony ship had left Earth in 2123. [3]

In the 2270s, phaser power systems of Federation starships were redesigned to channel power directly from the warp core, thereby increasing the power output of phaser banks. If the ship went to warp and experiences antimatter imbalance or gets trapped in a wormhole or a subspace rift phasers will not work until the ship has cleared the distortion and the wormhole effect has dissipated. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

23rd century Starfleet phasers became inoperative from exposure to the radiation eminating from 20th century nuclear fission reactors, even if said reactors were safely shielded for Humans. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

The 24th century saw many new advanced forms of phaser weaponry for the Federation, such as the ever more powerful phaser arrays that made use of multiple phaser emitter segments, the rapid-fire phaser cannons and new compression phaser rifles. (Star Trek: The Next Generation, all; DS9: "The Search, Part I"; VOY: "Caretaker") As a historical note, the regenerative phaser was chosen instead of the TR-116 for development. (DS9: "Field of Fire")

In the alternate 26th century, seen in ENT: "Azati Prime", the Federation still appeared to be utilizing phaser arrays on their starships at the Battle of Procyon V. Also, in the undeveloped Star Trek: Final Frontier animated series set in the 26th century, Starfleet hand-phasers, [4] phaser banks, [5] and phaser cannons [6] were intended to be featured according to storyboards and the script. [7]

The phaser beam could stun, heat, kill, or disintegrate living creatures. Phasers could damage shields or other systems or even cut through a hull. Phasers could also be used to cut through walls and burrow through rock. The beam could be focused to a single spot or widened to impact a large area.

In the nadion particle beam phasers, plasma was passed to a phaser emitter resulting in a discharge of nadion particles. Residual particles could be found in places where a battle had recently taken place. The disruptive effects of nadion discharges were moderated to produce varying effects (discussed below), ranging from benign to extremely destructive. (VOY: "Phage", "Memorial", "Endgame")

The visual effect of the standard beam of a Starfleet hand phaser has been depicted in The Original Series sometimes as a red beam, in "The Changeling" for example, a blue beam in "The Galileo Seven", or a green beam such as in the "Wink of an Eye"; in some episodes there was no visual beam at all, only the impact on the target that gave off a blast of light such as in "Whom Gods Destroy". Later on, in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds", it was established that the color of the beam depended on the resonance frequency the phaser was tuned on. From TNG onwards, Starfleet phaser beams were depicted almost exclusively as orange-red in color.

The Starfleet-issue personnel phasers came in three types: The phaser type-1 (hand phaser) was small and could be concealed easily. The type 2 phaser was larger and hand-held. It had a longer hand grip or a pistol grip, depending on the model. The phaser type-3 was also known as the phaser rifle. It had a longer barrel, a stock, and some models had a second grip. Over the centuries of use, there have been several models of these weapon types. (TOS: "The Devil in the Dark"; TNG: "The Mind's Eye")

Beyond these types, phasers were usually mounted devices, such as the type 4 phaser emitters, which were sometimes used on Starfleet shuttlecraft, all the way up to the large phaser banks and phaser arrays of starships and space stations. Various types of banks, arrays, and emitters existed, such as the more powerful phaser type-8 and the phaser cannon. (TNG: "The Outcast", "Preemptive Strike"; VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper")

Hand-held phasers were also used by Starfleet personnel as tools and not just weapons. The phaser could be used to heat rocks and stones for warmth. (TOS: "The Enemy Within", "A Private Little War", "Spock's Brain"; TNG: "Final Mission"; VOY: "Parturition"; DS9: "Rocks and Shoals") While there were specialized tools like phaser bores and phaser drills, (TAS: "Once Upon a Planet"; VOY: "Once Upon a Time") Worf once used his type-2 phaser to open a tunnel on the Cardassian planet Celtris III. (TNG: "Chain Of Command, Part I") A phaser, when fired together with another in tandem or set to a high setting could create an opening in a solid rock wall. (VOY: "Caretaker"; DS9: "Rapture"; Star Trek: Insurrection) Hand phasers were used to clean carbon filters by scraping off the build up of carbon, (LD: "Moist Vessel") and with the right setting could even do something as mundane as removing graffiti off a bulkhead. (LD: "Temporal Edict")

Different models of phasers made different sounds when fired, depending on the model and setting. Federation phaser fire typically made a high-pitched "whistling" or "tearing" sound, for example. A knowledgeable person could use the sound to differentiate between types and power settings. (TOS: "Errand of Mercy"; TNG: "Too Short A Season"; DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

In the alternate reality created by Nero's temporal incursion, hand phasers of the late 2250s emitted concentrated bolts of phaser energy rather than the steady streams generated by phasers of the prime reality.

In addition, these phasers had a rotating nozzle which flipped when set from stun to kill or vice versa. The ship-mounted phaser banks aboard the USS Enterprise were also used to fire bolts resembling proximity blasts. (Star Trek)

Bajoran phaser rifles were used by the Bajoran Militia, based on the design of their own hand phasers. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior") Regalian phaser rifles were less powerful than their Starfleet counterparts. (TNG: "The Vengeance Factor") The phaser used by Tolian Soran in 2371 fired concentrated bolts of phaser energy. (Star Trek Generations)

The weapon used by Soran was inconsistently identified as both a phaser and a disruptor in the script of Star Trek Generations, [10] though it did fire similar blasts as the phaser rifles featured in subsequent films.

While phasers were powerful weapons, they also had limitations. Phasers had no effect on neutronium alloys or the dikironium cloud creature. (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine", "Obsession") The creature known as Armus even seemed to be able to feed off of phaser blasts. (TNG: "Skin Of Evil") In 2369, two type-2 hand phasers at maximum level were unable to penetrate the toranium inlays of Cardassian doors. Major Kira Nerys recommended a bipolar torch to be used to cut through the door. (DS9: "The Forsaken")

Hand phasers could be made to overload, either deliberately or by sabotage. Phasers in the process of overloading emitted a distinctive high-pitched whine. The weapon released all of its energy in an explosion capable of doing considerable damage to its surroundings. In 2266, Lenore Karidian attempted to murder James T. Kirk by hiding an overloading phaser in his cabin. (TOS: "The Conscience of the King") In 2269, Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu were almost killed while on the Kalandan outpost planet, when its defensive computer fused the controls on Kirk's phaser, causing it to overload. (TOS: "That Which Survives")

According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, one possible method to overload a phaser involved disengaging the safeties that normally managed the phaser's power system. This allowed energy to be transferred from the power cell to the prefire chamber then back into the power cell faster than the cell could reabsorb the energy, causing the cell to overload.

Personnel phasers were normally set to fire a single steady stream of nadion particles. This beam could be widened to perform a phaser sweep. Most types of phasers could be set to alternatively fire a concentrated bolt of phaser energy. In addition a personnel phaser could be set to fire a spread of multiple beams at once, a field burst of a specific frequency, a luvetric pulse, or an expanding energy pulse. (TOS: "The Enemy Within"; TNG: "Time's Arrow, Part II", "Descent"; DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "The Adversary")

Phasers had an adjustable resonance frequency. When modified, the color of the beam changed. Borg systems were vulnerable to a frequency spread in the high narrow band, but compensated for the weakness after Locutus was assimilated in 2366. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds") In 2367, the phaser adapter was designed, a chip that automatically retuned the phaser to a random setting after each discharge. Using the adapter, phasers were set on a rotating modulation to allow at most twelve shots to penetrate Borg shielding before they adapted. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"; Star Trek: First Contact; VOY: "Scorpion")

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