Phaser flak-mode?

[BenRG]

Just something that I was thinking about when I was reading Stravo's "Star Crossed".

We see the Imperial forces using a 'flak mode' of their turbolasers. I presume that this causes the energy bolt to 'detonate' at a fixed range from the gun, creating an explosion suitable for shooting down fighters, missiles and (in the case of the Emperor's Will's superlaser) fleets of Federation starships.

This topic asks if Federation phasers can do the same trick. I am going to stick my neck out and say 'yes'. Why? Because we see the Enterprise's phasers on 'flak mode' in the Original Series episode 'Balance of Terror'. A lot of people have assumed that this was just a script mistake and it meant 'photon torpedoes'. However, the dialogue in the episode clearly stated that the Enterprise is using phasers, and we have to accept that as canon. The energy bolts fly out from the ship and detonate in mid-space, causing damage to the cloaked Romulan Bird-of-Prey.

How could this work? I have a theory, although it is strewn with guesses and assumptions. I would be interested to hear your ideas.

The phasers, according to some 'semi-official' sources I have read, use an active particle called a 'nadion' (technobabble particle). I suspect that the phaser array generates an electromagnetic 'bubble' around each discharge to stop it from dispersing, as radiation fields tend to do. 'Flak Mode' would involve the ship's gunners setting the 'bubble' generator to create an unstable bubble that would degenerate at a set range from the ship. Then the nadion field would explosively disperse, damaging any object in the sphere of effect (by the neutrino conversion effect that phasers seem to exert on matter). As the Bird-of-Prey has to remain unshielded when cloaked, I assume that being hit by such a powerful particle field would cause a lot of damage.

*Whew!* So, what do you think?

[data_link]

I think that you have failed to realize the basic principle of visuals > dialouge in the canon hierarchy.

[Anarchist Bunny]

Even if phasers have a so called flak mode, it doesn't increase power any.

Flak burst on ISDs are used to BDZ a planet, destroying the atmosphere and melt more crust per shot.

[BenRG]

Even if phasers have a so called flak mode, it doesn't increase power any.

No arguments there, I was just making a technical point.

However, you have to admit that phaser-flak would do aggravating things to an unshielded TIE Fighter, Interceptor or Bomber. The area effect of the discharge would make it measurably easier to hit those small, agile targets. It would probably be useful for shooting down incoming missiles too.

[Stormbringer]

Even if phasers have a so called flak mode, it doesn't increase power any.

No arguments there, I was just making a technical point.

However, you have to admit that phaser-flak would do aggravating things to an unshielded TIE Fighter, Interceptor or Bomber. The area effect of the discharge would make it measurably easier to hit those small, agile targets. It would probably be useful for shooting down incoming missiles too.

Possible but it's never been used against photon torpedoes or small ships. Proof that they still can't target small targets, flak or no.

[Howedar]

Yes, the TOS-TMP-era burst fire phasers could aparently flak burst. However, there is no data to support the idea that TNG beam phasers and DS9 pulse phasers can do the same thing. The fact that the delivery mechanism has totally changed means that we can't use TOS flak bursting to suggest that TNG+ phasers could do the same.

[Stravo]

Even if phasers have a so called flak mode, it doesn't increase power any.

No arguments there, I was just making a technical point.

However, you have to admit that phaser-flak would do aggravating things to an unshielded TIE Fighter, Interceptor or Bomber. The area effect of the discharge would make it measurably easier to hit those small, agile targets. It would probably be useful for shooting down incoming missiles too.

I hear what you are saying but I do believe that the photon torpedo doubles as the area effect weapon while the phaser is the precision weapon in Trek. If you are going to shoot down incoming warheads or blanket an area with fire you set your torpedoes to proximity detonate as I believe we have seen in several Trek episodes where the torpedoes have an explosive effect while phasers have ALWAYS (Balance of Terror excluded) been portrayed as a finesse weapons (numerous instances in Trek where the phasers are used exclusively to strike at exposed targets or knock out a certain system)

In Star Crossed the Federation uses their torpedoes to try and knock out those pesky TIE fighters and intercept incoming proton torpedoes. Its the way it would work from what we've seen in the shows and movies. Phasers can't do that.

But thanks for reading and I'm glad I was able to engender some thought and junp start ideas in people's heads.

BTW I don't think I ever got crap about having the super laser fire in flak mode...

[Howedar]

The ability of Photon Torpedos to flak burst is somewhat questionable, given that the Command-version of the Doctor fired a phaser at Voyager-launched torpedo to detonate it in Workforce.

[Darth Wong]

This topic asks if Federation phasers can do the same trick. I am going to stick my neck out and say 'yes'. Why? Because we see the Enterprise's phasers on 'flak mode' in the Original Series episode 'Balance of Terror'. A lot of people have assumed that this was just a script mistake and it meant 'photon torpedoes'. However, the dialogue in the episode clearly stated that the Enterprise is using phasers, and we have to accept that as canon. The energy bolts fly out from the ship and detonate in mid-space, causing damage to the cloaked Romulan Bird-of-Prey.

As a basic principle in logic, you always try to explain things using known phenomena rather than inventing new phenomena.

How does this apply here? Consider: the Warbird is invisible. We see phasers blooming in seemingly empty space. We have three possible explanations:

1. The phasers have a "flak burst mode" which was never seen before and never seen again
2. They were actually firing photon torpedoes, even though Kirk ordered phasers. In a universe where Spock talks of sonic weapons in space with a perfectly straight face, it is hardly unreasonable to question the technical ramifications of dialogue
3. The phasers were hitting the invisible warbird and flaring up at the point of shield contact.

Numbers 2 and 3 are both more reasonable than number 1. They do not invent any new capabilities in order to explain the visuals, nor are they saddled with the necessity of explaining away the disappearance of this capability in future episodes.

[Uraniun235]

I thought photon torpedoes hadn't been installed on the Enterprise until later in the series.

[Uraniun235]

Plus, there's also the sticky problem of Kirk calling down to the phaser control room, and not torpedo control.

[omegaLancer]

that funny, since in the latest serie about the first enterprise they seem to have only photon torpedoes. It is their primary weapon system...So you would assume that it all starship after that would be equip with them.

The fact is that the phaser was not bursting as in flak, but what we may be seeing is due to the effect of the cloaking device on phaser themselves

[BenRG]

that funny, since in the latest serie about the first enterprise they seem to have only photon torpedoes. It is their primary weapon system...So you would assume that it all starship after that would be equip with them.

Actually, those are plasma torpedoes not photon torpedoes. In the episode where they find a Klingon ship in the atmosphere of a gas giant, Lt. Reed (the weapons/security officer) is completely ignorant about what a 'photon torpedo' might be.

The did have phaser cannon on board the NX-01 Enterprise, however, due to the rush to get the ship ready to fly to Quo'nos, they were still in their boxes waiting to be fitted. Of course, this meant the ship was protected only by a load of missiles that can't penetrate shields and whose targeting sensors hadn't even been calibrated yet.

Oh, I understand about what Mike is saying about the level of scientific and technical accuracy in the Original Series (one of its' charms, IMHO). However, you can't get around the fact that all the references in the episode are to the phaser weapons, not the torpedoes (although the effect sequence is identical, indicating a post-episode brainstorm by the script team felt that this was a wrong use of what should be a 'death ray' weapon). The torpedoes were introduced later (in 'The Elaan of Troyus', IIRC). They were probably introduced as a result of that brainstorming session and we can take it as read that they were intended, retrospectively, to be the weapon used in 'Balance of Terror'.

Nonetheless, as I have already said, all the references in the episode itself were to phasers. Even though they never used the capability again, it doesn't mean that the capability never existed. You can't get around the canon implications, no matter how much you want to.

This is slightly off-topic, but does anyone else think that you can switch phasers between 'pulse' and 'beam' mode? The Enterprise-0 (in my example of 'The Balance of Terror') could do that, but no TNG-era starship could.