Photon torpedo
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
- "Photon torpedo: isn't that the universal greeting when communications are down?"
- "I think it's the universal greeting when you don't like someone."
Photon torpedoes (Pu'DaH dak cha in Klingonese) are tactical matter/antimatter weapons commonly deployed aboard starships and starbases by various organizations. Photon torpedoes are often abbreviated as "photons".
The Klingons have been using photon torpedoes at least since the mid-22nd century. They used them extensively on board Raptor-class scout ships, as well as Birds-of-Prey. In comparison, during the same period the Earth Starfleet was still employing the spatial torpedo, although they soon upgraded to photonic torpedoes, the precursors to the photon torpedo. (ENT: "Fight or Flight", "Sleeping Dogs", "The Expanse", "Borderland")
The Federation Starfleet began using photon torpedoes by at least 2267. (TOS: "Arena")
The 24th century saw the deployment of an improved type of ordnance in the year 2371: the quantum torpedo. Nonetheless, photons continued to be utilized along with the new quantum torpedoes by such starships as the USS Enterprise-E. (DS9: "Defiant"; Star Trek Nemesis)
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[edit] Overview
The components of a torpedo are contained within an elongated elliptical casing, also known as a photon tube. The weapon is armed with a photon warhead. The warhead has a detonation chamber filled with antimatter. Upon detonation the torpedo creates a matter-antimatter explosion. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; DS9: "Tribunal"; VOY: "Good Shepherd"; TNG: "The Loss")
A photon torpedo with a 25 isoton yield can destroy an entire city within seconds. (VOY: "Living Witness")
Torpedoes used by 2365 can burrow through the surface of a planet intact. By 2367 the shields of a torpedo can protect it for several seconds, during which the torpedo enters a sun and burrows into its stellar core. The torpedo flight engine is a sustainer engine that uses reactants carried on board for power. Torpedoes have a frequency, related to that of its target's deflector shield modulation, measured in megahertz. When both are matched torpedoes can penetrate the shields of the target starship. (TNG: "Pen Pals", "Half a Life"; Star Trek Generations)
- It is not clear if the frequency of the torpedo is actually the shield modulation of the torpedo. A line by Geordi La Forge in the script of "Half a Life" confirms torpedoes use a sustainer engine for propulsion. This scene was cut short from the aired episode.
Photon torpedoes have a subspace detonator. It is activated remotely when a torpedo launch is aborted and the torpedo destroyed. (TNG: "Genesis")
In 2365, Geordi La Forge created photon torpedoes by increasing antimatter charges on the Pakled ship the Mondor. (TNG: "Samaritan Snare")
When fired by a Galaxy-class starship without shields at a target in close range, a single photon detonation had a high probably of destroying the firing ship as well. In 2365, the unshielded USS Lantree was destroyed with a single photon torpedo hit. The USS Enterprise-D stayed at a distance of forty kilometers. (TNG: "Q Who", "Unnatural Selection")
- Photon torpedoes have been seen destroying starships with single hits also in DS9: "The Way of the Warrior".
In 2367, if a torpedo was fired by a Galaxy-class starship with shields, at a target in close range, the torpedo explosion could cripple the firing ship. When shield strength was increased 300 percent, the ship remained undamaged when a full spread of maximum yield torpedoes was detonated at close range. (TNG: "The Nth Degree")
In that same year, the range of a photon torpedo was slightly below 300,000 kilometers. (TNG: "The Wounded")
In 2368 photon torpedo warhead yields had at least 16 preset levels. A large explosion was created with five torpedoes set to level 16. (TNG: "New Ground")
With thoron fields and duranium shadows false sensor readings of photon torpedoes can be created to fool enemy ships. (DS9: "Emissary", "The Way of the Warrior")
In 2370, Quark arranged the sale of 200 photon torpedoes, among other items, to the Maquis through their agent Sakonna. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I", "The Maquis, Part II")
[edit] Photon torpedo types
Constitution-class starships carried an inventory of Mark VI torpedoes with terminium casings in 2285, and Mark VII photon torpedoes in 2293. At least the Mark VII torpedoes could not be programmed to fire themselves without a torpedo launcher. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
In 2370, Galaxy-class ships received a weapons upgrade that increased the explosive yield of photon torpedoes by eleven percent. Later that year, photon warheads used on Deep Space 9 were labeled as "Pho-torp Mark IV components". (TNG: "Genesis"; DS9: "Tribunal")
- The Mark IV torpedo has never been seen on-screen, but has been depicted in the Star Trek Encyclopedia and Star Trek: The Magazine to have the size and shape of other torpedo casings seen on-screen.
USS Voyager was equipped with type-6 photon torpedoes. They were not in use before Voyager was launched in 2371. Some of these torpedoes had a yield of 25 isotons. A class-6 warhead in this type of torpedo had the explosive yield of 200 isotons. These torpedoes had an effective range of approximately 8 million kilometers. (VOY: "Dreadnought", "Scorpion, Part II", "Living Witness", "Human Error")
- It might be inconsistent that the crew of Voyager resorted to an alternative warhead in "The Omega Directive" to provide an explosion of 80 isotons, when a standard photon warhead would provide more than twice that destructive force.
A class-10 torpedo could be armed with an even more powerful high yield warhead. (VOY: "Scorpion, Part II")
A computer screen used by the impostors in 2376 identifies the standard issue torpedoes of USS Voyager to be Mark XXV. (VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper")
- It should be noted that the impostors also displayed the phaser cannon as a weapon of Voyager. The Mark XXV might also have been a scam. The graphic depicting the interior of the Mark XXV first appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual.
[edit] Other uses
- In 2293, Spock and McCoy modified a photon torpedo to follow the trail of ionized gas from Chang's Bird-of-Prey at Uhura's suggestion. This exposed the cloaked Bird-of-Prey and allowed it's destruction by the USS Enterprise-A and the USS Excelsior. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
- In 2368, Data used a "high-energy burst level 6" yield setting on the photon torpedo warheads to expose tachyon signatures with inertial displacement as a convoy of cloaked Romulan Warbirds. This setting presumably did not damage the Warbirds. (TNG: "Redemption")
- Torpedoes can also be deployed like mines. When released as mines, the torpedoes do not glow in any way. Armed torpedoes can be transported via the transporter to a specific location to detonate. (VOY: "Year of Hell", "Dark Frontier", "Child's Play")
- In 2364 photon torpedoes had a display blast setting. A spread of torpedoes at this setting were detonated a kilometer from the surface of Ligon II as a warning burst to demonstrate the power of a Galaxy-class starship. (TNG: "Code of Honor")
- A photon torpedo can be used as a "warp flare" when it is reconfigured to emit a sustained polyluminous burst. (VOY: "Night")
- Doctor Timicin from Kaelon II made several modifications to the guidance system of Starfleet photon torpedoes that would enable him to implement his theory of helium fusion enhancement and possibly revitalize the Kaelon sun. (TNG: "Half a Life")
- Modifications to a photon torpedo can be made, so that a detonation inside a supernova remnant, like the MacPherson Nebula or a pulsar, like Dikon Alpha, will create a reaction that will artificially produce vertion particles. (TNG: "Emergence")
- A class 8 probe uses the same casing as a photon torpedo. It can be launched from a stationary platform at warp 9 and can travel at that velocity. (TNG: "Pen Pals", "The Emissary")
- The torpedo casing did not glow in any way, when transporting K'Ehleyr, but appeared like a regular torpedo when transporting a resonator.
- Doctor Tolian Soran had Mark V torpedoes among his collection of solar probes in his lab aboard the Amargosa observatory in 2371. (Star Trek Generations)
- It has become something of a Starfleet tradition to place dead crewmembers inside an empty torpedo casing, and often such torpedoes are launched into space.
- Spock, Enrique Muñiz, Captain Lisa Cusak, and Jadzia Dax were placed in empty torpedo casings after their deaths. Spock's body was launched towards the rapidly-forming Genesis Planet. It is unknown, however, as to whether or not Cusak's or Jadzia Dax's body were launched into space, or if they were returned home for more traditional ceremonies. Also non-starfleet personnel have recieved this type of burial. Dr. Ira Graves' body was beamed into space in a tube with a transparent window to display his face. Lieutenant John Kelly's corpse, recovered from a graviton ellipse in 2376, was launched into space in a standard torpedo tube. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; DS9: "The Ship", "The Sound of Her Voice", "Tears of the Prophets"; TNG: "The Schizoid Man"; VOY: "One Small Step")
[edit] See also
[edit] Background
- The term "photon torpedo" was not used until fairly late into season one of Star Trek: The Original Series, in "Arena" (episode 19). Before that, when the USS Enterprise fired shots that looked like globular bursts, they were identified as proximity blasts from the phasers, as in TOS: "Balance of Terror".
- The Making of Star Trek gave this description of the photon torpedo:
- "...photon torpedoes, which are energy pods of matter and anti-matter contained and held temporarily separated in a magno-photon force field. These can be used as torpedoes or depth charges, and can be set with electrochemical, proximity, and a variety of other fuses. Photon torpedoes can be fired directly at a target, laid out as a minefield, or scattered in an attacker's path as depth charges." (pg. 194)
- The idea that the photon torpedoes themselves were a physical missile-like casing was never confirmed on-screen for the Enterprise of the original series. The idea of distinct "launchers" (or "tubes") for the torpedoes was first introduced in "The Changeling", as torpedo number 2 was fired instead of just a torpedo bank being discharged. Even as late as Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Andrew Probert did not envision the photon torpedo to be a capsule, as he says in his 2005 Trekplace interview:
- "I envisioned them as what we saw during the TV era, they were glowing globs of plasma or some sort of energy. They weren't giant capsules. I envision them as big, glowy, dangerous blobs of... scariness." [1]
- Photon torpedoes were definitely physical missile-like casings by the time of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. First on-screen connection between photon torpedoes and antimatter came in the second season episode "Samaritan Snare" of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was not established until fourth season episode "Half a Life" that photon torpedoes have shields of their own.
- "Obsession" seems to contradict the whole notion that there is a connection between antimatter and photon torpedoes. First the Enterprise crew attempt to destroy the Dikironium cloud creature by exploding photon torpedoes inside it, when that had no effect, they turn to the most powerful weapon available at that time – an ounce of antimatter.
- The special effect of a torpedo launched with a warhead and launched as a coffin, was completely different in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".
- The sound of photon torpedoes firing was that of the disintegration ray from the original The War of the Worlds.
[edit] Technical Manuals
According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual:
- Starfleet began developing two types of photon torpedoes starting in 2215, with the primary difficulty being the design of the warhead. The first type had the deuterium and antideuterium reactants driven together like in an implosion design nuclear weapon. This torpedo had a maximum range of 750,000 kilometers, as this was the stability limit of the containment field design. It had a low rate of annihilation, and was adequate as a defensive weapon only. The second type, which became operational in 2271 had a the reactants mixed together in thousands of small magnetic packets. This increased the rate of annihilation. This type had an effective tactical range from fifteen kilometers to 3.5 million kilometers. (pg. 128, 130)
- These range figures are inconsistent with the range of below 300,000 kilometers established in "The Wounded" for a torpedo type used in 2367.
- The second type warhead was loaded with a maximum yield of only 1.5 kilograms of antideuterium. Due to the premixed reactants, the released energy per unit time is greater than the result of a rupture in a storage pod containing 100 cubic meters of antideuterium. The torpedo had a dry mass of 247.5 kilograms. (pg. 129, 68 referenced)
- By using standard physics calculations, a payload of 1.5 kilograms equals to about 64 megatons.
- The second type, at maximum yield, achieves the level of destructive force of an antimatter pod rupture. Antimatter is stored as liquid or slush on starships. (pg. 69) Density of mere liquid antideuterium is around 160 kilograms per cubic meter. According to this comparison the high annihilation rate energy release would be comparable to about 690 gigatons. For the sake of plausibility the affected blast area at these intensities might be extremely small. Visual effects on-screen would seem to confirm this.
- Calculator: http://edwardmuller.com/calculator.htm
- As a safety measure the matter and antimatter are kept initially completely separated in the warhead. Only after the launch they are mixed during flight in the combiner tank, while still separated from each other in magnetic packets. This mixing takes a minimum of 1.02 seconds. (pg. 128, 129)
- This would explain why photon torpedoes are launched at very slow velocities when their targets are in relatively close range. As the travel time must always be over one second for the warhead to be ready to detonate.
- The propulsion system of the torpedoes is a warp sustainer engine. The engine coils of the torpedo grab and hold a hand-off field from the launcher tube's sequential field induction coils. A miniature matter/antimatter fuel cell adds power to the hand-off field. When launched in warp flight, torpedo will continue to travel at warp, when launched at sublight, torpedo will travel at a high sublight speed, but will not cross the warp threshold. (pg. 129)
- Class VIII medium-range and class IX long-range multimission warp probes both use a modified photon torpedo casing and a warp sustainer engine as the power plant. (pg. 117,118)
According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual:
- Torpedoes will obtain a high sublight speed when launched from a stationary launch platform. They are still effective against close-in threat vessels.
- The fact that a class 8 probe was supposedly launched by a starbase at warp speeds in "The Emissary" might be inconsistent with the statement that photon torpedoes can't reach warp speed if launched from a stationary or a sublight platform.
- The Mark XXV torpedo was the current design as of 2375. It has a dry mass of only 186.7 kilograms. The reactant capacity has increased five percent over the previous design, leading to a slightly higher yield of 18.5 isotons. The reactants are in a cryogenic state. Effective tactical range was increased to 4.05 million kilometers. (pg. 84 and 94 referenced)
- This range would also be inconsistent with the 8 million kilometer range figure given in "Human Error" of a torpedo type that had entered into service in 2371.
- The 25 isotons is the theoretical maximum yield limit for the standard photon torpedo first developed in 2268. This theoretical maximum was finally reached with the Mark IX warhead. (pg. 85)
- This yield level statement would contradict the 200 isoton figure from "Scorpion, Part II", not to mention the special high yield torpedo from that episode, that was supposedly even more powerful.
- The self-destruct packages aboard the Defiant are photon warheads. On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, self-destruct is augmented with photon warheads scaled up 1.5 times of what is normally installed on torpedoes. The self-replicating mines had a photon warhead combiner tank as their explosive charge. (pg. 93, 94, 134)
According to the Star Trek Voyager Technical Guide Version 1.0:
- The explosive yield (of the type-6 torpedo) can be set to ten different levels. Level 1 is just a fireworks display, level 5 is the standard yield of one kilogram antimatter charge and level 10 violates strategic arms limitation treaties.
- An Intrepid-class ship doesn't carry the material to fabricate casings for these torpedoes, and needs planetary raw materials to make new ones.
- This would solve the inconsistency problem of the Voyager using over ninety torpedoes during the run of the series, while it was stated in the first season episode "The Cloud" that there was no way to replace the 38 torpedoes they had left at that time.
According to the Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise:
- The Beltesha Missile Systems Mark VI photon torpedo replaced the Morris Magtronics Model FP-4 torpedo during the Constitution-class refit in the 2270s. The Mark VI has four magnathrust propulsion units. (pg. 82, 85)
- The special effect of the original series torpedo is considerably different, from subsequent films and episodes. That and the addition of the large torpedo bay structure to the Constitution-class would seem to make the replacement of the torpedo model from something totally different seem plausible.
While the Technical Manuals and Guides themselves are not canon, they are Memory Alpha permitted resources.
