Quantum reaction

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

A quantum reaction is the physical effect caused by a stimuli at the quantum level.

In 2371, the USS Olympia was investigating an exogenic energy field surrounding the fourth planet of a star system in the Rutharian sector. When the Olympia scanned the energy barrier, it triggered quantum reaction that sent a surge of metreon radiation that destroyed the Olympia's engines, causing it to crash on the planet's surface. (DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice")