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:"''The Pulse Phaser is an advanced heavy weapon designed for a high rate of fire and a high damage yield ... The Pulse Phaser was developed by Starfleet as a weapon to combat future Borg incursions and was first fitted onto the prototype U.S.S. ''Defiant''. The device functions similarly to a standard Phaser, but without a continuous beam. The energy emissions are instead stored in a [[magnetic field]], allowing them to coalesce and agitate to higher energy states. The field is then redirected, forcing the burst of Phaser energy toward the target. This process is repeated rapidly using multiple magnetic field generators, and the result is a stream of phased energy projectiles. Although the range of such a weapon is much less than the standard Phaser due to rapid dissipation, from close range the pulse Phaser can do more damage than most Phaser types. The weapon has since been adapted to function on most Federation ships.''" |
:"''The Pulse Phaser is an advanced heavy weapon designed for a high rate of fire and a high damage yield ... The Pulse Phaser was developed by Starfleet as a weapon to combat future Borg incursions and was first fitted onto the prototype U.S.S. ''Defiant''. The device functions similarly to a standard Phaser, but without a continuous beam. The energy emissions are instead stored in a [[magnetic field]], allowing them to coalesce and agitate to higher energy states. The field is then redirected, forcing the burst of Phaser energy toward the target. This process is repeated rapidly using multiple magnetic field generators, and the result is a stream of phased energy projectiles. Although the range of such a weapon is much less than the standard Phaser due to rapid dissipation, from close range the pulse Phaser can do more damage than most Phaser types. The weapon has since been adapted to function on most Federation ships.''" |
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| − | The video game ''[[Star Trek: Armada II]]'' also describes the phaser cannon as a Pulse Phaser onboard '' |
+ | The video game ''[[Star Trek: Armada II]]'' also describes the phaser cannon as a Pulse Phaser onboard ''Defiant''-class ships, ''Iwo Jima''-class ships, [[Federation starbases]] and Pulse Phaser Turrets. |
{{PhaserTechnology}} |
{{PhaserTechnology}} |
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Revision as of 15:23, 20 January 2009
The Defiant firing its four phaser cannons
Phaser cannon is a type of phaser bank used by at least the Federation and Species 6339. It has been utilized as a ground vehicle mounted and a starship mounted weapon.
Ship-mounted phaser cannon
Schematic of a phaser cannon
The shipmounted Federation cannon is an optronically targeted phaser. (VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper") It was presumably first introduced in the Template:ShipClass starship. In the mirror universe The Defiant phaser cannons were called multi-targeting phaser banks by the Klingons. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Shattered Mirror")
- The use of the name "phaser cannon" here comes from the computer screen in "Live Fast and Prosper". It was used along with the cut-away graphic, that first appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual. (pg. 133)
The four cannons of the Defiant-class have been seen usually firing phaser bolts simultaneously in short rapid fire bursts and in only one direction. The cannons can also fire beams. (DS9: "Destiny") The combined firepower of the four phaser cannons of the Defiant appears to be almost as powerful as the combined firepower of two wing-mounted disruptor cannons on a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. (DS9: "Favor the Bold")
- The term "phaser bolt" was given in scripts of "For the Uniform" and "Tears of the Prophets". Judging from the visual effects, the firing rate can apparently be set anywhere from 4 (Star Trek: First Contact) to 12 rounds per second. (DS9: "Valiant", "Tears of the Prophets") Cannons were also seen firing sequentally in pairs (first lower, then upper, ...) when the Defiant assaulted the last ships standing in its way in the Dominion fleet (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")
Although the impostors displayed phaser cannons as the weapon systems of USS Voyager, there is no evidence that they were part of the actual armaments of the Voyager. (VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper")
Systems
The power cell of Defiant-class starships phaser cannon array
The emitter coupling servos of Defiant-class starships phaser cannon array
On the Defiant-class the plasma conduit is run through the primary phaser coupling to almost double the power of the phaser cannons. On most Federation ships this would significantly reduce the warp drive efficiency. (DS9: "Defiant") Phaser safeties are engaged before the weapons array is turned on-line and the phaser cannons charged to full power. (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil") When the cannons are charged, 15-percent plasma is bled to the phaser matrix. (DS9: "For the Uniform") There is also a separate phaser generator from the emitters. (DS9: "Starship Down") There are also phaser reserves that can be emptied, for example to strenghten structural integrity. (DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice") There is a 30-inch long power cell in the phaser array on the Defiant-class starships, that is easily used up and needs to be replaced. (DS9: "Favor the Bold")
- A power cell was in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. [1]
With extensive modifications, involving shunting the primary phaser relay through the warp drive, and bypassing the plasma emitter from the emitter coupling servos to avert an overload, phaser cannon array could be modified to emit a phaser beam wide enough to encompas an entire comet and vaporize it evenly from a distance of 10 kilometers. (DS9: "Destiny")
- It is not clear if firing a standard narrow phaser beam from a cannon would require as much modification.
In 2373 the through-put reading of the phaser relay on the Defiant was 148.7. Lieutenant Commander Worf and Ensign Nog attempted to increase the relay efficiency. This process involved recalibrating the emitter stage after the interface program was initialized and prefire chamber charged. (DS9: "Soldiers of the Empire")
- Worf also ordered Nog to do a collimation sequence on the nadion emitters prior to fully charging the phaser array of the Defiant in DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil". It is possible the nadion emitters are a part of the phaser array, possibly an alternative term for phaser emitters.
Other species phaser cannons
Species 6339 utilizes phaser cannon technology. One of their vessels, commanded by Ven, encountered by the USS Voyager in 2375, was found to possess 22 phaser cannons on the aft section alone. (VOY: "Infinite Regress")
It is not clear if the Pygorian pulse cannons, sold to the Maquis in 2370, were some type of phaser cannon technology. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part II")
- Apparently those phasers too fired short beam pulses directly forward from the ship.
Ground vehicle-mounted phaser cannon
Worf mans a phaser cannon, mounted on the back of the Argo's buggy.
Ground vehicles can be equiped with a personnel-operated phaser cannon. The Argo shuttlecraft, attached to the USS Enterprise-E, was equipped with a buggy which was armed with such a device. (Star Trek Nemesis)
- The weapon of the buggy was named in the script of "Star Trek: Nemesis". It is not clear how this weapon actually differs from the technology of the 24th century phaser rifles as they all also have similar phaser bolt firing capability as demonstrated by the cannon. (Star Trek: First Contact; VOY: "Worst Case Scenario", etc.) Though not seen on screen, the user-end of the phaser cannon contains a tactical LCARS display. This was shown in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. [2]
Appendices
Background
It is a common interpretation that the Federation phaser cannon was also developed specifically against Borg ships, as the Defiant-class was designed only for the one purpose, to fight and defeat the Borg and it was presumably the first shiptype to use a phaser cannon. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")
The script of DS9: "Destiny" named the weapon a gatling gun phaser. There is however no evidence of any rotating barrels. On-screen, in the dialogue, the Defiant cannons were called simply phaser banks (DS9: "Second Skin", "The Adversary", "For the Uniform", "Favor the Bold", etc.) or just the phaser array. (DS9: "Defiant", "Destiny") The four cannon simultaneous phaser volley of 15 shots (60 bolts total) was called "a standard burst" in "Destiny". Star Trek: Starship Spotter identifies the classification of the cannons as Type XII phasers.
In the first draft of the script of Star Trek: First Contact [3] the USS Enterprise-E was also intended to have port and starboard batteries of rapid-fire phasers resembling gatling guns in their effect. They were able to destroy a borg cube before the Borg ships adapted their shields to the the cannons.
In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, the Defiant's phaser cannons are called "pulse phasers" or "pulse phaser cannons." The weapon combines several new technologies, such as nearly flawless emitter crystals, rapid discharge EPS capacitance banks and high-speed beam-focusing coils. The pulses are structured like a layered onion. As a result, the target contact is more difficult to disperse than a standard phaser beam. On the Defiant, the EPS weapon-power conduits have been truncated to provide a near zero lagtime between activation command and beam launch. (pg. 123, 132, 133)
Apocrypha
According to the Pocket Books novelization "The Search", by Diane Carey, the phaser cannon is called a triple-redundant interlocking phaser array.
The videogame manual for Star Trek: Starfleet Command III describes the phaser cannon in great detail:
- "The Pulse Phaser is an advanced heavy weapon designed for a high rate of fire and a high damage yield ... The Pulse Phaser was developed by Starfleet as a weapon to combat future Borg incursions and was first fitted onto the prototype U.S.S. Defiant. The device functions similarly to a standard Phaser, but without a continuous beam. The energy emissions are instead stored in a magnetic field, allowing them to coalesce and agitate to higher energy states. The field is then redirected, forcing the burst of Phaser energy toward the target. This process is repeated rapidly using multiple magnetic field generators, and the result is a stream of phased energy projectiles. Although the range of such a weapon is much less than the standard Phaser due to rapid dissipation, from close range the pulse Phaser can do more damage than most Phaser types. The weapon has since been adapted to function on most Federation ships."
The video game Star Trek: Armada II also describes the phaser cannon as a Pulse Phaser onboard Defiant-class ships, Iwo Jima-class ships, Federation starbases and Pulse Phaser Turrets.
Template:PhaserTechnology