How fast does a phaser beam travel?












13















A phaser fires a nadion particle beam at its target. That sounds like inertial mass is involved so it doesn't reach light speed. Semi-out-of-universe we see how fast a phaser beam is: I'd estimate something around 80 kph. You can see it moving with the naked eye. But that might be just a way to tell a story; to establish causality to the audience: "Look! First the beam is here, now it's here, now something's exploding." So the audience knows why the enemy ship explodes: It was a phaser beam, going from here to there. So maybe we are just shown a "symbolic slo-mo" to let us know what's happening.



Are there any in-universe insights on how fast a phaser beam travels? E.g. can I escape (escape, not evade) one on full impulse?










share|improve this question

























  • My understanding is that a phaser beam travels at the speed of light. You could escape it, but you'd have to be traveling at warp speed.

    – Chahk
    Apr 14 '14 at 19:56











  • Don't apply real Physics.. It can travel even faster than light..

    – S S
    Apr 14 '14 at 22:06











  • @SachinShekhar - The canon(ish) quote is that they travel at lightspeed unless being fired from a ship travelling at warp.

    – Valorum
    Apr 14 '14 at 23:51











  • @Richard No, I am saying it "can" travel FTL in sci-fi. The question is good except that inertial mass involvement thing.

    – S S
    Apr 15 '14 at 5:42











  • The problem is that although the leading edge can be seen moving with the naked eye, when the angle of attack changes the entire phaser beam remains straight (which requires at least a very fast particle stream otherwise it would look bendy). So it's at best inconsistent and, at worst, a nonsense...

    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Oct 31 '16 at 14:10
















13















A phaser fires a nadion particle beam at its target. That sounds like inertial mass is involved so it doesn't reach light speed. Semi-out-of-universe we see how fast a phaser beam is: I'd estimate something around 80 kph. You can see it moving with the naked eye. But that might be just a way to tell a story; to establish causality to the audience: "Look! First the beam is here, now it's here, now something's exploding." So the audience knows why the enemy ship explodes: It was a phaser beam, going from here to there. So maybe we are just shown a "symbolic slo-mo" to let us know what's happening.



Are there any in-universe insights on how fast a phaser beam travels? E.g. can I escape (escape, not evade) one on full impulse?










share|improve this question

























  • My understanding is that a phaser beam travels at the speed of light. You could escape it, but you'd have to be traveling at warp speed.

    – Chahk
    Apr 14 '14 at 19:56











  • Don't apply real Physics.. It can travel even faster than light..

    – S S
    Apr 14 '14 at 22:06











  • @SachinShekhar - The canon(ish) quote is that they travel at lightspeed unless being fired from a ship travelling at warp.

    – Valorum
    Apr 14 '14 at 23:51











  • @Richard No, I am saying it "can" travel FTL in sci-fi. The question is good except that inertial mass involvement thing.

    – S S
    Apr 15 '14 at 5:42











  • The problem is that although the leading edge can be seen moving with the naked eye, when the angle of attack changes the entire phaser beam remains straight (which requires at least a very fast particle stream otherwise it would look bendy). So it's at best inconsistent and, at worst, a nonsense...

    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Oct 31 '16 at 14:10














13












13








13


1






A phaser fires a nadion particle beam at its target. That sounds like inertial mass is involved so it doesn't reach light speed. Semi-out-of-universe we see how fast a phaser beam is: I'd estimate something around 80 kph. You can see it moving with the naked eye. But that might be just a way to tell a story; to establish causality to the audience: "Look! First the beam is here, now it's here, now something's exploding." So the audience knows why the enemy ship explodes: It was a phaser beam, going from here to there. So maybe we are just shown a "symbolic slo-mo" to let us know what's happening.



Are there any in-universe insights on how fast a phaser beam travels? E.g. can I escape (escape, not evade) one on full impulse?










share|improve this question
















A phaser fires a nadion particle beam at its target. That sounds like inertial mass is involved so it doesn't reach light speed. Semi-out-of-universe we see how fast a phaser beam is: I'd estimate something around 80 kph. You can see it moving with the naked eye. But that might be just a way to tell a story; to establish causality to the audience: "Look! First the beam is here, now it's here, now something's exploding." So the audience knows why the enemy ship explodes: It was a phaser beam, going from here to there. So maybe we are just shown a "symbolic slo-mo" to let us know what's happening.



Are there any in-universe insights on how fast a phaser beam travels? E.g. can I escape (escape, not evade) one on full impulse?







star-trek






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited May 13 '15 at 18:22









Paul D. Waite

20.5k1685139




20.5k1685139










asked Apr 14 '14 at 19:48









EinerEiner

6,10752870




6,10752870













  • My understanding is that a phaser beam travels at the speed of light. You could escape it, but you'd have to be traveling at warp speed.

    – Chahk
    Apr 14 '14 at 19:56











  • Don't apply real Physics.. It can travel even faster than light..

    – S S
    Apr 14 '14 at 22:06











  • @SachinShekhar - The canon(ish) quote is that they travel at lightspeed unless being fired from a ship travelling at warp.

    – Valorum
    Apr 14 '14 at 23:51











  • @Richard No, I am saying it "can" travel FTL in sci-fi. The question is good except that inertial mass involvement thing.

    – S S
    Apr 15 '14 at 5:42











  • The problem is that although the leading edge can be seen moving with the naked eye, when the angle of attack changes the entire phaser beam remains straight (which requires at least a very fast particle stream otherwise it would look bendy). So it's at best inconsistent and, at worst, a nonsense...

    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Oct 31 '16 at 14:10



















  • My understanding is that a phaser beam travels at the speed of light. You could escape it, but you'd have to be traveling at warp speed.

    – Chahk
    Apr 14 '14 at 19:56











  • Don't apply real Physics.. It can travel even faster than light..

    – S S
    Apr 14 '14 at 22:06











  • @SachinShekhar - The canon(ish) quote is that they travel at lightspeed unless being fired from a ship travelling at warp.

    – Valorum
    Apr 14 '14 at 23:51











  • @Richard No, I am saying it "can" travel FTL in sci-fi. The question is good except that inertial mass involvement thing.

    – S S
    Apr 15 '14 at 5:42











  • The problem is that although the leading edge can be seen moving with the naked eye, when the angle of attack changes the entire phaser beam remains straight (which requires at least a very fast particle stream otherwise it would look bendy). So it's at best inconsistent and, at worst, a nonsense...

    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Oct 31 '16 at 14:10

















My understanding is that a phaser beam travels at the speed of light. You could escape it, but you'd have to be traveling at warp speed.

– Chahk
Apr 14 '14 at 19:56





My understanding is that a phaser beam travels at the speed of light. You could escape it, but you'd have to be traveling at warp speed.

– Chahk
Apr 14 '14 at 19:56













Don't apply real Physics.. It can travel even faster than light..

– S S
Apr 14 '14 at 22:06





Don't apply real Physics.. It can travel even faster than light..

– S S
Apr 14 '14 at 22:06













@SachinShekhar - The canon(ish) quote is that they travel at lightspeed unless being fired from a ship travelling at warp.

– Valorum
Apr 14 '14 at 23:51





@SachinShekhar - The canon(ish) quote is that they travel at lightspeed unless being fired from a ship travelling at warp.

– Valorum
Apr 14 '14 at 23:51













@Richard No, I am saying it "can" travel FTL in sci-fi. The question is good except that inertial mass involvement thing.

– S S
Apr 15 '14 at 5:42





@Richard No, I am saying it "can" travel FTL in sci-fi. The question is good except that inertial mass involvement thing.

– S S
Apr 15 '14 at 5:42













The problem is that although the leading edge can be seen moving with the naked eye, when the angle of attack changes the entire phaser beam remains straight (which requires at least a very fast particle stream otherwise it would look bendy). So it's at best inconsistent and, at worst, a nonsense...

– Lightness Races in Orbit
Oct 31 '16 at 14:10





The problem is that although the leading edge can be seen moving with the naked eye, when the angle of attack changes the entire phaser beam remains straight (which requires at least a very fast particle stream otherwise it would look bendy). So it's at best inconsistent and, at worst, a nonsense...

– Lightness Races in Orbit
Oct 31 '16 at 14:10










6 Answers
6






active

oldest

votes


















19














The "Voyager Technical Manual" (written by longtime Star Trek production staffers Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach as an 'aide-memoire' for potential scriptwriters) specifically states that phaser beams travel at the speed of light.



enter image description here



This is backed up by another quote from the earlier "TNG Technical Manual" which clearly states that the beam travels at "c"



TNG Technical Manual



Given that full impulse is supposedly well short of the speed of light, the short answer to your question is "no, you cannot escape a phaser beam by travelling at sublight speeds".



Travelling at warp speed would be considerably more effective against a foe travelling below lightspeed since you would simply outrun the beam (unless the phaser is fired from a ship travelling at a similar warp factor).





Out-of-universe (e.g. from a TV production standpoint) phaser beams do often travel considerably slower.



As the video below shows, beam speed is wildly inconsistent. At the slowest they seem do seem to be moving about a couple of feet per frame. At the fastest, the beam is instantaneous from one shot to the next











share|improve this answer


























  • That is exactly the answer I was looking for. But if you don't mind I'd like to wait for a possible second opinion before marking it as the right one. To me there is so much consitency standing or falling with this...

    – Einer
    Apr 14 '14 at 20:33











  • They also travel significantly faster than the speed of light. There are several encounters between Voyager and Kazon ships traveling at warp when phaser fire is exchanged. Or is that a consequence of the warp field?

    – Dacio
    Apr 14 '14 at 22:49











  • @Dacio - From the same source; img835.imageshack.us/img835/19/3u6h.png - Phasers can be used at warp

    – Valorum
    Apr 14 '14 at 23:50











  • Doesn't change the fact that, from my sub-light observation frame, those phasers were traveling above light speed.

    – Dacio
    Apr 15 '14 at 0:05











  • @dacio - Apparently if you've got the right technology you can strap a torch onto a speeding train and have it go faster than lightspeed.

    – Valorum
    Apr 15 '14 at 0:09



















4














The ST:TNG Technical Manual's description of phaser operation clearly states that the beam will




"travel at c to the target".




Disclaimer: I do not have the book in my possession. Quoting from the Google books version.






share|improve this answer

































    4














    In "Wink of an Eye," we see how really slow the beam from a hand-held phaser is (at least, in an atmosphere). When Kirk attempts to "stun" Deela (the "Queen" of the accelerated Scolosians), she is able to slowly step to the side of the beam and allow it to pass by her in order to evade it. Since she can't have been accelerated all that much (at most by a factor of, say, 10,000 times - since at most two subjective days transpire for Kirk in the accelerated state, which would translate to 17 seconds of "ship time" during which Spock, McCoy, and Co. manage to a) realize that the ship has been invaded, and b) whip up a solution), this gives us an upper limit to the beam's speed of propagation.






    share|improve this answer








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    Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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    • Great answer! Backed up with in-universe, on-screen facts.

      – Organic Marble
      2 days ago



















    2














    Since characters in all of the Star Trek series are shown ducking from and dodging phaser beams, it would seem that their speed is somewhat less than the speed of light and often slower than the speed of a bullet from a projectile weapon. If,as the Voyager Technical Manual states phaser are indeed light speed or even relativistic speed weapons missing with them or dodging their beams would be impossible.



    Simply put when someone aims and fires a phaser, there is no way for it not to strike its intended target unless the weapon was deliberately aimed away from them. The weapon has no recoil and it would be as if you shined a flashlight at someone (e.g. you can’t miss them)






    share|improve this answer



















    • 2





      That has been my thinking too, but think about it: When you see someone pointing a flashlight at you and you see that he is about to activate it, you can always jump behind a rock. If you detect a phaser lock you can still do evasive maneuvers.

      – Einer
      Apr 15 '14 at 5:15








    • 1





      @einer - Ship-to-ship evasive maneuvers are intended to present as small a target as possible and to prevent a prolonged exposure to incoming fire.

      – Valorum
      Apr 15 '14 at 5:35













    • Then why are there cases where someone with hostages can force others to lower their phasers? They can aim their phasers to disable arms or weapons of the hostage keeper?

      – dh16
      Aug 23 '15 at 5:37



















    0














    While phasers travel at the speed of light, that does not mean the person firing it has good aim. If you saw a phaser pointed at you, you'd leap too. Granted, that implies the crews of the Enterprises (and Voyager/DS9) came up against some of the worst shooters in the universe who only manage to kill red shirted ensigns, and true, there have been some laughable 'he dodged a phaser' scenes, but the original series was "Wagon Train" in space so I kind of like when ST uses a bit of old western flair in their story telling.






    share|improve this answer
























    • Welcome to SFF:SE. Do you have any sources for phasers traveling at the speed of light? I can think of a fair number of counter-examples.

      – Politank-Z
      Oct 31 '16 at 0:39



















    -4














    A phaser blast travels at warp fifteen, the maximum speed possible in the Star Trek universe without going into time warp. In the original series "The Ultimate Computer", the M5 computer easily destroys two Federation Star Ships while the Enterprise is traveling at warp four. In the original series "Journey to Babel", Captain Kirk destroys a scout ship with a phaser blast that is traveling at warp ten.



    Unfortunately, there have been many writers of Star Trek since the original series that had very little understanding of the firepower of the original Enterprise and they weakened the Enterprise significantly in the movies and the Next Generation. In the original series "The Changeling" the Nomad robot repeatedly attacks the Enterprise with energy blast that are each equal to ninety photon torpedoes. The original Enterprise was far more powerful than the future ships that the writers weakened. The original Enterprise's photon torpedoes were dirty bombs that could destroy a city.






    share|improve this answer


























    • The first paragraph seems to have some bearing on the question. The second paragraph has little or no bearing and is basically a rant.

      – Valorum
      May 13 '15 at 18:16











    • By no means was it meant to be a rant. I was simply stating factual events that took place with Gene Roddenberry's original version of Star Trek. The writers after him changed a lot concerning the Enterprise's firepower and endurance making it difficult for an accurate answer to the question. I simply went back to the old episodes for the best answer I could give.

      – Ray
      May 13 '15 at 18:34











    • So you're just going to ignore that Roddenberry was intimately involved in the writing, production and direction of TNG?

      – Valorum
      May 13 '15 at 18:37













    • As well as utterly ignoring that writers were presented with a very comprehensive show "bible" that explained the capabilities of the various bits of tech lying around?

      – Valorum
      May 13 '15 at 18:38











    • Of course Roddenberry was involved. They had to lower the firepower so they could have an awesome Star ship battle in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. The bottom line is the original 1968 Enterprise from the original series would totally blow away Picard's flying window pane Enterprise. They had to lower the firepower to make great Star ship battles with today's special effects.

      – Ray
      May 13 '15 at 18:46











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    6 Answers
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    6 Answers
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    19














    The "Voyager Technical Manual" (written by longtime Star Trek production staffers Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach as an 'aide-memoire' for potential scriptwriters) specifically states that phaser beams travel at the speed of light.



    enter image description here



    This is backed up by another quote from the earlier "TNG Technical Manual" which clearly states that the beam travels at "c"



    TNG Technical Manual



    Given that full impulse is supposedly well short of the speed of light, the short answer to your question is "no, you cannot escape a phaser beam by travelling at sublight speeds".



    Travelling at warp speed would be considerably more effective against a foe travelling below lightspeed since you would simply outrun the beam (unless the phaser is fired from a ship travelling at a similar warp factor).





    Out-of-universe (e.g. from a TV production standpoint) phaser beams do often travel considerably slower.



    As the video below shows, beam speed is wildly inconsistent. At the slowest they seem do seem to be moving about a couple of feet per frame. At the fastest, the beam is instantaneous from one shot to the next











    share|improve this answer


























    • That is exactly the answer I was looking for. But if you don't mind I'd like to wait for a possible second opinion before marking it as the right one. To me there is so much consitency standing or falling with this...

      – Einer
      Apr 14 '14 at 20:33











    • They also travel significantly faster than the speed of light. There are several encounters between Voyager and Kazon ships traveling at warp when phaser fire is exchanged. Or is that a consequence of the warp field?

      – Dacio
      Apr 14 '14 at 22:49











    • @Dacio - From the same source; img835.imageshack.us/img835/19/3u6h.png - Phasers can be used at warp

      – Valorum
      Apr 14 '14 at 23:50











    • Doesn't change the fact that, from my sub-light observation frame, those phasers were traveling above light speed.

      – Dacio
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:05











    • @dacio - Apparently if you've got the right technology you can strap a torch onto a speeding train and have it go faster than lightspeed.

      – Valorum
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:09
















    19














    The "Voyager Technical Manual" (written by longtime Star Trek production staffers Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach as an 'aide-memoire' for potential scriptwriters) specifically states that phaser beams travel at the speed of light.



    enter image description here



    This is backed up by another quote from the earlier "TNG Technical Manual" which clearly states that the beam travels at "c"



    TNG Technical Manual



    Given that full impulse is supposedly well short of the speed of light, the short answer to your question is "no, you cannot escape a phaser beam by travelling at sublight speeds".



    Travelling at warp speed would be considerably more effective against a foe travelling below lightspeed since you would simply outrun the beam (unless the phaser is fired from a ship travelling at a similar warp factor).





    Out-of-universe (e.g. from a TV production standpoint) phaser beams do often travel considerably slower.



    As the video below shows, beam speed is wildly inconsistent. At the slowest they seem do seem to be moving about a couple of feet per frame. At the fastest, the beam is instantaneous from one shot to the next











    share|improve this answer


























    • That is exactly the answer I was looking for. But if you don't mind I'd like to wait for a possible second opinion before marking it as the right one. To me there is so much consitency standing or falling with this...

      – Einer
      Apr 14 '14 at 20:33











    • They also travel significantly faster than the speed of light. There are several encounters between Voyager and Kazon ships traveling at warp when phaser fire is exchanged. Or is that a consequence of the warp field?

      – Dacio
      Apr 14 '14 at 22:49











    • @Dacio - From the same source; img835.imageshack.us/img835/19/3u6h.png - Phasers can be used at warp

      – Valorum
      Apr 14 '14 at 23:50











    • Doesn't change the fact that, from my sub-light observation frame, those phasers were traveling above light speed.

      – Dacio
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:05











    • @dacio - Apparently if you've got the right technology you can strap a torch onto a speeding train and have it go faster than lightspeed.

      – Valorum
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:09














    19












    19








    19







    The "Voyager Technical Manual" (written by longtime Star Trek production staffers Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach as an 'aide-memoire' for potential scriptwriters) specifically states that phaser beams travel at the speed of light.



    enter image description here



    This is backed up by another quote from the earlier "TNG Technical Manual" which clearly states that the beam travels at "c"



    TNG Technical Manual



    Given that full impulse is supposedly well short of the speed of light, the short answer to your question is "no, you cannot escape a phaser beam by travelling at sublight speeds".



    Travelling at warp speed would be considerably more effective against a foe travelling below lightspeed since you would simply outrun the beam (unless the phaser is fired from a ship travelling at a similar warp factor).





    Out-of-universe (e.g. from a TV production standpoint) phaser beams do often travel considerably slower.



    As the video below shows, beam speed is wildly inconsistent. At the slowest they seem do seem to be moving about a couple of feet per frame. At the fastest, the beam is instantaneous from one shot to the next











    share|improve this answer















    The "Voyager Technical Manual" (written by longtime Star Trek production staffers Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach as an 'aide-memoire' for potential scriptwriters) specifically states that phaser beams travel at the speed of light.



    enter image description here



    This is backed up by another quote from the earlier "TNG Technical Manual" which clearly states that the beam travels at "c"



    TNG Technical Manual



    Given that full impulse is supposedly well short of the speed of light, the short answer to your question is "no, you cannot escape a phaser beam by travelling at sublight speeds".



    Travelling at warp speed would be considerably more effective against a foe travelling below lightspeed since you would simply outrun the beam (unless the phaser is fired from a ship travelling at a similar warp factor).





    Out-of-universe (e.g. from a TV production standpoint) phaser beams do often travel considerably slower.



    As the video below shows, beam speed is wildly inconsistent. At the slowest they seem do seem to be moving about a couple of feet per frame. At the fastest, the beam is instantaneous from one shot to the next




















    share|improve this answer














    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer








    edited Apr 30 '14 at 19:42

























    answered Apr 14 '14 at 20:26









    ValorumValorum

    408k11029683190




    408k11029683190













    • That is exactly the answer I was looking for. But if you don't mind I'd like to wait for a possible second opinion before marking it as the right one. To me there is so much consitency standing or falling with this...

      – Einer
      Apr 14 '14 at 20:33











    • They also travel significantly faster than the speed of light. There are several encounters between Voyager and Kazon ships traveling at warp when phaser fire is exchanged. Or is that a consequence of the warp field?

      – Dacio
      Apr 14 '14 at 22:49











    • @Dacio - From the same source; img835.imageshack.us/img835/19/3u6h.png - Phasers can be used at warp

      – Valorum
      Apr 14 '14 at 23:50











    • Doesn't change the fact that, from my sub-light observation frame, those phasers were traveling above light speed.

      – Dacio
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:05











    • @dacio - Apparently if you've got the right technology you can strap a torch onto a speeding train and have it go faster than lightspeed.

      – Valorum
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:09



















    • That is exactly the answer I was looking for. But if you don't mind I'd like to wait for a possible second opinion before marking it as the right one. To me there is so much consitency standing or falling with this...

      – Einer
      Apr 14 '14 at 20:33











    • They also travel significantly faster than the speed of light. There are several encounters between Voyager and Kazon ships traveling at warp when phaser fire is exchanged. Or is that a consequence of the warp field?

      – Dacio
      Apr 14 '14 at 22:49











    • @Dacio - From the same source; img835.imageshack.us/img835/19/3u6h.png - Phasers can be used at warp

      – Valorum
      Apr 14 '14 at 23:50











    • Doesn't change the fact that, from my sub-light observation frame, those phasers were traveling above light speed.

      – Dacio
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:05











    • @dacio - Apparently if you've got the right technology you can strap a torch onto a speeding train and have it go faster than lightspeed.

      – Valorum
      Apr 15 '14 at 0:09

















    That is exactly the answer I was looking for. But if you don't mind I'd like to wait for a possible second opinion before marking it as the right one. To me there is so much consitency standing or falling with this...

    – Einer
    Apr 14 '14 at 20:33





    That is exactly the answer I was looking for. But if you don't mind I'd like to wait for a possible second opinion before marking it as the right one. To me there is so much consitency standing or falling with this...

    – Einer
    Apr 14 '14 at 20:33













    They also travel significantly faster than the speed of light. There are several encounters between Voyager and Kazon ships traveling at warp when phaser fire is exchanged. Or is that a consequence of the warp field?

    – Dacio
    Apr 14 '14 at 22:49





    They also travel significantly faster than the speed of light. There are several encounters between Voyager and Kazon ships traveling at warp when phaser fire is exchanged. Or is that a consequence of the warp field?

    – Dacio
    Apr 14 '14 at 22:49













    @Dacio - From the same source; img835.imageshack.us/img835/19/3u6h.png - Phasers can be used at warp

    – Valorum
    Apr 14 '14 at 23:50





    @Dacio - From the same source; img835.imageshack.us/img835/19/3u6h.png - Phasers can be used at warp

    – Valorum
    Apr 14 '14 at 23:50













    Doesn't change the fact that, from my sub-light observation frame, those phasers were traveling above light speed.

    – Dacio
    Apr 15 '14 at 0:05





    Doesn't change the fact that, from my sub-light observation frame, those phasers were traveling above light speed.

    – Dacio
    Apr 15 '14 at 0:05













    @dacio - Apparently if you've got the right technology you can strap a torch onto a speeding train and have it go faster than lightspeed.

    – Valorum
    Apr 15 '14 at 0:09





    @dacio - Apparently if you've got the right technology you can strap a torch onto a speeding train and have it go faster than lightspeed.

    – Valorum
    Apr 15 '14 at 0:09













    4














    The ST:TNG Technical Manual's description of phaser operation clearly states that the beam will




    "travel at c to the target".




    Disclaimer: I do not have the book in my possession. Quoting from the Google books version.






    share|improve this answer






























      4














      The ST:TNG Technical Manual's description of phaser operation clearly states that the beam will




      "travel at c to the target".




      Disclaimer: I do not have the book in my possession. Quoting from the Google books version.






      share|improve this answer




























        4












        4








        4







        The ST:TNG Technical Manual's description of phaser operation clearly states that the beam will




        "travel at c to the target".




        Disclaimer: I do not have the book in my possession. Quoting from the Google books version.






        share|improve this answer















        The ST:TNG Technical Manual's description of phaser operation clearly states that the beam will




        "travel at c to the target".




        Disclaimer: I do not have the book in my possession. Quoting from the Google books version.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited Oct 31 '16 at 0:54









        Valorum

        408k11029683190




        408k11029683190










        answered Apr 15 '14 at 4:27









        gwsgws

        411




        411























            4














            In "Wink of an Eye," we see how really slow the beam from a hand-held phaser is (at least, in an atmosphere). When Kirk attempts to "stun" Deela (the "Queen" of the accelerated Scolosians), she is able to slowly step to the side of the beam and allow it to pass by her in order to evade it. Since she can't have been accelerated all that much (at most by a factor of, say, 10,000 times - since at most two subjective days transpire for Kirk in the accelerated state, which would translate to 17 seconds of "ship time" during which Spock, McCoy, and Co. manage to a) realize that the ship has been invaded, and b) whip up a solution), this gives us an upper limit to the beam's speed of propagation.






            share|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.





















            • Great answer! Backed up with in-universe, on-screen facts.

              – Organic Marble
              2 days ago
















            4














            In "Wink of an Eye," we see how really slow the beam from a hand-held phaser is (at least, in an atmosphere). When Kirk attempts to "stun" Deela (the "Queen" of the accelerated Scolosians), she is able to slowly step to the side of the beam and allow it to pass by her in order to evade it. Since she can't have been accelerated all that much (at most by a factor of, say, 10,000 times - since at most two subjective days transpire for Kirk in the accelerated state, which would translate to 17 seconds of "ship time" during which Spock, McCoy, and Co. manage to a) realize that the ship has been invaded, and b) whip up a solution), this gives us an upper limit to the beam's speed of propagation.






            share|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.





















            • Great answer! Backed up with in-universe, on-screen facts.

              – Organic Marble
              2 days ago














            4












            4








            4







            In "Wink of an Eye," we see how really slow the beam from a hand-held phaser is (at least, in an atmosphere). When Kirk attempts to "stun" Deela (the "Queen" of the accelerated Scolosians), she is able to slowly step to the side of the beam and allow it to pass by her in order to evade it. Since she can't have been accelerated all that much (at most by a factor of, say, 10,000 times - since at most two subjective days transpire for Kirk in the accelerated state, which would translate to 17 seconds of "ship time" during which Spock, McCoy, and Co. manage to a) realize that the ship has been invaded, and b) whip up a solution), this gives us an upper limit to the beam's speed of propagation.






            share|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.










            In "Wink of an Eye," we see how really slow the beam from a hand-held phaser is (at least, in an atmosphere). When Kirk attempts to "stun" Deela (the "Queen" of the accelerated Scolosians), she is able to slowly step to the side of the beam and allow it to pass by her in order to evade it. Since she can't have been accelerated all that much (at most by a factor of, say, 10,000 times - since at most two subjective days transpire for Kirk in the accelerated state, which would translate to 17 seconds of "ship time" during which Spock, McCoy, and Co. manage to a) realize that the ship has been invaded, and b) whip up a solution), this gives us an upper limit to the beam's speed of propagation.







            share|improve this answer








            New contributor




            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer






            New contributor




            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            answered Mar 7 at 18:02









            AlexAlex

            1027




            1027




            New contributor




            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.





            New contributor





            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            Alex is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.













            • Great answer! Backed up with in-universe, on-screen facts.

              – Organic Marble
              2 days ago



















            • Great answer! Backed up with in-universe, on-screen facts.

              – Organic Marble
              2 days ago

















            Great answer! Backed up with in-universe, on-screen facts.

            – Organic Marble
            2 days ago





            Great answer! Backed up with in-universe, on-screen facts.

            – Organic Marble
            2 days ago











            2














            Since characters in all of the Star Trek series are shown ducking from and dodging phaser beams, it would seem that their speed is somewhat less than the speed of light and often slower than the speed of a bullet from a projectile weapon. If,as the Voyager Technical Manual states phaser are indeed light speed or even relativistic speed weapons missing with them or dodging their beams would be impossible.



            Simply put when someone aims and fires a phaser, there is no way for it not to strike its intended target unless the weapon was deliberately aimed away from them. The weapon has no recoil and it would be as if you shined a flashlight at someone (e.g. you can’t miss them)






            share|improve this answer



















            • 2





              That has been my thinking too, but think about it: When you see someone pointing a flashlight at you and you see that he is about to activate it, you can always jump behind a rock. If you detect a phaser lock you can still do evasive maneuvers.

              – Einer
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:15








            • 1





              @einer - Ship-to-ship evasive maneuvers are intended to present as small a target as possible and to prevent a prolonged exposure to incoming fire.

              – Valorum
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:35













            • Then why are there cases where someone with hostages can force others to lower their phasers? They can aim their phasers to disable arms or weapons of the hostage keeper?

              – dh16
              Aug 23 '15 at 5:37
















            2














            Since characters in all of the Star Trek series are shown ducking from and dodging phaser beams, it would seem that their speed is somewhat less than the speed of light and often slower than the speed of a bullet from a projectile weapon. If,as the Voyager Technical Manual states phaser are indeed light speed or even relativistic speed weapons missing with them or dodging their beams would be impossible.



            Simply put when someone aims and fires a phaser, there is no way for it not to strike its intended target unless the weapon was deliberately aimed away from them. The weapon has no recoil and it would be as if you shined a flashlight at someone (e.g. you can’t miss them)






            share|improve this answer



















            • 2





              That has been my thinking too, but think about it: When you see someone pointing a flashlight at you and you see that he is about to activate it, you can always jump behind a rock. If you detect a phaser lock you can still do evasive maneuvers.

              – Einer
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:15








            • 1





              @einer - Ship-to-ship evasive maneuvers are intended to present as small a target as possible and to prevent a prolonged exposure to incoming fire.

              – Valorum
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:35













            • Then why are there cases where someone with hostages can force others to lower their phasers? They can aim their phasers to disable arms or weapons of the hostage keeper?

              – dh16
              Aug 23 '15 at 5:37














            2












            2








            2







            Since characters in all of the Star Trek series are shown ducking from and dodging phaser beams, it would seem that their speed is somewhat less than the speed of light and often slower than the speed of a bullet from a projectile weapon. If,as the Voyager Technical Manual states phaser are indeed light speed or even relativistic speed weapons missing with them or dodging their beams would be impossible.



            Simply put when someone aims and fires a phaser, there is no way for it not to strike its intended target unless the weapon was deliberately aimed away from them. The weapon has no recoil and it would be as if you shined a flashlight at someone (e.g. you can’t miss them)






            share|improve this answer













            Since characters in all of the Star Trek series are shown ducking from and dodging phaser beams, it would seem that their speed is somewhat less than the speed of light and often slower than the speed of a bullet from a projectile weapon. If,as the Voyager Technical Manual states phaser are indeed light speed or even relativistic speed weapons missing with them or dodging their beams would be impossible.



            Simply put when someone aims and fires a phaser, there is no way for it not to strike its intended target unless the weapon was deliberately aimed away from them. The weapon has no recoil and it would be as if you shined a flashlight at someone (e.g. you can’t miss them)







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered Apr 15 '14 at 1:48









            Mistah MixMistah Mix

            75046




            75046








            • 2





              That has been my thinking too, but think about it: When you see someone pointing a flashlight at you and you see that he is about to activate it, you can always jump behind a rock. If you detect a phaser lock you can still do evasive maneuvers.

              – Einer
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:15








            • 1





              @einer - Ship-to-ship evasive maneuvers are intended to present as small a target as possible and to prevent a prolonged exposure to incoming fire.

              – Valorum
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:35













            • Then why are there cases where someone with hostages can force others to lower their phasers? They can aim their phasers to disable arms or weapons of the hostage keeper?

              – dh16
              Aug 23 '15 at 5:37














            • 2





              That has been my thinking too, but think about it: When you see someone pointing a flashlight at you and you see that he is about to activate it, you can always jump behind a rock. If you detect a phaser lock you can still do evasive maneuvers.

              – Einer
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:15








            • 1





              @einer - Ship-to-ship evasive maneuvers are intended to present as small a target as possible and to prevent a prolonged exposure to incoming fire.

              – Valorum
              Apr 15 '14 at 5:35













            • Then why are there cases where someone with hostages can force others to lower their phasers? They can aim their phasers to disable arms or weapons of the hostage keeper?

              – dh16
              Aug 23 '15 at 5:37








            2




            2





            That has been my thinking too, but think about it: When you see someone pointing a flashlight at you and you see that he is about to activate it, you can always jump behind a rock. If you detect a phaser lock you can still do evasive maneuvers.

            – Einer
            Apr 15 '14 at 5:15







            That has been my thinking too, but think about it: When you see someone pointing a flashlight at you and you see that he is about to activate it, you can always jump behind a rock. If you detect a phaser lock you can still do evasive maneuvers.

            – Einer
            Apr 15 '14 at 5:15






            1




            1





            @einer - Ship-to-ship evasive maneuvers are intended to present as small a target as possible and to prevent a prolonged exposure to incoming fire.

            – Valorum
            Apr 15 '14 at 5:35







            @einer - Ship-to-ship evasive maneuvers are intended to present as small a target as possible and to prevent a prolonged exposure to incoming fire.

            – Valorum
            Apr 15 '14 at 5:35















            Then why are there cases where someone with hostages can force others to lower their phasers? They can aim their phasers to disable arms or weapons of the hostage keeper?

            – dh16
            Aug 23 '15 at 5:37





            Then why are there cases where someone with hostages can force others to lower their phasers? They can aim their phasers to disable arms or weapons of the hostage keeper?

            – dh16
            Aug 23 '15 at 5:37











            0














            While phasers travel at the speed of light, that does not mean the person firing it has good aim. If you saw a phaser pointed at you, you'd leap too. Granted, that implies the crews of the Enterprises (and Voyager/DS9) came up against some of the worst shooters in the universe who only manage to kill red shirted ensigns, and true, there have been some laughable 'he dodged a phaser' scenes, but the original series was "Wagon Train" in space so I kind of like when ST uses a bit of old western flair in their story telling.






            share|improve this answer
























            • Welcome to SFF:SE. Do you have any sources for phasers traveling at the speed of light? I can think of a fair number of counter-examples.

              – Politank-Z
              Oct 31 '16 at 0:39
















            0














            While phasers travel at the speed of light, that does not mean the person firing it has good aim. If you saw a phaser pointed at you, you'd leap too. Granted, that implies the crews of the Enterprises (and Voyager/DS9) came up against some of the worst shooters in the universe who only manage to kill red shirted ensigns, and true, there have been some laughable 'he dodged a phaser' scenes, but the original series was "Wagon Train" in space so I kind of like when ST uses a bit of old western flair in their story telling.






            share|improve this answer
























            • Welcome to SFF:SE. Do you have any sources for phasers traveling at the speed of light? I can think of a fair number of counter-examples.

              – Politank-Z
              Oct 31 '16 at 0:39














            0












            0








            0







            While phasers travel at the speed of light, that does not mean the person firing it has good aim. If you saw a phaser pointed at you, you'd leap too. Granted, that implies the crews of the Enterprises (and Voyager/DS9) came up against some of the worst shooters in the universe who only manage to kill red shirted ensigns, and true, there have been some laughable 'he dodged a phaser' scenes, but the original series was "Wagon Train" in space so I kind of like when ST uses a bit of old western flair in their story telling.






            share|improve this answer













            While phasers travel at the speed of light, that does not mean the person firing it has good aim. If you saw a phaser pointed at you, you'd leap too. Granted, that implies the crews of the Enterprises (and Voyager/DS9) came up against some of the worst shooters in the universe who only manage to kill red shirted ensigns, and true, there have been some laughable 'he dodged a phaser' scenes, but the original series was "Wagon Train" in space so I kind of like when ST uses a bit of old western flair in their story telling.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered Oct 31 '16 at 0:34









            CptBuzCptBuz

            11




            11













            • Welcome to SFF:SE. Do you have any sources for phasers traveling at the speed of light? I can think of a fair number of counter-examples.

              – Politank-Z
              Oct 31 '16 at 0:39



















            • Welcome to SFF:SE. Do you have any sources for phasers traveling at the speed of light? I can think of a fair number of counter-examples.

              – Politank-Z
              Oct 31 '16 at 0:39

















            Welcome to SFF:SE. Do you have any sources for phasers traveling at the speed of light? I can think of a fair number of counter-examples.

            – Politank-Z
            Oct 31 '16 at 0:39





            Welcome to SFF:SE. Do you have any sources for phasers traveling at the speed of light? I can think of a fair number of counter-examples.

            – Politank-Z
            Oct 31 '16 at 0:39











            -4














            A phaser blast travels at warp fifteen, the maximum speed possible in the Star Trek universe without going into time warp. In the original series "The Ultimate Computer", the M5 computer easily destroys two Federation Star Ships while the Enterprise is traveling at warp four. In the original series "Journey to Babel", Captain Kirk destroys a scout ship with a phaser blast that is traveling at warp ten.



            Unfortunately, there have been many writers of Star Trek since the original series that had very little understanding of the firepower of the original Enterprise and they weakened the Enterprise significantly in the movies and the Next Generation. In the original series "The Changeling" the Nomad robot repeatedly attacks the Enterprise with energy blast that are each equal to ninety photon torpedoes. The original Enterprise was far more powerful than the future ships that the writers weakened. The original Enterprise's photon torpedoes were dirty bombs that could destroy a city.






            share|improve this answer


























            • The first paragraph seems to have some bearing on the question. The second paragraph has little or no bearing and is basically a rant.

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:16











            • By no means was it meant to be a rant. I was simply stating factual events that took place with Gene Roddenberry's original version of Star Trek. The writers after him changed a lot concerning the Enterprise's firepower and endurance making it difficult for an accurate answer to the question. I simply went back to the old episodes for the best answer I could give.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:34











            • So you're just going to ignore that Roddenberry was intimately involved in the writing, production and direction of TNG?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:37













            • As well as utterly ignoring that writers were presented with a very comprehensive show "bible" that explained the capabilities of the various bits of tech lying around?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:38











            • Of course Roddenberry was involved. They had to lower the firepower so they could have an awesome Star ship battle in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. The bottom line is the original 1968 Enterprise from the original series would totally blow away Picard's flying window pane Enterprise. They had to lower the firepower to make great Star ship battles with today's special effects.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:46
















            -4














            A phaser blast travels at warp fifteen, the maximum speed possible in the Star Trek universe without going into time warp. In the original series "The Ultimate Computer", the M5 computer easily destroys two Federation Star Ships while the Enterprise is traveling at warp four. In the original series "Journey to Babel", Captain Kirk destroys a scout ship with a phaser blast that is traveling at warp ten.



            Unfortunately, there have been many writers of Star Trek since the original series that had very little understanding of the firepower of the original Enterprise and they weakened the Enterprise significantly in the movies and the Next Generation. In the original series "The Changeling" the Nomad robot repeatedly attacks the Enterprise with energy blast that are each equal to ninety photon torpedoes. The original Enterprise was far more powerful than the future ships that the writers weakened. The original Enterprise's photon torpedoes were dirty bombs that could destroy a city.






            share|improve this answer


























            • The first paragraph seems to have some bearing on the question. The second paragraph has little or no bearing and is basically a rant.

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:16











            • By no means was it meant to be a rant. I was simply stating factual events that took place with Gene Roddenberry's original version of Star Trek. The writers after him changed a lot concerning the Enterprise's firepower and endurance making it difficult for an accurate answer to the question. I simply went back to the old episodes for the best answer I could give.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:34











            • So you're just going to ignore that Roddenberry was intimately involved in the writing, production and direction of TNG?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:37













            • As well as utterly ignoring that writers were presented with a very comprehensive show "bible" that explained the capabilities of the various bits of tech lying around?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:38











            • Of course Roddenberry was involved. They had to lower the firepower so they could have an awesome Star ship battle in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. The bottom line is the original 1968 Enterprise from the original series would totally blow away Picard's flying window pane Enterprise. They had to lower the firepower to make great Star ship battles with today's special effects.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:46














            -4












            -4








            -4







            A phaser blast travels at warp fifteen, the maximum speed possible in the Star Trek universe without going into time warp. In the original series "The Ultimate Computer", the M5 computer easily destroys two Federation Star Ships while the Enterprise is traveling at warp four. In the original series "Journey to Babel", Captain Kirk destroys a scout ship with a phaser blast that is traveling at warp ten.



            Unfortunately, there have been many writers of Star Trek since the original series that had very little understanding of the firepower of the original Enterprise and they weakened the Enterprise significantly in the movies and the Next Generation. In the original series "The Changeling" the Nomad robot repeatedly attacks the Enterprise with energy blast that are each equal to ninety photon torpedoes. The original Enterprise was far more powerful than the future ships that the writers weakened. The original Enterprise's photon torpedoes were dirty bombs that could destroy a city.






            share|improve this answer















            A phaser blast travels at warp fifteen, the maximum speed possible in the Star Trek universe without going into time warp. In the original series "The Ultimate Computer", the M5 computer easily destroys two Federation Star Ships while the Enterprise is traveling at warp four. In the original series "Journey to Babel", Captain Kirk destroys a scout ship with a phaser blast that is traveling at warp ten.



            Unfortunately, there have been many writers of Star Trek since the original series that had very little understanding of the firepower of the original Enterprise and they weakened the Enterprise significantly in the movies and the Next Generation. In the original series "The Changeling" the Nomad robot repeatedly attacks the Enterprise with energy blast that are each equal to ninety photon torpedoes. The original Enterprise was far more powerful than the future ships that the writers weakened. The original Enterprise's photon torpedoes were dirty bombs that could destroy a city.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited May 13 '15 at 18:15









            Valorum

            408k11029683190




            408k11029683190










            answered May 13 '15 at 18:04









            RayRay

            1




            1













            • The first paragraph seems to have some bearing on the question. The second paragraph has little or no bearing and is basically a rant.

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:16











            • By no means was it meant to be a rant. I was simply stating factual events that took place with Gene Roddenberry's original version of Star Trek. The writers after him changed a lot concerning the Enterprise's firepower and endurance making it difficult for an accurate answer to the question. I simply went back to the old episodes for the best answer I could give.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:34











            • So you're just going to ignore that Roddenberry was intimately involved in the writing, production and direction of TNG?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:37













            • As well as utterly ignoring that writers were presented with a very comprehensive show "bible" that explained the capabilities of the various bits of tech lying around?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:38











            • Of course Roddenberry was involved. They had to lower the firepower so they could have an awesome Star ship battle in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. The bottom line is the original 1968 Enterprise from the original series would totally blow away Picard's flying window pane Enterprise. They had to lower the firepower to make great Star ship battles with today's special effects.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:46



















            • The first paragraph seems to have some bearing on the question. The second paragraph has little or no bearing and is basically a rant.

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:16











            • By no means was it meant to be a rant. I was simply stating factual events that took place with Gene Roddenberry's original version of Star Trek. The writers after him changed a lot concerning the Enterprise's firepower and endurance making it difficult for an accurate answer to the question. I simply went back to the old episodes for the best answer I could give.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:34











            • So you're just going to ignore that Roddenberry was intimately involved in the writing, production and direction of TNG?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:37













            • As well as utterly ignoring that writers were presented with a very comprehensive show "bible" that explained the capabilities of the various bits of tech lying around?

              – Valorum
              May 13 '15 at 18:38











            • Of course Roddenberry was involved. They had to lower the firepower so they could have an awesome Star ship battle in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. The bottom line is the original 1968 Enterprise from the original series would totally blow away Picard's flying window pane Enterprise. They had to lower the firepower to make great Star ship battles with today's special effects.

              – Ray
              May 13 '15 at 18:46

















            The first paragraph seems to have some bearing on the question. The second paragraph has little or no bearing and is basically a rant.

            – Valorum
            May 13 '15 at 18:16





            The first paragraph seems to have some bearing on the question. The second paragraph has little or no bearing and is basically a rant.

            – Valorum
            May 13 '15 at 18:16













            By no means was it meant to be a rant. I was simply stating factual events that took place with Gene Roddenberry's original version of Star Trek. The writers after him changed a lot concerning the Enterprise's firepower and endurance making it difficult for an accurate answer to the question. I simply went back to the old episodes for the best answer I could give.

            – Ray
            May 13 '15 at 18:34





            By no means was it meant to be a rant. I was simply stating factual events that took place with Gene Roddenberry's original version of Star Trek. The writers after him changed a lot concerning the Enterprise's firepower and endurance making it difficult for an accurate answer to the question. I simply went back to the old episodes for the best answer I could give.

            – Ray
            May 13 '15 at 18:34













            So you're just going to ignore that Roddenberry was intimately involved in the writing, production and direction of TNG?

            – Valorum
            May 13 '15 at 18:37







            So you're just going to ignore that Roddenberry was intimately involved in the writing, production and direction of TNG?

            – Valorum
            May 13 '15 at 18:37















            As well as utterly ignoring that writers were presented with a very comprehensive show "bible" that explained the capabilities of the various bits of tech lying around?

            – Valorum
            May 13 '15 at 18:38





            As well as utterly ignoring that writers were presented with a very comprehensive show "bible" that explained the capabilities of the various bits of tech lying around?

            – Valorum
            May 13 '15 at 18:38













            Of course Roddenberry was involved. They had to lower the firepower so they could have an awesome Star ship battle in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. The bottom line is the original 1968 Enterprise from the original series would totally blow away Picard's flying window pane Enterprise. They had to lower the firepower to make great Star ship battles with today's special effects.

            – Ray
            May 13 '15 at 18:46





            Of course Roddenberry was involved. They had to lower the firepower so they could have an awesome Star ship battle in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. The bottom line is the original 1968 Enterprise from the original series would totally blow away Picard's flying window pane Enterprise. They had to lower the firepower to make great Star ship battles with today's special effects.

            – Ray
            May 13 '15 at 18:46


















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