Star Trek Technology
P
PADDCanon - Official Star Trek Technology
Acronym for Personal Access Display
Device, a hand-held access terminal to a computer system. PADDS are
outfitted with a display and touch sensitive areas and have limited
built-in memory and computing capability. They serve to establish uplinks
and downlinks to computer systems and may serve as transporter locks-ons.
Apart from Starfleet, PADDs are used by most other advanced civilizations.
Since it is a non-expensive prop, different PADD designs exist for virtually
every civilization in Star Trek. Still, the user interface is similar
for all of them, indicating that a common standard was found for ergonomic
design. This might explain why no one has ever difficulties in using
alien PADDs, let alone reading their letters.
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Parallel universe
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Universe existing outside our normal
four-dimensional space-time.
The parallel universe featured in TOS: "Mirror, Mirror", several
DS9 episodes and ultimately in ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly"
is and has probably always been similar to ours, but not quite the same.
Normally, the Second Law of Thermodynamics would not allow the two universes
to develop in a similar way once there are differences established,
for instance the totalitarian Earth Empire contrary to the democratic
UFP. Nevertheless, there seems to be a possibly bi-directional connection
between the two universes that keeps the development in parallel so
as to provide the same characters on both sides for dramaturgic reasons.
The manifold parallel universes in TNG: "Parallels", however,
have a (hypothetic) scientific background. Elementary particles do not
fit into a deterministic view of the world, since their behavior is
unpredictable. It is not determined in the Quantum Theory whether a
particle crosses an energy barrier or not, making it an apparent random
process. In order to maintain determinism, there is a theory assuming
that the particle actually goes both ways, and each time a new universe
is created. Worf travels from one of those quantum universes to another
in the TNG episode. The number of potential quantum universes would
be equal to the number of quantum transitions since the Big Bang or,
in other words, quasi-infinite.
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Particle synthesis
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Advanced matter replication technology, supposedly superior to Federation replicators. Particle synthesis is mastered by Arturis' people and by Species 8472.
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Pattern buffer
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Part of the transporter system, usually located on the deck below the
transporter platform. The pattern buffer is used for short-term storage
of the matter stream, thereby providing a delay necessary to compensate
for relative velocity (Doppler compensator), filter out hazardous organic
materials (biofilter) or transfer the pattern to another pattern buffer
in case of a transporter malfunction.
Scotty survived 75 years within the pattern buffer that was set to a
continuous diagnostic cycle (TNG: "Relics"). Normally, the
signal decay is too fast to allow storage for more than a few seconds.
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Pattern enhancer
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Device that improves transporter pattern recognition in case of electromagnetic disturbances. The pattern enhancer is a cylinder with a length of approx. 1m and was introduced in Starfleet around 2369. Usually three pattern enhancers are employed in a triangular formation around the object that is supposed to be beamed.
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Peak transitional threshold
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Initial power necessary to achieve an integer warp factor. The peak
transitional threshold is much higher than the power to maintain the
respective velocity.
The introduction of the peak transitional threshold obviously serves
to justify the strange warp scale, where the warp factor is not simply
WF=v/c or WF=log(v/c), but WF=(v/c)^1/3. For this purpose, the power
to maintain a subspace field is designed to exhibit significant peaks
which are sequentially numbered and designated as warp factor. A simple
explanation (which is also corroborated on Jason Hinson's website) is
that this behavior is attributed to the subsequent activation of additional
warp field layers for higher velocities, which is accomplished by a
suited warp field activation sequence. Eugene's limit can be included
into this theory in a way that more than 9 layers are not efficient
to facilitate high-warp propulsion, so the complete remaining speed
range is compressed within the range between Warp 9 and Warp 10, the
latter equals infinite speed. In fact, the official diagram of power
expenditure shows that the power saving after the peak transitional
threshold decreases from 100 at Warp 1 to 2.75 at Warp 9, suggesting
that this factor would be still smaller at another (imaginary) threshold.
It is possible that Eugene's limit has been found as late as in the
24th century, so previous warp tables assumed 10 or more layers to be
useful. The original diagram in the STTNG Technical Manual confused
power and energy ("power usage in megajoules/cochrane"). Assuming
that, unlike Newtonian propulsion, warp propulsion needs continuous
power supply, I have corrected this error. Read also Warp Propulsion
- 3.2 Subspace Models.
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Phase pistol
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Particle weapon, precursor of a phaser,
used in the 22nd century.
The capabilities of a phase pistol are indistinguishable from those
of a phaser used more than a century later. There is also no plausible
explanation why Starfleet should return to lasers, as shown in "The
Cage".
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Phase shift
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Generic term for a movement to a state outside the normal space-time
continuum.
Phase shifts are frequently created in Star Trek using either an interphase
cloaking device (TNG: "The Next Phase", "The Pegasus"),
a phase discriminator (e.g. TNG: "Time's Arrow", "Timescape"),
an unknown type of phase shifter (VOY: "Distant Origin") or
a chroniton based device (VOY: "The Year of Hell"). Usually
phase shift seems to be an essentially temporal displacement, while
the interphase generator might be based on a spatial shift or parallel
space.
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Phased matter
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Intermediate state between matter and energy.
The term is used for the matter stream generated in the transporter
as well as for excited matter produced in the warp and impulse reactors,
where it seems to be the same as plasma.
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Phaser
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Acronym for PHASed Energy Rectification, energy discharge weapon used
by the Federation. Energy stored inside the phaser is released within
a short time and directed towards the target, unlike the usually constant
energy output of lasers. The phaser's function is based on the rapid
nadion effect, where nadions are subatomic particles that allow to liberate
strong nuclear forces. Shipboard phaser banks are attached to the outer
hull of a starship in form of small apertures or domes in the 23rd century
that are extended to segmented strips and finally rings in the 24th
century. Phaser beams travel at light speed, and the maximum efficient
operation range is 300,000km. Hand-held phasers are available in different
sizes, ranging from small pocket phasers (type 1) and pistols (type
2) to phaser rifles.
Since phasers have to be recharged, it is obvious that continuous firing
is not possible, neither with a hand-held device nor with the shipboard
phasers. This makes space battles similar to ancient sea battles where
it was decisive to wait for the right instant to fire a broadside.
For the latest phaser design see "Meteor Phaser"
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Photon
torpedo Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Matter/antimatter annihilation weapon used by Starfleet and by the
Klingon Defense Force. A Starfleet photon torpedo contains deuterium
and magnetically constrained antideuterium tanks, target guidance and
a warp sustainer engine. In contrast to phasers, photon torpedoes can
be used at warp speed.
Since photons are involved as late as the device explodes, the term
"photon" torpedo is very inaccurate and could apply to a nuclear
weapon as well. Of course, realistically FTL photon torpedoes cannot
be tracked with the eyes, although this was possible in many episodes
and in "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country".
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Plasma
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Ionized gas, often regarded as the forth state of matter besides the
solid, fluid and gaseous state. Consisting of charged particles, plasma
is electrically conductive. Due to this property and the fact that the
excited electrons in a plasma are on higher energy level than bound
electrons in other forms of matter, plasma is suited to transport energy.
In particular, plasma is employed to provide the necessary power for
the warp drive and other systems of a starship. The EPS serves to distribute
plasma throughout the ship. The continuously occurring relaxation of
excited electrons from a higher to a lower energy level becomes obvious
in a characteristic glow.
Plasma is not a fiction, but is actually employed in several industrial
production processes (e.g. PECVD).
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Plasma weapon
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Common type of weapon in the 22nd century, obviously firing packages
of plasma.
While the Earth plasma rifles and plasma cannons are obviously less
advanced than phase weapons, the Romulans will employ a much more powerful
plasma weapon in the 23rd century (TOS: "Balance of Terror").
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Polaric power
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Concept for power generation prohibited by the Federation in 2268,
because of its high risk to burn a planet's entire surface in a chain
reaction.
The unnamed alien civilization in VOY: "Time and Again" did
use polaric power, and the result was disastrous in an alternative timeline.
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Positronic brain
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Neural network type employed as central processing units for androids
of the Soong type (Lore, Data, Lal).
Considering that positrons are actually antimatter, it is highly improbable
that these particles are employed in the positronic brain. The concept
was suggested by Isaac Asimov in the 20th century.
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Probe Device
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
fitted with a number of general purpose or mission specific sensors
that can be launched from a starship for closer examination of celestial
objects or for reconnaissance. Most Federation probes are about the
size of a photon torpedo, and some of them actually use a torpedo casing.
Probes are a logical consequence considering that the resolution of
the built-in long-range sensors is limited and that there is a signal
decay over long distances.
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Projectile weapon
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Generic name for any kind of weapon that uses a projectile instead
of a particle or energy beam or a plasma charge.
Projectile weapons are generally outdated in the 24th century, but the
TR-116 (DS9: "Field of Fire"), designed for environments in
which phasers are useless and probably with the Borg in mind too, is
a formidable weapon. It was modified by an assassin with a built-in
transporter for the projectile, thereby rendering it even more dangerous.
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Pulse phaser cannon
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Phaser weapon used in Defiant-class
starships. The ship has four of them, mounted at the forward end of
the nacelles.
The pulse phaser cannon is obviously more powerful than a conventional
phaser.
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Pulse weapon
Canon - Official Star Trek Technology
Common type of weapon in the 22nd century, firing short light bolts.
"Pulse weapons" may be an alternative name for plasma weapons
which are visually identical.
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