Sure there is. None of these devices have an infinity setting. Every dial, switch, or setting control has an upper limit.
Heating rocks with phasers. Once or twice.
- Thread starter Ofthebawdy
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Sure there is. None of these devices have an infinity setting. Every dial, switch, or setting control has an upper limit.
But do we ever see that limit? I can't recall if we ever do.
If Timo tells us there's no limit, there's a limit.
stone can have pretty decent thermal mass. zapping them with a phaser to stay comfortable sounds like a good idea.
now we know what a Survivorman 24th century edition would be like
"I'm stranded here on the shores of a lake on Ceti Alpha V.. all i have with me is a phaser, a life straw, and my harmonica"
now we know what a Survivorman 24th century edition would be like
"I'm stranded here on the shores of a lake on Ceti Alpha V.. all i have with me is a phaser, a life straw, and my harmonica"
If not explicitly stated on-screen, the "heat" setting was clearly implied in dialogue, early in Season 1:
MCCOY: I thought the power was off in the galley.
RAND: I used a hand phaser, and zap. Hot coffee.
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/3.htmRAND: I used a hand phaser, and zap. Hot coffee.
Ah, she just pointed it at the nearest crewman and zap, he was really motivated to rush to the Galley, then to Main Engineering where he placed the cup next to Auxiliary Intercooler Manifold for 12.3 seconds, and then to the Bridge.
Hmh? Why wouldn't they have an infinity setting? The throttle on a Type 12 shuttle has one... It just sees use fairly rarely.
But seriously, sporks, as I was talking about the number of settings, the TOS phaser assuredly has infinitely many, being controlled by a thumbwheel among other things. Just like the average car is bound to have infinitely many ventilation settings...
Timo Saloniemi
Hmh? Why wouldn't they have an infinity setting? The throttle on a Type 12 shuttle has one... It just sees use fairly rarely.
But seriously, sporks, as I was talking about the number of settings, the TOS phaser assuredly has infinitely many, being controlled by a thumbwheel among other things. Just like the average car is bound to have infinitely many ventilation settings...
Timo Saloniemi
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Nope. The relationship between my computer's mouse and its mouse pad is decidedly analog, but that doesn't stop the positions of the mouse cursor from being discrete and finite. In the digital age, the norm is that the states of an analog control map to discrete, finitely many recognized inputs.
Yet the ventilation system of the car is one of infinitely many settings, theoretically and practially.
We cannot really tell whether the world of Trek is digital or analog, so that part of the thumbwheel interpretation is left wide open. But we can tell that phaser settings are not limited to integer values (say, "Homeworld"/"Paradise Lost"), FWIW.
Timo Saloniemi
We cannot really tell whether the world of Trek is digital or analog, so that part of the thumbwheel interpretation is left wide open. But we can tell that phaser settings are not limited to integer values (say, "Homeworld"/"Paradise Lost"), FWIW.
Timo Saloniemi
So, in other words, there aren't "assuredly" infinitely many settings on a hand phaser after all.
I think you mean "Homefront," by the way. Yes, there's this dialog [http://www.chakoteya.net/DS9/483.htm]:
SISKO: What was the setting?
BENTEEN: Three point one. If we set the phasers at three point four, we should be able to stun any changeling we hit and force them back into a gelatinous state.
BENTEEN: Three point one. If we set the phasers at three point four, we should be able to stun any changeling we hit and force them back into a gelatinous state.
etc. But even with fractional values, it is perfectly consistent with there being finitely many settings (cf IEEE 754 binary64).
Well, yeah, if one insists on a digital system, one may knock down the "assured" part. But assuming that rayguns are digital is the step I'd not take lightly. I mean, today's lasers generally are not; the notches on the knob you turn are mere incidental artwork.
Something like an adjustable-charge artillery piece today (well, any time now!) might be digital/finite-setting all right, because the very point is that you don't hand-adjust the valves for the liquid charge, but let automation do that for you, and automation is theoretically digital (i.e. in practice it gives you a zillion settings that are indistinguishable from infinitely many in terms of the methods of distinguishing at your disposal). A starship phaser no doubt would feature automation of that sort, too, at which point we can wonder whether it would be digital or not. A hand phaser... Quite possibly the sliding, rotating or rolling adjustment methods are there for the very reason that they perform direct analog actions. I mean, if not, wouldn't a clumsy roller be replaced by something you just push one way or the other for the required time, with the digit you have available for the purpose, and with the limited range of motion you can give it while holding the gun?
Timo Saloniemi
Something like an adjustable-charge artillery piece today (well, any time now!) might be digital/finite-setting all right, because the very point is that you don't hand-adjust the valves for the liquid charge, but let automation do that for you, and automation is theoretically digital (i.e. in practice it gives you a zillion settings that are indistinguishable from infinitely many in terms of the methods of distinguishing at your disposal). A starship phaser no doubt would feature automation of that sort, too, at which point we can wonder whether it would be digital or not. A hand phaser... Quite possibly the sliding, rotating or rolling adjustment methods are there for the very reason that they perform direct analog actions. I mean, if not, wouldn't a clumsy roller be replaced by something you just push one way or the other for the required time, with the digit you have available for the purpose, and with the limited range of motion you can give it while holding the gun?
Timo Saloniemi
I'm pretty sure that my car's ventilation system does not have an infinity setting. It pegs out at some maximum speed.
My wife is Finnish American. They use real rocks above the sauna stove (pronounced sow-na if anyone cares). They get hot, then you throw a ladle or bucket of water and they don't crack. The key is to pick rocks that don't have any water inside cracks to begin with. They can explode when heated.
Yes, I can see where exploding rocks would be a problem. Especially when you're naked.
He also converted phaser energy into an engine propulsion source in TOS S1 - "The Galileo 7" (And talk about a plot complication...you're telling me he couldn't just rig something to plug the phaser power packs into/onto for the system to draw the energy that way? No...he had to lay there and somehow fire the Phaser INTO the engine core.Least not forget that Scotty uses a Phaser II to cut through bulkheads (continuous laser setting or continuous narrow focus heat setting?) in The Naked Time and The Way To Eden. I guess he keeps one in his tool box.
)I'm still trying to figure out how Spock ignited it. It's energy; how does it burn?
I never thought he did that
I still think Rand deserved a commendation for thinking of that.
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