And Then I Realised...

[JB2005]

...the guys who designed the Brigs are idiots.

Why would you even have a forcefield, a door isn't going to shut off if there's a power failure, if anything it'll become even harder to open.

Never will you get, "power failure in the brig...oh my god that solid metal door has vanished"

 

[Deranged Nasat]

...the guys who designed the Brigs are idiots.

Why would you even have a forcefield, a door isn't going to shut off if there's a power failure, if anything it'll become even harder to open.

Never will you get, "power failure in the brig...oh my god that solid metal door has vanished"

Quite true, my friend. I've had that thought myself many, many times...

 

[apenpaap]

Metal doors are also harder to hurt yourself on (Well, you could, but whatever you can do with a metal door you can also do with the wall). The NX-01's brig was the best designed one.

 

[Mysterion]

...the guys who designed the Brigs are idiots.

Why would you even have a forcefield, a door isn't going to shut off if there's a power failure, if anything it'll become even harder to open.

Never will you get, "power failure in the brig...oh my god that solid metal door has vanished"

At least this isn't as big of a potential problem as all those shuttlebays that just have force-fields keeping the air in them.

 

[Gary Sebben]

Eh, its a device to show they are technological. It would seem more odd to have bars that have been used since the iron age on a nice futuristic and clean ship. Besides, what is the likelihood of a ship wide power failure? And how much harder is it to turn of the door than it is the steal a key and open a physical door?

 

[Gary Sebben]

Eh, its a device to show they are technological. It would seem more odd to have bars that have been used since the iron age on a nice futuristic and clean ship. Besides, what is the likelihood of a ship wide power failure? And how much harder is it to turn of the door than it is the steal a key and open a physical door?

 

[Captrek]

How about using stasis chambers for the brig? The inmate could not even attempt an escape. Considering how boring it must be to sit alone in a cell in the brig, I think that as an inmate I would like to be unaware of the passage of time. Win-win.

 

[SilentP]

How about using stasis chambers for the brig? The inmate could not even attempt an escape. Considering how boring it must be to sit alone in a cell in the brig, I think that as an inmate I would like to be unaware of the passage of time. Win-win.

Well if you're punishing a crew member, you'd want them to experience the passage of time to think about whatever crime it was they commited, unless people in the 24th Century consider just the fact that some of their time 'dissappeared' bad enough, rather than being conciously aware of not doing anything.

If there's a shipwide power failure, I guess that there are systems that have some form of capacitor to keep vital systems going until main power if (hopefully) restored. Presumably brig force fields would be one of these systems.

 

[Arpy]

Maybe they're tied to an independent battery power source? You'd hope the field goes through the walls to though...otherwise, anyone with a phaser could blast through. It'd keep even armed prisoners locked up, and people trying to get in by blasting through too, but then don't they always get in by phasering the control panel? One would imagine the field is there so you'd have to know the code at least...otherwise why go to all the trouble of a forcefield to keep prisoners inside, since they likely don't have a phaser once in, and are not shapeshifters or gas or energy beings - a minuscule fraction of the galactic population. But no, no code necessary, just blast the keypad.

 

[JB2005]

...the guys who designed the Brigs are idiots.

Why would you even have a forcefield, a door isn't going to shut off if there's a power failure, if anything it'll become even harder to open.

Never will you get, "power failure in the brig...oh my god that solid metal door has vanished"

At least this isn't as big of a potential problem as all those shuttlebays that just have force-fields keeping the air in them.

At least they have doors as well...

 

[Crazy Eddie]

I'd always thought the reason was that brig forcefields were 1) unilateral (meaning you can pass through in one direction but not in another) and 2) somewhat painful, such that if you throw yourself against the forcefield it will stun you or cause a certain degree of pain. The first is inconsistent with them turning the forcefield off to put people inside it--which is just dumb, since one-way forcefields have been used since TMP at least--but the second at least holds well enough if you squint at it really hard.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

They are forcefields because it's a good test to keep Starfleet officers on their toes. If nobody could escape, how would you keep the crew in shape?

 

[Mysterion]

...the guys who designed the Brigs are idiots.

Why would you even have a forcefield, a door isn't going to shut off if there's a power failure, if anything it'll become even harder to open.

Never will you get, "power failure in the brig...oh my god that solid metal door has vanished"

At least this isn't as big of a potential problem as all those shuttlebays that just have force-fields keeping the air in them.

At least they have doors as well...

...which are left open much of the time. Could be kind of bad for theose flight-deck crews.

 

[barnaclelapse]

They knew what they were getting into when they signed on.

It's their own damn fault.

 

[Mysterion]

They knew what they were getting into when they signed on.

It's their own damn fault.

And stop calling me "Shirley".

 

[T'Cal]

Yup, this is one of "THOSE" ideas. I liken this to the Feds not simply stunning every aggressor and sorting the matter out later. Stun them and then beam them into the brig...the one with the bars not the force field. I always thought it would be cool if the phaser was modified to have a transporter target on it. Then the could stun the bad guy while beaming him to a predetermined location, such as the brig. I suppose you could use it to just aid in beaming but where's the fun in that?? Stun 'em all!!

 

[Jasper Sierra]

How about using stasis chambers for the brig? The inmate could not even attempt an escape. Considering how boring it must be to sit alone in a cell in the brig, I think that as an inmate I would like to be unaware of the passage of time. Win-win.

Then you can't have episodes when people break out of the brig and cause havoc.

 

[nx1701g]

Maybe they're tied to an independent battery power source? You'd hope the field goes through the walls to though...otherwise, anyone with a phaser could blast through. It'd keep even armed prisoners locked up, and people trying to get in by blasting through too, but then don't they always get in by phasering the control panel? One would imagine the field is there so you'd have to know the code at least...otherwise why go to all the trouble of a forcefield to keep prisoners inside, since they likely don't have a phaser once in, and are not shapeshifters or gas or energy beings - a minuscule fraction of the galactic population. But no, no code necessary, just blast the keypad.

Actually this seems entirely likely. If you watch Deep Space Nine's "The Valiant" Jake Sisko is confined to the Valiant's brig when they go into battle against the Dominion Battleship. When the evacuation is ordered and the Valiant has lost all primary power, the brig is still operational with the forcefield still in place despite the evacuation order.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I'd always thought the reason was that brig forcefields were 1) unilateral (meaning you can pass through in one direction but not in another) and 2) somewhat painful, such that if you throw yourself against the forcefield it will stun you or cause a certain degree of pain. The first is inconsistent with them turning the forcefield off to put people inside it--which is just dumb, since one-way forcefields have been used since TMP at least--but the second at least holds well enough if you squint at it really hard.

When have forcefields on ships been one way? It seems very rare cases to me.

 

[Jono]

They have a door to the to the cells, so if the power does go off you can't get out the door of the room as they are all automatic!