I saw the thread about Voyager (and the Intrepid class in general) having a warp core and a spare. I got to thinking, what powers what?
The Warp Core, as the name implies, powers the warp nacelles allowing the ship to go to warp. Then there is an impulse engine(s) that are fusion reactors. They propel the ship at impulse.
But which powers the other systems, like the lights, the computer, environment, weapons, transporters, replicators and so on.
Of real interest to me is does the warp core power its own antimatter containment field? I was thinking that if it does, if they shut the core down the containment fields would fall and BOOM! There have been episodes where the Engine core was purged of antimatter then shut down. But still if it powered the containment field in the antimatter storage pods BOOM! So does the fusion reactor(s) power the containment field? If it does does it always do so, or is a "switch flipped" and the fusion reactor take over without a milliseconds interruption?
The fusion reactor always powering containment field, to me, would seem to make the most sense. For example in Nemesis the warp core goes off line but no boom. The antimatter is safe. We know the fusion reactors are operable because the ship is maneuverable. We can also presume the fusion reactors can power the weapons and shields because Enterprise was able to fight. However, just because it can power the weapons, doesn't mean it always powers the weapons.
From Hero Worship we learned warp power can be transferred to the shield grid and warp power can be channeled and directed by the Main Deflector dish. I seem to recall warp power being channeled through the phasers too. Why it doesn't always do that, I don't know. (Maybe that super phaser from All Good Things... is the final result of that idea and warp power can be sent sent directly to a high power emitter.)
One other thing we can presume is that the warp core cannot move the ship at impulse. No exhaust, no impulse. It may be able to power the nacelles to create a low level warp field that allows the fusion reactors to push a ship at 0.25c. But again, no exhaust, no movement.
Ok, I'm rambling. What powers what. And are the containment fields powered by the warp core itself or the fusion reactor?
The Warp Core, as the name implies, powers the warp nacelles allowing the ship to go to warp. Then there is an impulse engine(s) that are fusion reactors. They propel the ship at impulse.
But which powers the other systems, like the lights, the computer, environment, weapons, transporters, replicators and so on.
Of real interest to me is does the warp core power its own antimatter containment field? I was thinking that if it does, if they shut the core down the containment fields would fall and BOOM! There have been episodes where the Engine core was purged of antimatter then shut down. But still if it powered the containment field in the antimatter storage pods BOOM! So does the fusion reactor(s) power the containment field? If it does does it always do so, or is a "switch flipped" and the fusion reactor take over without a milliseconds interruption?
The fusion reactor always powering containment field, to me, would seem to make the most sense. For example in Nemesis the warp core goes off line but no boom. The antimatter is safe. We know the fusion reactors are operable because the ship is maneuverable. We can also presume the fusion reactors can power the weapons and shields because Enterprise was able to fight. However, just because it can power the weapons, doesn't mean it always powers the weapons.
From Hero Worship we learned warp power can be transferred to the shield grid and warp power can be channeled and directed by the Main Deflector dish. I seem to recall warp power being channeled through the phasers too. Why it doesn't always do that, I don't know. (Maybe that super phaser from All Good Things... is the final result of that idea and warp power can be sent sent directly to a high power emitter.)
One other thing we can presume is that the warp core cannot move the ship at impulse. No exhaust, no impulse. It may be able to power the nacelles to create a low level warp field that allows the fusion reactors to push a ship at 0.25c. But again, no exhaust, no movement.
Ok, I'm rambling. What powers what. And are the containment fields powered by the warp core itself or the fusion reactor?
