Wow - ST goofs

[Nerys Ghemor]

I can think of a few things regarding the phasers at AR-558, though without these ideas, it's a clear continuity fault.

Idea 1: In sustained ground combat, enemies deploy some sort of dampening field, jammer, or area shield that only more targeted fire can penetrate successfully. (Most likely a jammer or dampening field since we never saw shield effects on a large scale in ground combat, except for Borg personal shields.)

Idea 2: While you can get away with a few bursts like that on a handheld phaser, more than a few wide-area or extreme-intensity shots like that will either a) fry the power cell, b) make the weapon explode, or c) otherwise take your weapon out of service and make you unable to employ the sustained fire necessary when dealing with multiple waves of baddies.


This should've been explained if it was the intention, though.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Idea 2: [...] c) otherwise take your weapon out of service and make you unable to employ the sustained fire necessary when dealing with multiple waves of baddies.

You mean, such as, by draining its power cell too quickly, which is really the simplest explanation (similarly to when real-world soldiers take their rifles off full auto to preserve ammo)?

Nah, given that they should have expected to take casualties anyway, planning to use up some phasers to take out troop concentrations on wide beam in one shot is still indicated. The idea of a dampening field is really a stretch.

 

[Gary7]

Another one: Ryetalin <--> Ritalin. Phonetically the same, but very different in effect.

Aluminium oxynitride (ALON)? Curious. It's a ceramic that has ballistic resistant properties. "Because of its relatively light weight, optical and mechanical properties, and its resistance to damage due to oxidation or radiation, it shows promise for use as infrared, high temperature and ballistic and blast resistant windows." Also, "ALON is four times harder than fused silica glass, thus making it useful in a wide range of armor applications." Doesn't sound very shatter prone to me.

 

[Pavonis]

Transparent aluminum isn't necessarily ALON. We know the windows will shatter under certain conditions, and that windows are made of transparent aluminum.

Nothing's unbreakable. Did anyone say that transparent aluminum was shatterproof? Otherwise, we're just assuming properties it doesn't necessarily have, which is how fanon develops.

 

[CoveTom]

Not sure why we're debating whether or not transparent aluminum shatters. We know it does. Data says the windows are made of transparent aluminum. We see the windows shatter. Ergo, transparent aluminum shatters.

In fact, from a canon standpoint, all we really know about transparent aluminum is that it is used as starship windows, that it is strong enough to do the job plexiglass does but be one sixth of the thickness, and that in circumstances it shatters (based upon the windows shattering in Generations). Other than that, we're just speculating. But we know from on screen evidence that it does shatter.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Here's an odd goof from By Any Other Name. Not sure if it's been noticed or not.

The helm is facing the wrong way.

 

[Captain Rob]

If in-universe transparent aluminum does shatter. Then maybe they should have an inside facing protective layer made of something that doesn't have to bear the load and doesn't shatter. Like Plexiglass? How about gorilla glass?

 

[Maurice]

Here's an odd goof from By Any Other Name. Not sure if it's been noticed or not.

The helm is facing the wrong way.

Old news. The sections of the bridge fro the viewer to next to Spock's station were typically pulled out for camera access, and often the crew would just cheat the "command module" this way and that to get shots they needed without having to push the bridge back together.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Oh, cool.

 

[JarodRussell]

If in-universe transparent aluminum does shatter. Then maybe they should have an inside facing protective layer made of something that doesn't have to bear the load and doesn't shatter. Like Plexiglass? How about gorilla glass?

Like protective glass in windshields, it's a foil that keeps the shards when the glass breaks.

 

[Pavonis]

Probably a force field served as a protective layer to prevent shattering. Force fields seem to be the answer to most problems in the 24th century.

 

[JarodRussell]

Probably a force field served as a protective layer to prevent shattering. Force fields seem to be the answer to most problems in the 24th century.

Problem is that force fields are the first thing that fails. Every. Time.

 

[Gary7]

Force fields require power. So, if a power conduit ruptures or shorts out, no power and thus force field is gone. But you're right, Jarod--modern automotive windshield glass has either layer of tough flexible plastic on the inside or a thin metal mesh running through the center to help keep the glass together after it is shattered. This was something invented in the early 1990's, so it could have easily been considered for Generations.

 

[The Wormhole]

This should've been explained if it was the intention, though.

Exactly, it should have been explained. I can understand why they didn't, it would slow the story down which was about the effects of trench combat (or rather the future equivelant of) on soldiers, not the science of the weapons they use. I guess really, the problem is is that previous Treks made the phasers a bit too powerful for the good of this story. So you either end things with a deus ex machina in which one phaser on wide beam takes out every enemy instantly or you ignore how powerful a phaser is supposed be for the sake of the story. Clearly that's what they did in AR-558, and since it was a cool scene all the same, I'm fine with that.

 

[MacLeod]

Well a wide beam phaser blast could be more energy draining then a the normal narrow beam. So using a wide beam drains the ower cell faster and thus you get fewer shots.

 

[The Wormhole]

Still, one has to wonder why wide beam isn't employed more often than it is. I can only remember seeing it once in any of the modern day shows, a Voyager episode, and it was used by Tuvok while he was possessed by an alien entity. Are Starfleet officers actively discouraged against wide beam? Yes, it drains the power cells quicker, but in some circumstances it would be more effective, no?

 

[MacLeod]

Never mind the hand phasers, what about the main phasers on a ship which can be set to stun, I'm sure that might have come in handy on a few occasions.

 

[Pavonis]

Sure...just stun 'em all, then beam down a contingent of security officers from the ship to sort 'em out.

Except, in the case of the Jem'Hadar, would stun settings be effective? Wouldn't want to stun your guys and make them easy picking for the enemy that's still awake....

 

[Gary7]

Never mind the hand phasers, what about the main phasers on a ship which can be set to stun, I'm sure that might have come in handy on a few occasions.

We saw this easily performed in TOS "A Piece of the Action", so... 23rd century tech could do it, why not 24th?

 

[Jono]

To be fair to the writers of STV they weren't contradicting canon at the time.