Odd Things about Starfleet
- Thread starter David.Blue
- Start date
I like the no-saluting thing. To me it would not make any sense and is too...militaristic for Starfleet.
As for the ranged weapons firing so slowly, now don't laugh here but...
Wouldn't that be needlessly dangerous? Yeah I know it is a weapon and it is supposed to be dangerous but could you imagine a current-day rifle that fired at the speed of light? Not only would it be ridiculously powerful but it would be even more problematic if it was fired accidently for example.
Phasers, as we have seen, are massively destructive...what would the use in having the beam fire faster be? [In the context of them being able to vaporise pretty much anything]
Great point.
Just happened to catch the end of Star Trek 2009 on cable last weekend. And one thing about when Kirk and Spock beam aboard the Narada really bothered me. It's when they are firing their phasers and they fake a recoil like a pistol. Whenever in all of Trek history have phasers ever been shown to have any recoil at all? Stupid.
The problem isn't whether it'd be a good idea to have phasers fire faster. The problem is, the laws of physics would seem to require that they do so, because a beam of light cannot travel any slower than...light. And since that's all a phaser beam really is...well, you do the math.
And yes, phasers can be destructive, but not always. They have multiple settings available. Any number of different power levels. The analogy with real guns doesn't hold, since they don't have a stun setting - all bullets can, and do, kill. (Tasers don't count, since they don't fire bullets or beams - they just launch electrodes attached to wires.) Phaser beams don't have to kill or vaporize. And when they do, it's because the operator specifically set them to.
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We have no real reason to think that phaser beams would be beams of light, and (as exemplified by the speed thing, but also by half a dozen other issues) every reason to think they would not be that. Could be jets of water-like substance for all we know.
Giving the beam or jet more speed (infinite would be nice, but 1% lightspeed is already that in every practical respect) would help with aiming, removing one annoying variable. But since phasers aim themselves anyway, there's no particular reason to make things easy for the humanoid user. It's not as if lead issues would require higher speed at the engagement ranges and target speeds we witness.
They don't even impart momentum on the victim in the general case, so recoil would be doubly out of place. Except in ST3:TSfS, where Kirk's unique setting kicks the Klingon halfway to the horizon of the Genesis planet.
Of course, the very act of initiating the beam may be violent, shaking the gun this way and that. After all, energies are being released, even if momentum isn't. Quite possibly something inside the gun always goes bang, and certain models of gun deal with that more poorly than others.
Timo Saloniemi
Giving the beam or jet more speed (infinite would be nice, but 1% lightspeed is already that in every practical respect) would help with aiming, removing one annoying variable. But since phasers aim themselves anyway, there's no particular reason to make things easy for the humanoid user. It's not as if lead issues would require higher speed at the engagement ranges and target speeds we witness.
They don't even impart momentum on the victim in the general case, so recoil would be doubly out of place. Except in ST3:TSfS, where Kirk's unique setting kicks the Klingon halfway to the horizon of the Genesis planet.
Of course, the very act of initiating the beam may be violent, shaking the gun this way and that. After all, energies are being released, even if momentum isn't. Quite possibly something inside the gun always goes bang, and certain models of gun deal with that more poorly than others.
Timo Saloniemi
Eh, I just rewatched to refresh and I could go either way. No, they are not like other phasers, but then, we have not seen phasers like these before either. Also, I watched Nemesis out of curiosity and some of the disruptors have a recoil as well.
It's a minor action trope that will probably creep in from time to time.
I think the intent in TOS was likely that McCoy did not attend the Academy, but was simply given a commission when he joined Starfleet (sort of like the doctors on M*A*S*H, without a draft). That would explain his lack of military decorum, his ignorance of certain rules like in "The Menagerie," and him not knowing the Academy term of "Dunsel" in "The Ultimate Computer."
Most of the TOS writers had seen more military service than the writers of TNG and beyond (Ron Moore excepted, of course) and would generally be more accurate about this sort of thing.
Phasers are "phase-modulated particle weapons" not simply beams of light. Their intensity and beam width can be varied greatly so why not their speed as well?
Agreed. The explanation of "dunsel" was a clear signal that McCoy had not been through the service academy (just like the overwhelming majority of military physicians in real life) and would have been understood as such. A significant percentage of Americans in the 1940-1973 draft era had military experience and understood that there were a number of different paths to bring officers into the service; it didn't need to be explained outright. It's like in Fort Apache when Henry Fonda talks to George O'Brien about West Point and excludes John Wayne: If you know what to look for, it's clear that Wayne's character got his commission as a Volunteer in the Civil War.
It was never mentioned onscreen, but the OS writer's guides said that Scotty was promoted from the enlisted ranks, which would have implied at the time that he wasn't a product of the Academy, either.
As others have said here, it seems likely that phasers are not simply 'beams of light'. It seems clear to me that they must be modifiable in multiple ways. We see they have 'wide-beam' settings etc. We never actually know for sure what a phaser is projecting other than 'energy'.
We do see Starfleet personnel coming to the position of attention, Picard once barked at Worf for failing to do so quickly enough.
The speed of sound is a fairly typical speed for a pistol bullet today (muzzle velocity). A speed of light energy beam would be usefull if firing at a aircraft/shuttle, or at person who simply moves faster than a Human
In a vaccum, light does travel slower when passing through air or water. I've always found it interesting that after passing through a substance that slows it down, once back in a vaccum light will accelerate back to the speed of light again.
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Yes the command structure of course is necessary in Starfleet but I do not recall Worf saluting [which would look ridiculous].
I think saluting is kinda dumb, so I think it's a good thing it isn't common on Star Trek.
Officers saluted in the mirror universe (fist raised to chest). It made it obvious that it was a more militaristic setting.
Yes, Starfleet is a military (forget what Picard said). But the officers are also supposed to be scientists and explorers. Perhaps a relevant question would be, do NASA astronauts salute?
Kor
Yes, Starfleet is a military (forget what Picard said). But the officers are also supposed to be scientists and explorers. Perhaps a relevant question would be, do NASA astronauts salute?
Kor
One word: skants.
One thing to remember about saluting is that it is part of an etiquette code involving headgear (tipping the hat, removing the hat etc.), and the vast majority of real-world militaries salute only when the head is covered (I believe the USAF is an exception, but it's rare even then). Captain Pike's TV set notwithstanding, caps and hats seem to have largely died out in the pre-reboot Trek world. Saluting could simply have died out with them.
During my brief stint in AFROTC the rule then was you only saluted outdoors.
The only time you saluted indoors was when you were officially called to report to a superior officer.
I only did that once when I was to report to the detachment commanding Colonel for my scholarship interview.
The only time you saluted indoors was when you were officially called to report to a superior officer.
I only did that once when I was to report to the detachment commanding Colonel for my scholarship interview.
I fail to see how coming to attention is un-ridiculous, but saluting is.
If they're active duty military then yes, but they wouldn't be doing it as "NASA astronauts."
The current commander on the ISS is Scott Kelly, he retired from the US Navy in 2012, but he's been an astronaut since 1996. While still a commissioned officer he would have saluted when appropriate. Two of the cosmonauts on the ISS are active duty Russia Air Force.
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Why does all of Starfleet have the apparent computer and shipboard security skills of a 73 year old church lady from Minnesota? How many times has a ships civilian cook stolen, taken over or simply endangered the ship through security breaches? Random passersby? A teenager with the coolest technology from the 1970's? ("Look it can record voices and everything!"). I mean the only password we ever encounter in any Star Trek episode or movie is the Self Destruct Code... and it is essentially "CAT123" or it's equivalent. I mean at one point after a 2 century raft of Starship'jackings does the all mighty Starfleet stop and think "Gee, you know those old little bits of metal they had in the long ago times... what did they call them? Oh yeah KEYS! We really should look into those!"
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