Shield Capability Question

[The Inquisitor]

I was wondering, theoretically, would it be possible to flood the outside of a starship with atmosphere, between the hull and the shields?

Given that shields are capable of deflecting massive amounts of energy and a level 10 forcefield can halt the passage of even the smallest microbe surely, in theory, it would be possible.

Obviously it would be an awful idea to sit on a grav plate on the upper saucer section supping wine while watching star formation take place within a nebula, I'm just wondering if the shields would be capable of such a feat.

 

[Lorna]

More than likely yes, but you'd be screwed if the shield failed and you were outside supping wine.

 

[Unicron]

The ISS Enterprise used a somewhat different tactic in the Mirror Universe Saga, when it invaded our universe and attacked a starbase posing as the destroyed USS Enterprise (MUS picks up immediately after TSFS ends and deals with repercussions from that film). When a group of Starfleet fighters counterattacked, the Evilprise sent a small, brief surge of antimatter energy through its shields, effectively making them a sort of antimatter field, and when the fighters came within close proximity they were destroyed.

 

[RichMerk]

In TOS the shields seem to hug the hull of the ship, while in TNG onward, shields seem to be giant bubbles. So on the one hand, you're a little cramped for space, while on the other, you're gonna need a heckuva lotta air to fill that volume.

Aside from that, I would guess that it would be possible. We've seen that there are shields specifically for the purpose of holding in air, like those across the mouths of landing bays.

 

[Timo]

In TOS the shields seem to hug the hull of the ship

...But they can also be extended to encompass nearby targets, as in "Mudd's Women".

I guess that if it's possible to make skintight shields and bubbles with the same hardware (this seems to happen both in TOS and TNG/DS9), it should be possible to create something in between as well - a shield shape that bulges out in one place (to cater for your barbecue party) while not extending very far elsewhere. It might also be possible to ramp down these combat shields to the level of those air-holding fields, which might make them less energy-hungry and more reliable.

100% reliable forcefields are commonly used by Starfleet anyway: they are the only thing keeping a starship's antimatter engines from instantaneously blowing up, after all. I'd feel quite relaxed on one of those dorsal phaser array BBQ parties, then...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[RichMerk]

But they can also be extended to encompass nearby targets, as in "Mudd's Women".

Ah yes, quite true. Problem solved.

 

[SicOne]

Though it worked out OK nonetheless, it probably would have been smarter of Riker in "Insurrection" to use the shield bubble to encapsulate a large amount of metreon gas, then release it behind the ship, rather than suck it into the nacelles through the Bussards...less risky that way.

 

[Timo]

It would have been consistent with certain other pieces of Trek if raising shields were impossible within the dense Briar Patch nebula. However, Daniels does refer to the shields being up during that battle...

Oh, well. We might argue it's not a good idea to store lots of the gas all around your ship, just beyond the shield perimeter, when the enemy is firing; better to store less of it deeper inside the ship, behind multiple defenses.

Timo Saloniemi