Why do ST ships have volatile plasma conduits EVERYWHERE?

[Deimos Anomaly]

Is there ever an in-universe explanation given for this?

Seems to me... surely this plasma only needs to travel to the warp engines... maybe the impulse engines, the transporter, the shield generators and the phaser banks / cannons, depending on how those all work.

But I can't see any rationale for a grid of plasma ducts being laced through the heavily occupied parts of the ship, including living quarters and the bridge.

Also why are the shields part of this system? They should be a completely standalone system, powered by fusion or antimatter cores whose only purpose is to power the shields. This would both enable the shields to be stronger, and would prevent the danger to the crew caused by the shields dumping the energy of incoming weapons fire into the shipwide general plasma grid, causing random explosions in occupied places, including parts of the ship physically remote from where the weapons fire is striking.

 

[Gary7]

It's doubtful there's any really good in-universe explanation for it. They've developed seriously sophisticated technology compared to what we produce today, and yet they can't guard against plasma conduits exploding? There's no need for a pack of plasma to be installed directly behind an interface where a human would be present. It's utterly ridiculous. The control panels would be a low energy interface that leads off to a safe distance where the controlled devices would be located. Yes, a panel may short out... but explode? No. The worst thing might be a momentary shock, but nothing lethal.

So, it's purely and simply a plot assistance device. Chekov gets his hands severely burned, needing medical attention (ST-TMP). Riker is suddenly killed, leaving Picard all alone to struggle with the Klingons ("Yesterday's Enterprise"). And countless crewmen are sacrificed, to emphasize the gravity of a situation. That's why they explode. There's no really good reason. I know some people on the board will beg to differ, and struggle to find a plausible way to try "fitting it in"... for the sake of keeping their imagined Star Trek universe sensible. But seriously, the attempt falls flat no matter what. There's just really no good reason, other than to embellish the story.

 

[MacLeod]

And I thought they made it from a new element on the Periodic table, i call it Explodium (Ep).

 

[CoveTom]

I also wonder why they pack the consoles full of rocks. Seriously, have you ever paid attention when there's a major explosion of a console, such as in "Yesterday's Enterprise"? Where the heck do all the rocks come from? Is this some super-secret component of 24th century Federation control consoles?

 

[sojourner]

^Dilithium.

 

[Captain Rob]

And I thought they made it from a new element on the Periodic table, i call it Explodium (Ep).

Most likely discovered by the director of the old Chips TV show. Every vehicle had some.

 

[Use of Time]

and whats with those piece of crap phase inducers that are always the first to go when things go bad.

and what about airline food?

I'll be here all night, try the veal.

 

[Gary7]

I also wonder why they pack the consoles full of rocks. Seriously, have you ever paid attention when there's a major explosion of a console, such as in "Yesterday's Enterprise"? Where the heck do all the rocks come from? Is this some super-secret component of 24th century Federation control consoles?

I know exactly what you mean. You're right, a perfect example was in Yesterday's Enterprise, when the tactical station in front of Riker explodes.