Why do Torpedoes rarely explode near the target?

[Kamen Rider Blade]

That doesn't seem to have stopped you from drawing a solid conclusion.

Well that's what theorizing based on visual evidence from the series does. You have to come to some sort of conclusion. What do you conclude when you have 2 wildly different results from photon torpedoes portrayed on screen. The original topic is what came to mind. The on screen results didn't make any sense.

How can a torpedo exploded mid flight be able to take out two alien vessels from that alien species in "Work Force".

Also similar torpedo take out multiple Bio-ships.

Each Bio-Ship being vastly more powerful than a Borg Cube!

The only conclusion that I can draw is that they haven't been using the torpedo properly this whole time.

 

[MacLeod]

We have ships that travel at the speed of the plot, so why can't weapons follow that same rule and be as powerful or weak as the episode needs them to be.

 

[T'Girl]

It wasn't a matter of programming.

I recall that Seven stated that Tuvok was able to program the Tri-Cobalt Torpedo to have a yield above what was necessary to

Photon torpedoes have a yield measure in "isotonnes." A tri-cobalt warhead has it yield measured in "teracochranes" which would on the surface indicate that they are not the same type of device. That the tri-cobalt warhead isn't a matter/antimatter warhead.

The ability to program the yield of a tri-coblat device from a console on the bridge in no way indicate you could do the same with a photon torpedo.

The tri-cobalt devices used by the USS Voyager to destroy the Caretaker's array in 2371 had a yield of 20,000 teracochranes, I can't remember if that's each or combined. A cochrane distortion of this scale was large enough to create a subspace tear. A cochrane is the Star Trek techno-babble unit for subspace distortion. Usually use in reference to warp drive performance.

There has been some fan conjecture (and this is fan conjecture) that a tri-cobalt device creates a subspace gradient, or "warp bubble shear," that physically tears the target apart.

 

[TiberiusMaximus]

Well that's what theorizing based on visual evidence from the series does. You have to come to some sort of conclusion.

You keep contradicting yourself. First you say you're extrapolating from visual evidence, then you say there's not enough evidence to do so, then you say you've come to a conclusion based on the evidence. Pick one or the other, you can't have both.

 

[EmperorTiberius]

Just because you physically can't see a big explosion, doesn't mean anything. Shield could interfere with EM spectrum. Would you see an explosion if you fired a torpedo into a black hole?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Either way TiberiusMaximus, I'm trying to come up with a conclusion based on what I've seen within the series. The reason I'm posting is to get ideas / feed back from you fellow fans. I do appreciate the feed back, it is alot of fun chatting with fellow fans who put more thought into this then alot of the other fans I met IRL. Most people don't seem to like to go into the minutiae of how things work.

It always irks me that we the fans seem to understand the rules better than most of the writing staff. It's like they never bother to read the technical / writers manual when working on a show that has lots of techno babble to make things consistant.

Torpedo going into Black Hole =/= Torpedo colliding with shield.

There are obvious visual effects when stuff hits shield, be it Torpedo, Phaser, Ship, etc.

Just watch the video I linked for DS9 battles. Some torpedoes blow up the ship, some blow up and spark the shield, and some just sparkle the shield with no explosion. Lack of consistancy just makes us fans have a harder time to come up with a conclusive answer to what is going on.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Photon torpedoes have a yield measure in "isotonnes." A tri-cobalt warhead has it yield measured in "teracochranes" which would on the surface indicate that they are not the same type of device. That the tri-cobalt warhead isn't a matter/antimatter warhead.

Tri-Cobalt is definitely a different type of warhead than Photon Torpedoes.

The ability to program the yield of a tri-coblat device from a console on the bridge in no way indicate you could do the same with a photon torpedo.

That argument can go either way depending on evidence.

Photonic Torpedoes in ENT were claimed by Reed to be programmable in yield when they first got them at the end of Season 2 / Beginning of Season 3. Photonic Torpedoes being the predecessor to Photon Torpedo tech.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Photonic_torpedo

The tri-cobalt devices used by the USS Voyager to destroy the Caretaker's array in 2371 had a yield of 20,000 teracochranes, I can't remember if that's each or combined. A cochrane distortion of this scale was large enough to create a subspace tear. A cochrane is the Star Trek techno-babble unit for subspace distortion. Usually use in reference to warp drive performance.

There has been some fan conjecture (and this is fan conjecture) that a tri-cobalt device creates a subspace gradient, or "warp bubble shear," that physically tears the target apart.

They never stated if it was for each or combined. I do like that idea that it shears the target apart. ^_^

 

[TiberiusMaximus]

Here's another thought. If the torpedo impact created a typical explosion, that explosion would be roughly spherical, which would mean approximately half of the energy would be contained in the part of the explosion traveling away from the shields. The fact that the shields seem to swallow any potential explosion could indicate that all of the energy is being directed into the shield and thus no destructive energy is wasted. Maybe that's part of why a photon torpedo is more effective than a traditional torpedo.

The reason I'm posting is to get ideas / feed back from you fellow fans. I do appreciate the feed back, it is alot of fun chatting with fellow fans who put more thought into this then alot of the other fans I met IRL. Most people don't seem to like to go into the minutiae of how things work.

Yeah, it is fun. Sorry if I've seemed a little harsh.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Here's another thought. If the torpedo impact created a typical explosion, that explosion would be roughly spherical, which would mean approximately half of the energy would be contained in the part of the explosion traveling away from the shields.

I concur, if it was a spherical explosion, then at best you would only get 1/2 the energy of the warhead hitting the target.

The fact that the shields seem to swallow any potential explosion could indicate that all of the energy is being directed into the shield and thus no destructive energy is wasted. Maybe that's part of why a photon torpedo is more effective than a traditional torpedo.

That part doesn't make as much sense from the defenders perspective. Would you want to wrap a explosion with your shields? You'd be absorbing twice as much damage as just letting it explode right next to it.

Here's my theory, torpedoes have a shaped charge that is based off of a small split second shield generated at the point of impact. The thing about the shaped charge is that it doesn't always work correctly, ergo there is sometimes a explosion that radiates out, sometimes a shield sparkle without spherical explosion. This might explain the inconsistant VFX of torpedoes exploding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWi-pJLO2m4&list=PL3033B3D3CF3CC28C&index=4&feature=plpp_video

Watch the torpedoes carefully, they are not consistant in the ways they explode.

Yeah, it is fun. Sorry if I've seemed a little harsh.

No worriez.

 

[TiberiusMaximus]

That part doesn't make as much sense from the defenders perspective. Would you want to wrap a explosion with your shields? You'd be absorbing twice as much damage as just letting it explode right next to it.

Sorry, poor word choice on my part. I meant that the torpedo was designed that way, not the shields. The attacker wants to deliver as much destructive energy as possible, and the defender wants to block/dissipate as much of that energy as possible.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

That part doesn't make as much sense from the defenders perspective. Would you want to wrap a explosion with your shields? You'd be absorbing twice as much damage as just letting it explode right next to it.

Sorry, poor word choice on my part. I meant that the torpedo was designed that way, not the shields. The attacker wants to deliver as much destructive energy as possible, and the defender wants to block/dissipate as much of that energy as possible.

That makes alot more sense.