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Particle weapon

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Akira and Defiants fire, Message in a Bottle

Phasers were nadion-based particle weapons

Defiant Starship Down

Jem'Hadar fighters were armed with polaron-based particle weapons

Verteron array

The verteron array on Mars

Planet killer fires antiproton beam, remastered

The "Planet killer" was armed with an antiproton-based particle weapon

Tachyon beam

USS Voyager attempted to destroy the Dreadnought with a tachyon beam

Particle weapon was a generalized term for several different types of directed energy weapon technologies. These weapons used different atomic or subatomic particles in the form of particle beams or projectile-like bursts of particles to bombard the target with destructive energy.

Particle cannon was the term commonly used to refer to ship-mounted particle weapons. Impacts usually left scorch marks on a ship's hull. In the case of high-yield particle impacts, the particle residue might cause oxidization and thermal shock effects. (ENT: "Fight or Flight") Particle accelerators could also be utilized as particle weapons. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part II")

The terms "particle cannon" and "particle weapon" have been used interchangeably on numerous occasions to describe the ship-mounted armaments of numerous species.

Types of particle weaponsEdit

Several species utilized what was only described as particle weapons during the mid-22nd century as both ship-mounted cannons and sidearm weapons. During later centuries it was more common to use specific designations for these particle weapons. (ENT: "Judgment") Particle weapons were classified by the type of atomic or subatomic particles used to deliver the destructive energy to the target. These included:

Additionally a navigational deflector could be utilized as a particle weapon. The various types of particle beams that could be emitted included:

Particle weapons were also differentiated by the type of emissions they produced. Particle emission types included:

Several particle weapons were based on phaser or disruptor technology. These could be further modified to produce particle emissions that included:


Particle sidearmsEdit

S Money firing a particle rifle

A 22nd century MACO particle rifle

Vulcans utilized hand-held particle weapons as early as the mid-20th century. (ENT: "Carbon Creek") By the mid-22nd century, Coridan rebels were armed with particle weapons. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem") The Tandarans were also armed with particle weapons, during this time. (ENT: "Detained") Xindi-Insectoids were, likewise, armed with particle weapon sidearms. (ENT: "Hatchery") The Suliban also used particle weapon sidearms which were capable of stunning their victims. (ENT: "Cold Front")

In the visions created by the Nakan memorial on Tarakis, Saavdra claimed the civilian colonists were using particle weapons against his soldiers. (VOY: "Memorial")

Starfleet issued phase pistols as well as a variety of plasma-based sidearms during the mid-22nd century. The EM-33, an EM weapon, required the user to compensate for particle drift when firing. (ENT: "Sleeping Dogs") The standard-issue carbine weapon of MACO personnel was a particle rifle. (ENT: "The Xindi"; et al.)

The phase pistol, the predecessor of the phaser, fired a continuous beam and unlike the EM-33, was capable of stun and kill settings. (ENT: "Broken Bow") The particle yield of phase pistols can be doubled by cross-polarizing the power cells. (ENT: "Regeneration") The MACO phase pistols fired phase pulses. (ENT: "Babel One")

During his meeting with the security officers, Captain Jean-Luc Picard noted that particle weapons, such as their phaser rifles, could destroy the warp core during their retake of main engineering from the Borg. (Star Trek: First Contact)

Ship-mounted particle weaponryEdit

Andorian battle cruiser, forward beam

A 22nd century Andorian particle cannon

Particle cannons were used on Vaadwaur assault fighters in the late-15th century. (VOY: "Dragon's Teeth")

Shortly after the introduction of the phase cannons utilized by Starfleet starships it was determined that they could not be fired at warp due to the particle discharge. According to Malcolm Reed, "It would destabilize [their] warp field and most likely burn out both [of their] nacelles." (ENT: "Fallen Hero") This problem was solved shortly afterward. (ENT: "Shockwave, Part II") To the Klingons of the 22nd century, these cannons were described as "low-yield particle cannons," and were deemed little threat to a D5-class battle cruiser. (ENT: "Judgment")

Many species encountered by Starfleet during the 22nd century were armed with similar ship-mounted weapons. Suliban cell ships utilized high-yield particle weapons (ENT: "Broken Bow", "Shockwave") The armament of Enolian shuttles consisted of fore and aft particle cannons, which were less than a match for an NX-class starship (ENT: "Canamar") Xindi-Insectoid ships were armed with up to half a dozen ship-mounted particle cannons (ENT: "Hatchery") Andorian battle cruisers were armed with particle cannons, including multiple forward cannons (ENT: "Kir'Shara", "Zero Hour") Tellarite cruisers were also armed with particle cannons, which leave a signature unique to Tellarite technology (ENT: "Babel One") Xantoran patrol ships were equipped with low-power particle beams (ENT: "The Breach")

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