shipboard phasers

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shipboard phasers
Shipboard Phaser (TOS03)

Shipboard Phaser (TOS03)
First Appearance TOS03 (10 Nov 1966)
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Prime Timeline
(The root of all realities)


An energy weapon; according to Lieutenant Tyler in 2254, the phasers[1] aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 had "enough power to blast half a continent."[2] While typically fired as beams, the phaser banks aboard the Enterprise were also capable of firing in short bursts with proximity explosions, much like the depth charges used in submarine warfare centuries earlier.[3] Shipboard phasers were also capable of wide-area stun effects against planetary targets.[4]

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Notes and References

  1. Although the script and dialogue for "The Cage" referred to the energy weapons as "lasers," this was changed retroactively to "phasers" when the series went into production, as the properties of lasers were already a known quantity in the real world, and the writers and production team did not want to restrict future stories. The design of the "lasers" from The Cage was echoed in Star Trek: Discovery, where the weapons were referred to as phasers, reinforcing this retcon.
  2. Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Cage". Star Trek, season 0, episode 0 (Production number 01). Directed by Robert Butler. Written by Gene Roddenberry. Released 1986. Desilu Productions. 1965.
  3. Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Balance of Terror". Star Trek, season 1, episode 14 (Production number 09). Directed by Vincent McEveety. Written by Paul Schneider. Desilu Productions. 15 December 1966.
  4. Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "A Piece of the Action." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 20. Directed by James Komack. Written by David P. Harmon (Story and Teleplay) and Gene L. Coon (Teleplay). Desilu Productions, 12 January 1968.