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From: mnw@trwrba.UUCP (Michael N. Washington)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: Phasers and Things
Message-ID: <1119@trwrba.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 17-Nov-84 10:45:36 EST
Article-I.D.: trwrba.1119
Posted: Sat Nov 17 10:45:36 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 19-Nov-84 03:23:09 EST
Organization: TRW EDS, Redondo Beach, CA
Lines: 35

>Hey!  How about this:  The shield DROPS completely when the
>phaser is fired, but the process is pulsed according to a
>random number sequence.  You don't have to worry about generating
>discontinuities in the shield to fire phasers through that
>way.  The enemy must pulse his shield/phasers in a completely
>different random pattern to make the shield effective.  Since
>the chance of timing intersection (energy leak?) is (hopefully)
>small, the two ships have to count on wearing each other's
>shields down.
>
>Another thing:  I THINK I remember from somewhere that there
>are banks of 'shields', not a single shield that covers the
>whole ship.  So the ship is potentially only vulnerable at the
>shield it's firing through.
>
>Does this make sense?
>-- 
>
>  "Where can you find			Ron Christian
>a stale work environment		Watkins-Johnson Co.
>  with excellent pay?"			San Jose, Calif.
>	--bay area newspaper		(...ios!wjvax!ron)

This does make some sense.  I remember some episodes where Kirk asks Sulu
to protect a shield (No. 4 comes to mind), stating that it is buckling
and should not sustain any more hits.  However, I never understood why
the entire shield had to be dropped for the transporter to function.


"Live Long and Prosper!"

Michael N. Washington
TRW E&DS  Redondo Beach, Ca.  90278

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