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From: gmp@rayssd.UUCP (Gregory M. Paris)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: Re: Photon torpedoes
Message-ID: <854@rayssd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Jul-85 07:33:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: rayssd.854
Posted: Wed Jul 17 07:33:02 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Jul-85 01:51:44 EDT
References: <812@rayssd.UUCP> <33@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Raytheon Co., Portsmouth RI
Lines: 27

> > Why don't they have some sort of guidance system like a
> > missile instead of a straight line trajectory?  
> 
> According to the novelization of STII:WOK, photon torpedoes DO have a
> guidance system.  If I'm not mistaken, Saavik is the one who changed the
> 
> On a more general note, locking on to a target does not imply straight
> line flight.  It only implies that the ship has to uniquely identify the 
> target to the missile before launching it.

If photon torpedoes are so smart, why do they miss???  I've never heard
anyone on the shows talk about any ECM (or future equivalent).  It seems
that usually they're just hoping for a near miss with the torpedoes (a
single direct hit on an enemy ship is almost always fatal).

More on photon torpedoes:  When the Enterprise met up with Nomad in the
"Changeling" episode, Nomad pummelled the ship with some kind of energy
weapon with the equivalent of 90 (if memory serves) photon torpedoes per.
They survived a couple hits.  When they finally got a single photon torpedo
shot off and Nomad "absorbed" it, they were *amazed*.  Why?  They just
managed to absorb 180 photon torpedoes...
-- 

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||  Gregory M. Paris                                                        ||
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