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From: rodean@hpfcla.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Phasers like photon torpedoes???
Message-ID: <50000009@hpfclo.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Feb-86 14:31:00 EST
Article-I.D.: hpfclo.50000009
Posted: Fri Feb 21 14:31:00 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Feb-86 06:01:25 EST
Organization: 21 Feb 86 12:31:00 MST
Lines: 17

Last night I watched the last part of the Star Trek episode (I missed
the opening and hence the title) where a Romulan vessel has crossed the
Neutral Zone and destroyed several Federation outposts. The Romulan
vessel has a powerful plasma weapon and a cloaking device. The actor who
portrays the Romulan commander plays Spocks' father in another episode 
(I believe his name is Mark Leonard from previous discussions). He and
Kirk wage a battle much like a chess game.

My question is this: In the episode, the Enterprise fires its phasers,
but they appear more like photon torpedoes. They go blip, blip, blip
upon leaving the ship and explode in a flash of light. They are not like
the phasers of "The Doomsday Machine", for example, which are relatively
continuous beams of light. At what point in the series did they change
the behavior of phasers and when did photon torpedoes show up?

Bruce Rodean
{ihnp4|hplabs}!hpfcla!rodean