Deflector Dish
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''
fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...
, shields refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that provides
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...
s,
space station A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...
s, and entire planets with limited protection against damage. They are sometimes referred to as ''deflectors'', '' deflector shields'', or (in '' Star Trek: The Original Series'') ''screens''. Types of shields include ''navigational deflectors''.


History

The term 'shields' first appears in the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' episode "
Balance of Terror "Balance of Terror" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Paul Schneider and directed by Vincent McEveety, it first aired on December 15, 1966. The series, ...
", in which they were deployed, albeit to little effect, by a
Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
outpost under attack from a
Romulan The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Their adopted home world is Romulus, and within the same star system they have settled a sister planet Remus. Their original home world, Vulcan ...
Warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 100 ...
. The first depicted use by a starship was in the ''Star Trek'' episode "
Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
", in which the USS ''Enterprise'' raises its 'screens' after being attacked by an alien warship although the term 'shields' is not used in this episode. Shields are not mentioned during the earlier seasons of the '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' series, starships instead using "polarized hull plating" to make their hull more resistant to damage.


Design

Like most technologies in the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''
fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...
, the exact operation of shield technology is never precisely described. Characters discuss its existence and manipulation, while only superficially describing its exact physics, which result in a field being projected around a ship or other body, deflecting or dispersing projectiles and energy weapons. Shields are not shown unless struck, and are then often shown briefly for dramatic effect as a translucent bubble of energy. Shields are said to be made of a screen of
gravitons In theories of quantum gravity, the graviton is the hypothetical elementary particle that mediates the force of gravitational interaction. There is no complete quantum field theory of gravitons due to an outstanding mathematical problem with ren ...
that can deflect beam and projectile weaponry. In '' The Making of Star Trek'', authors
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...
and Stephen Whitfield write that shields are force fields similar in nature to the navigational deflector, while '' Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise'' further states that shields on post-refit Constitution-class vessels - of which the USS ''Enterprise'' of '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' is an example - were generated by the subatomic scan and replication of an alloy known as diburnium-osmium, and then projected as a force field beyond a ship's hull along the shield grid. In "
That Which Survives "That Which Survives" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by John Meredyth Lucas (based on a story by D.C. Fontana under the pseudonym Michael Richards) and di ...
", the alloy of diburnium and osmium is stated to be the hardest alloy known to the Federation. Shields can be weakened by attack, and are often shown to collapse after prolonged bombardment. Shields may be unable to repel certain types of weapons; the phased polaron weapons used by the
Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
- one of the primary antagonists of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' - are initially unhindered by the shields of Starfleet ships. The USS ''Defiant'', introduced in the third season of ''Deep Space Nine'', was said to use ablative armor in addition to shields; this technology also appeared in the alternate time line of the early 25th century shown in the '' Star Trek: Voyager'' series finale " Endgame", where it withstood repeated assaults by Borg weaponry and tractor beams. Another type of shield, the ''navigational deflector'' (also known just as the deflector, the deflector array, the deflector dish, the main deflector, the nav deflector, or the parabolic dish), was a force beam generator, usually a dish on the front of a ship, that was primarily used to deflect objects that might collide with the ship specially when traveling using
Warp drive A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal (faster than the speed of light) spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably ''Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing real-life physics research ...
when even minute particles could cause serious damage.


See also

*
Force field (technology) In speculative fiction, a force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, energy bubble, or deflector shield, is a barrier produced by something like energy, negative energy, dark energy In physical cosmology and astronomy, ...


Notes


References

* Drexler, Doug; & Sternbach, Rick; & Zimmerman, Herman (1998). '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual.'' Pocket Books. . * Okuda, Michael; & Sternbach, Rick (1991). '' Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual''. Pocket Books. . * *


External links

* * {{Star Trek Star Trek devices fr:Jargon de Star Trek: A-E#Bouclier