Phasers as a torpedo defense

[Graham Kennedy]

The Galaxy shot a Ferengi missile down once (The Price), so it's certainly possible to shoot targets like that.

Why they don't with photons is anyone's guess. We know photons can be shielded (Half a Life), may well be routinely so given their appearance. Could be that their shields are powerful enough that shooting them down in their fairly short flight time, whilst perhaps possible, is an ineffective tactic.

[Mark]

We also know that shooting a torpedo results in a shockwave (remember the ECMs tactic when comparing "member" sizes with Kim?) that causes damage to nearby ships. Of course, you'd be dissipating the energy in ALL directions in that point, instead of directly AT your ship, so that theory goes out the window.

[Graham Kennedy]

You have to believe that detonating a torpedo close to your ship is better than having it actually hit you. I mean, if not, then the torps would be programed for a proximity detonation!

[Reliant121]

Bear in mind that the (o)E-nil has been seen in various TOS episodes firing phasers in a pulse confguration. While, out of universe, it might well have been a limitation special effects making a pulse easier to produce or something similar, it isnt really that important. In universe, the phaser banks in use aboard the (o)E-nil can fire in a pulse mode. In that vain, i cant see why the (n)E-nil cant fire phasers in a similar manner. A large bank of low output phaser turrets could very easily put enough phaser bolts into space to chew a torpedo into bits. Physically speaking, I think it possible.

[Praeothmin]

IU, we could almost make up any reason as to why. Perhaps phaser technology developed differently, allowing for (in the Abramsverse) a rapid-firing but relatively short-range and low-powered version.

I lean towards the Gene-verse having some technical limitation with there sensors that made it unreliable. There certainly is no reason firepower wise why it couldn't have been done, and the Galaxy has been seen to fire two beams at once from the strips.

The E-E in Nemesis was even shown to be able to fire many shots in a very short timespan, as the E-D had also shown a few times in TNG, which means that the Geneverse's Heavy ships at least had this capability...

[Mark]

You have to believe that detonating a torpedo close to your ship is better than having it actually hit you. I mean, if not, then the torps would be programed for a proximity detonation!

No, I completely agree.....however, it struck me as iffy. Remember, the E-D expected to critically injure itself launching aft torps at the Borg because of the range they were at.

Which raises a point.....what IS the blast radius of a torp in space I wonder? What would your minimum safe distance be? As long as you could hit the torp BEFORE that distance, you wouldn't have a problem.

[Mikey]

The E-E in Nemesis was even shown to be able to fire many shots in a very short timespan, as the E-D had also shown a few times in TNG, which means that the Geneverse's Heavy ships at least had this capability...

True, but those ships weren't shown to have a separate, dedicated CIWS. Every shot fired at an incoming projectile is a shot that your big guns aren't taking against the enemy ship.

[Sionnach Glic]

Which raises a point.....what IS the blast radius of a torp in space I wonder? What would your minimum safe distance be? As long as you could hit the torp BEFORE that distance, you wouldn't have a problem

Given that the yield of torpedoes seem to vary from one instance to another, it'd be difficult to calc that.

[Praeothmin]

You have to believe that detonating a torpedo close to your ship is better than having it actually hit you. I mean, if not, then the torps would be programed for a proximity detonation!

No, I completely agree.....however, it struck me as iffy. Remember, the E-D expected to critically injure itself launching aft torps at the Borg because of the range they were at.

Which raises a point.....what IS the blast radius of a torp in space I wonder? What would your minimum safe distance be? As long as you could hit the torp BEFORE that distance, you wouldn't have a problem.

Perhaps the issue was that they were planning on firing a spread of torpedoes at the Borg ship.
So while 1 torpedo may not be dangerous, the combined explosive might of 10 torpedoes may have been dangerous...

[Graham Kennedy]

In the particular case of the Borg ship, it's also worth noting that both the E-D and cube were at high warp at the time, with some seconds between them.

[Aaron]

No, I completely agree.....however, it struck me as iffy. Remember, the E-D expected to critically injure itself launching aft torps at the Borg because of the range they were at.

Which raises a point.....what IS the blast radius of a torp in space I wonder? What would your minimum safe distance be? As long as you could hit the torp BEFORE that distance, you wouldn't have a problem.

Blast radius? There won't be one (or rather nothing significant), you get blast in the atmosphere because the explosion has something to push (air, dirt, various human bric-a-brac). In space all there will be to scatter is the shell of the weapon itself, the rest would presumably be radiation of some sort. So what the minimum safe distance from hard rads would be...well I'm not a scientist.

[Mark]

Well, we DO see a shock wave when Voyager destoys that torp.........so SOMETHING is produced

[Graham Kennedy]

It's probably a subspace shockwave. Subspace is the magic fairydust that makes everything technological okay, you know?

[Praeothmin]

It's probably a subspace shockwave. Subspace is the magic fairydust that makes everything technological okay, you know?

Exactly.
Photon Torpedoes and QTs inverse the surrounding Subspace Quantum Flux, which results in a massive shockwave.
Everybody knows that...

[Mikey]

I thought they worked by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow.[/John Pertwee]