Photons
Posted on 02/24/2012 @ 8:12am
Mission: Azimuth Horizon: Crusade - Chapter 3: Preparations
As he listened to his captain, O'Conner couldn't help but wonder why people though that warp cores were more than just antimatter generator.
"Sir, if we need antimatter explosions this base has nearly 30,000 Photon torpedoes. Unlike the more advanced quantums and transphasics torpedoes, photon torpedoes are still at their core a basic antimatter/matter reaction.
For the operation we could easily install a timer or remote detonator. Also if we need larger explosions we probably give them a 50% higher yield without bending safety regs too much... or we could just use more of them."
By Allen Samji on 02/24/2012 @ 8:27am
I'm not sure of the science behind it but the Hekaran scientist in TNG had to overload a warp core to prove her point, so I'm not sure why she wouldn't have just used Photon torpedoes too.
By Michael O'Conner on 02/24/2012 @ 8:40am
Hekaranits might not have antimatter torpedoes(or at least their ship might not have had) Also it is harder to stop a warp core breach on another ship then it is to stop a photon torpedo, so they figured it would be harder for the enterprise crew to stop them.
By Kheren on 02/24/2012 @ 9:32am
The main difference I see between the use of mater-antimater reaction in torpedoes vs warp cores is this:
Torpedoes detonate instantly in normal space and have no relation whatsovere with subspace.
War cores use antimatter reaction to create a warp field or a bubble of subspace to propel the ship beyond light spped. So they "connect" to subspace and therefore can affect it.
That would answer all these questions.
Scratch that; the nacelles create the warp field; the core indeed just provides power to them to do so.
You might be right here Drakxii.
By Daniel Crist on 02/24/2012 @ 9:55am
I think its the same, just the yield will be different, the torpedoes will have a lower yield while a exploding warp core will be far more then like 50 - 100 torpedoes, or whatever.
By David Rogers on 02/24/2012 @ 12:22pm
The current yield of Mark XXV torp is 18.5 isotons I believe. BUT, the effective (tactical) range is only around 400 million kilometers.