Though shield harmonics can be adjusted to change the shape of shields of the 24th century, it is unclear if ships could produce both shield configurations.Ĭertain starships have a shield system advanced enough to allow protection of only specific areas of the ship while leaving other areas unprotected. The ellipsoid shield configuration isn't shown until the 24th century. In the other shield configuration, a contour-conforming shield layer is projected a few meters outside the main hull. One type projects an ellipsoid shield bubble around the ship in addition to a relatively large region directly adjacent to the ship. There are at least two different shield configurations commonly used by starships. (TOS: "Arena") Older Federation starships, such as the Constitution-class USS Enterprise, could not even transport through their own shields, but later starships such as the Intrepid Class and Sovereign Class vessels could transport personnel and objects freely to and fro without having to lower their shields. Normally Transporters are not capable of penetrating shields. This task requires the shields to be dropped. Shields on a Nova Class starship can be fully recharged after charging the shield emitters for 45 seconds. A refit Constitution Class starship needs exactly 13.5 seconds to lower and raise its shields when taking a shuttlecraft onboard via its tractor beam, though this includes the time required to tractor in the shuttle during an automated docking flying the shuttle in manually reduces this time significantly. It takes time to activate a deflector shield. (Star Trek Generations TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds") An effective counter is to repeatedly and randomly alter the shield nutations to minimize the effectiveness of the weapon's retuned frequencies. ![]() Some weapons technologies, including those commonly used by the Borg, have rapidly adjustable frequencies, meaning that they will more rapidly penetrate shields with static frequencies. In combat situations, starships match their own shield and weapon frequencies so their shielding does not interfere with their own weapons. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar" Star Trek Generations) The frequencies of shields are not usually discernible without examining the controls on board the ship deploying them, meaning that it is very difficult to tune weapons to the exact frequency of an opponent's shields to bypass them. Shields operate within a range of shield frequencies to allow certain specific types of energy and matter to pass through, or to make them more effective at blocking them. Shields are said to be "holding" if damage is not sufficient enough to allow a compromise, while if the shields are "buckling" or "failing," then a total loss of shield protection is imminent. aft or starboard) will take more damage than other sections, so tactical officers will report on the health of any section that needs reinforcement with additional power reserves. Often, specific sections of the shield grid (e.g. Usually, the officer reports shield strength as a percentage of total effectiveness, with 100% meaning that the shields are at full capacity, and lower percentage scores indicating weaker shield conditions. Therefore, during combat, tactical officers continually report on shield strength. Shield capacities vary according to many variables, from the power available to environmental concerns (such as nebulae), making definitive and universal calculations of how much damage they can take difficult to estimate (there is no way to know exactly how many phaser hits will cause a failure, for instance). (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek Generations)Ĭontinuous or extremely powerful energy discharges can progressively dissipate the integrity of a shield to the point of failure. Without deflector shields, modern weapons are capable of causing catastrophic damage to starship hulls almost immediately. When shields are up, only minor hull damage can be expected during combat. In contemporary starship combat, shields are essential for hull protection. ![]() When shields are "up," or energized at a high level, most matter or energy that comes into contact with the shields will be harmlessly deflected away. Neither matter nor highly-concentrated energy (i.e., weapons fire) can normally penetrate a shield. They are raised to full power in anticipation of environmental hazards or in combat situations. On modern starships, deflector shields are essential equipment. Shield energies can be emitted from a localized antenna or "dish" (such as a ship's navigational deflector), or from a network of "grid" emitters laid out on the object's surface (such as a ship's hull). Deflector shields operate by creating a layer of energetic distortion containing a high concentration of Gravitons around the object (ship, city, etc.) to be protected.
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