GCS Deflector Weapon - BOBW

[Victory is Life]

Ok, so I did some calculations on this weapon from BOBW, where the crew unleashes a hellfire through the main deflector dish at the borg cube, which, barring Picard's capture, would have obliterated it, or decimated it, at the very least.

Geordi mentions that it would pack a punch greater than the phasers of photorps could ever provide, and with a photon torpedo's destructive power generally agreed to be in the 60-100 megaton range, this gives, assuming the E-D has a full complement of 250 torpedos, a destructive yield of 25 teratons, excluding the phaser power of all of the e-d's arrays combined. Has anyone calculated the total output of this weapon?

[kostmayer]

The Enterprise D can't fire all 250 torpedoes at once - was Geordi referring to the combined power of all the torpedoes, or how many she can fire at once?

I've often wondered if the weapon would have worked if Picard hadn't been assimilated - if so, could the Enterprise have used the weapon sooner, instead of spending time trying to increase the range of the weapon to ensure the Enterprises safety? The loss of the Enterprise is surely a price worth paying for the destruction of the Borg cube. Would the weapon have worked without the Saucer section?

[Captain Picard's Hair]

The Enterprise D can't fire all 250 torpedoes at once - was Geordi referring to the combined power of all the torpedoes, or how many she can fire at once?

I've often wondered if the weapon would have worked if Picard hadn't been assimilated - if so, could the Enterprise have used the weapon sooner, instead of spending time trying to increase the range of the weapon to ensure the Enterprises safety? The loss of the Enterprise is surely a price worth paying for the destruction of the Borg cube. Would the weapon have worked without the Saucer section?

I'd guess so - all the main power systems as well as the deflector assembly itself are in the engineering hull. In fact, the saucer seemed to be more a liability than anything, due to the need to harden the lower levels of it from the radiation surge.

[kostmayer]

Possibly a neglible difference, but the Saucer section probably adds about 200 or 300 metres to the length of the ship, so the front of the ship would be that much closer to the Cube when firing the deflector weapon.

Also, would seperating the Saucer section mean that it has a smaller shield surface, and therefore a stronger one? Presumably the Saucer section has its own means of powering its shields when seperated, but would the Stardrive still have more power to drawn on?

Edited: After reading Captain's post above properly the answer would seem to be yes.

[Captain Seafort]

with a photon torpedo's destructive power generally agreed to be in the 60-100 megaton range

Err, no. The best estimate for PTs puts them in the high-kt/low-Mt range, based on destroying the asteroid in Pegasus.

this gives, assuming the E-D has a full complement of 250 torpedoes, a destructive yield of 25 teratons

Nope. Apart from the issue about individual torpedo yields, you've skipped a prefix - 25,000 Mt is 25 Gigatons, not Teratons.

As for the details, Geordi was considering the full output of all the E-D's weapons:

GEORDI (O.S.)
There's a two percent power drop,
just for an instant... but it's
system-wide... The phaser
frequency spread was in a high
narrow band.

DATA
Conceivably, the ship's power
distribution nodes are vulnerable
to those frequencies.

GEORDI
If we can generate a concentrated
burst of energy with that same
frequency distribution... I mean
a lot more than anything our
phasers or photon torpedos could
provide...

Assuming he's referring to a single full volley, this would make the deflector dish weapon superior to the combined output of half-a-dozen phaser arrays and four or five photon torpedoes, given that this seems to be the GCS's maximum instantaneous output, seen in BoBW and Survivors.

I expect its effect, had the Borg not received prior warning from Picard, would have been similar to the concentrated fire that destroyed the cube in First Contact - however, because of the warning, the Borg were able to recognise what the E-D was about to do, and brace themselves and optimise their defences accordingly.

Welcome to DITL.

[kostmayer]

From what I understood, it wasn't the power of the defector dish, as much as the ability to fire at a controlled frequency.

[Captain Seafort]

I think it was both - they needed a BFG that could be frequency controlled. It does, however, raise the question of whether the ship has components capable of channelling that much power without being able to control the frequency as well. The nacelles maybe?

[kostmayer]

Very good points. Geordi and Wes did state it had to be more powerful then the Phasers or Photons. And we've already seen that both can be set to specific frequencies - wasn't the Enterprise D's shields penetrated by torpedoes set to the right frequency in Generations?

Not sure what else other then the nacelles could channel so much power. If someone on here comes up with something, they could have their own manoeuvre named after them.

[Captain Seafort]

Very good points. Geordi and Wes did state it had to be more powerful then the Phasers or Photons. And we've already seen that both can be set to specific frequencies - wasn't the Enterprise D's shields penetrated by torpedoes set to the right frequency in Generations?

They were, although it's usually rationalised as referring to the torpedoes shields. Whether that was the intention, or whether some idiot thought solid metal could have a frequency, I'm not sure.

[SteveK]

Err, no. The best estimate for PTs puts them in the high-kt/low-Mt range, based on destroying the asteroid in Pegasus.

Haven't we seen instances where they've demonstrated much more firepower than that?

[Captain Seafort]

Haven't we seen instances where they've demonstrated much more firepower than that?

We've seen possible numbers that are all over the shop. The Pegasus incident is our best bet because we have an explicit statement regarding the number of torps required, and a fairly easilly measureable inert lump of rock.

Incidently, the low-end of GCS firepower (and power generation generally) is from Night Terrors - the deflector dish cannon proved weaker than a chemical explosion.

[Victory is Life]

with a photon torpedo's destructive power generally agreed to be in the 60-100 megaton range

Err, no. The best estimate for PTs puts them in the high-kt/low-Mt range, based on destroying the asteroid in Pegasus.

this gives, assuming the E-D has a full complement of 250 torpedoes, a destructive yield of 25 teratons

Nope. Apart from the issue about individual torpedo yields, you've skipped a prefix - 25,000 Mt is 25 Gigatons, not Teratons.

As for the details, Geordi was considering the full output of all the E-D's weapons:

GEORDI (O.S.)
There's a two percent power drop,
just for an instant... but it's
system-wide... The phaser
frequency spread was in a high
narrow band.

DATA
Conceivably, the ship's power
distribution nodes are vulnerable
to those frequencies.

GEORDI
If we can generate a concentrated
burst of energy with that same
frequency distribution... I mean
a lot more than anything our
phasers or photon torpedos could
provide...

Assuming he's referring to a single full volley, this would make the deflector dish weapon superior to the combined output of half-a-dozen phaser arrays and four or five photon torpedoes, given that this seems to be the GCS's maximum instantaneous output, seen in BoBW and Survivors.

I expect its effect, had the Borg not received prior warning from Picard, would have been similar to the concentrated fire that destroyed the cube in First Contact - however, because of the warning, the Borg were able to recognise what the E-D was about to do, and brace themselves and optimise their defences accordingly.

Welcome to DITL.

My mistake, I did mean GT, and truthfully, even the TM states the PT yields in the megaton range i have stated. Also, if we look at ST firepower destructive capability closely, events like the Romulan Cardassian bombardment of the founders homeworld in TDiC indicate massive amounts of firepower, destroying 30% of the planet's crust in the opening volley.

Thanks for the welcome.

[Mikey]

The TM's aren't canon. And there is debate about twhether the effects seen in TDiC are purely geloigcal events, or partially atmospheric events, which would reduce the observed yield.

And allow me to second the welcome to the forum.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

The TM's aren't canon. And there is debate about twhether the effects seen in TDiC are purely geloigcal events, or partially atmospheric events, which would reduce the observed yield.

And allow me to second the welcome to the forum.

You're allowed to second the welcome to the forum.

[Mikey]

Go ahead.