Shooting "through" the shields?

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Every time the Enterprise (any one of them)/Voyager/Defiant is in battle, we hear the order "target so-and-so system." In turn, the guys wearing funny costumes do the same unto us. The result of this is that the ship is hit and the weapons/propulsion/whatever goes down (they never need to target the transporter since it's never working when they need it!). We've seen it a gazillion times and we're used to it.

My question is, if the shields are up, how can enemy fire affect internal ship's systems? If the shields worked perfectly, it wouldn't matter where on the shield bubble the ship was hit; the only possible damage would be to the shields. Obviously, the writer's couldn't get their heads around the notion of shields that worked this way, just like they couldn't maintain the original vision of the Borg, and what I'm describing is so canon it's indisputable. However, there are never any mentions of shield "leakage" nor do we see fire impacting on the hull - we see shots hit the shields and stop there and don't see any sign of hull damage at all.

[DarkOmen]

Maybe when they say shields at 80%, the shields absorb 80% of the incoming energy while the remaining 20% impacts the hulll....?

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Interesting interpretation. I'd tended to view those statements more as meaning that the capacity of the shield generators to hold up the shields was reduced to that amount, pending repair. But then, nobody every explicitly stated what "Shields at X percent" means...

I'd imagine that the percentage of energy that hits the hull might depend on how powerful the shot was, though. That is, the shields would block X amount of energy (X many joules), not X percent.

[Teaos]

It is stated that shields come in different area like aft, foward, left, right.

Maybe if you hit a specific area you can overload it and shoot through for a while before it goes back up. When they say 80% that might be over all but one area is a bit weak.

[Granitehewer]

maybe the internal damage caused when the shields are still up, allbeit at a diminished level is due to the kinetic energy causing horrendous vibrations, so bits and bobs of the systems 'pop out' and 'drop off', this vibration idea would thus explain worfs' hair straightening and curling, loosening and tightening and even changing shade in various scenes lol

[Jim]

I view it as consoladation of fire. Sort of like punchin a single hole through a piece of paper. You do not have to take out the entire sheet of paper, just put one hole in it.

[Captain Seafort]

It might be a side effect of their frequency-dependant shields - unless they can precisely match the frequency and phase angle of the incoming weapon, some of the energy will leak through.

Alternatively it may be waste heat from the shield equipment damaging surrounding equipment. They have to absorb, store, and emit the energy thrown at them, and if the energy of the weapons exceeds the storage capacity of their shields then some will leak into surrounding areas of the ship.

[Mikey]

I always a ssumed a scenario like Granitehewer's and Seafort's. The most intuitive interpretation of "shields at 80%" - and the only one that is helpful to use - is that "shields are currently at 80% of their original capacity." However, since attacks on the shields definitely put stresses on the shield generators, I sort of figured that damage to the systems local to the particular shields in question was "collateral" damage caused by both kinetic, thermal, chemical, (etc.) effects to the site of the generator.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

The "local damage to systems near the shield generators" is logical but we still need to explain the specificity of the damage that can be done. The captain will order that a particular system be taken out, and it will be done.

<Rochey>It does demonstrate bad design that a single hit on the hull can knock out an entire system, no?</Rochey>

[Mikey]

Part of the problem is the fragility of starship systems. In other words, damage to a subsystem or part (perhaps to do damage to that local shield generator) often seems to disable that whole system, even ship-wide [/channels Rochey]

Out of universe, of course, being able to disable a specific system with minimal effort or collateral damage is a tremendously easy plot device.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Out of universe, of course, being able to disable a specific system with minimal effort or collateral damage is a tremendously easy plot device.

"Tremendously easy plot device" could be the entire Star Trek Writer's guide.

[Sionnach Glic]

My question is, if the shields are up, how can enemy fire affect internal ship's systems?

Personaly, I've always thought of it as the weapons knocking 'holes' in the ship's shield. For example, when Worf says 'eighty percent shields remaining' he might mean that eighty percent of the whole shield is still up, but with a bunch of holes knocked out, allowing enemy weapons to slam into the hull.
This would also explain how the Enterprise was able to ram the Scimitar even though it still had 70 percent shields remaining.

Out of universe, it's simply because the writers are idiots.

<Rochey>It does demonstrate bad design that a single hit on the hull can knock out an entire system, no?</Rochey>

I see you've been reading these forums already.

And yes, it is incredibly stupid. I imagine its due to the overcentralised nature of Federation ships. Single hits in various locations can cause damage to, say, the computer controling the phasers, knocking them out without a backup to take control.

[/channels Rochey]

Okay, this is getting scary. Am I slowly turning each of you into clones of myself, or something?

[Tsukiyumi]

Damn. At this rate, you'll assimilate the entire forum inside of a month...

[Mikey]

Okay, this is getting scary. Am I slowly turning each of you into clones of myself, or something?

What, like that wasn't your plan?

Actually, you're not turning us into clones - we just know that if there is a knock against Federation starship design, then you MUST have said or thought it already.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Well, this one seems to affect EVERY race's ships in the Trek world.