Name |
Notes |
Laser Grid |
A laser attack grid designed by the pirates of the Serene Squall. It used a laser emitter and a series of reflectors to produce a cage that would first trap a ship and then shrink to damage it. Firing on the grid would cause a chain reaction of explosions destroying the cages ship. Firing on a single reflector would also cause the same chain reaction. The one weakness of the system was the single source of power, which if destroyed would disable the entire system. The USS Enterprise used this weakness escape the system. [1] |
Lasers [2] |
An abbreviation for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, the laser was discovered on Earth in the early 20th century and came into widespread use as a weapon during the mid 21st. Most lasers use a form of crystal or gas in which the electrons have been raised to an excited state. Mirrors are then used to reflect stray photons back and forth through this medium, provoking a cascade reaction which releases a burst of light. The beam emitted from a laser is monochromatic, coherent, and has a very high intensity. High energy lasers are thus able to focus large amounts of energy onto very small areas, which can result in considerable physical damage.
Lasers remained in widespread use for some two hundred years, and were the main armament of the Daedalus and Constitution class starships during the early years of the Federation. By 2255 the standard issue hand laser was capable of blasting through considerable thickness' of rock. A larger artillery style ground cannon could provide heavy fire - this weapon could be rigged to run from remote power sources if required, supplying sufficient power to blast half a continent. [2] Like the later phasers, the weapon was capable of being set to produce a force chamber explosion. [2]
Between 2255 and 2265 lasers where replaced in Starfleet service with the much superior phasers. [3] Today lasers are not a significant ship-to-ship weapon, as the navigational shields of a Federation starship are immune to this form of energy. [4] |
Lirpa [5] |
Ancient Vulcan weapon with a razor sharp curved blade at one end and a heavy metal club on the other. [5] |
Locator Bomb [6] |
Antipersonnel weapon capable of seeking out a specific person by tracking their pheromones and detonating a sorium argine explosive to kill them. [6] |
Longbow [7] |
A weapon used by English soldiers during Earth's Medieval period. They were a feature of Q's recreation of the Robin Hood legend. [7] |
Low Yield Phaser [8] |
A low yield phaser used by Federation colonists in 2366 [8] |