What Even Are Plasma Torpedoes?
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
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This week in another Edition of "The Arsenal" we take a look at the iconic yet mysterious plasma torpedoes used by the romulans in "The Balance of Terror" a weapon synonmous with the Star Empire during the 23rd century yet seemingly forgotten by the 24th. in todays episode we seek to find out just what happened to this apocalyptic weapon.
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Congratulations on the sponsorship. Nice reading. Or narration
In DS9 Kira got mad because the Romulans mouthed Plasma torpedoes on one of Bayjoroird moons . So the Romulans kept using plasma torps in fixed position at the Minimum during the dominion war .
Out of all the "Trek" technology, plasma weapons seem like the one that might _really_ happen one day.
Gravity and plasma are the two main components of Romulan weapons tech, it is interesting to see it's development over time.
Also, I think V'ger's torpedoes are akin to composers from Halo, where the torpedoes digitalize their targets into data that V'ger absorbs.
Fun fact Star Trek transporter systems are composer tech.
Never thought of it like that. Really ought to watch TMP
@@venomgeekmedia9886 Yes, you need to! If anything, you need that 10 minutes of Enterprise flyby p0rn.
One thing I love about Star Trek Online is that each faction has a signature weapon and the Romulans specialize in plasma, which for my money looks really cool, both in space and ground missions.
Plus, you get to light things on fire!😉
I know but it’s so boring (after a year or two); all the ships pretty much feel the same, all the weapons pretty much feel the same (button mashing mess) and the gameplay will literally make your mind numb. I think graphically, the space sections look great but man, I’d kill for them to make the ships actually customizable (with weapon hard points and different warp cores that actually change shit, etc.) and more varied gameplay (maybe like a RTO type thing) and refresh the damn thing. It’s been 14-15 years of the same rehashed gaming loops. Lololol sorry, I really do like the game, God knows I’ve spent a TON of money on ships but yeah... it’s killing me. We need a badass StarTrek game.
It’s a shame that most weapon types aren’t meta viable,and the good weapons take tons of ec to buy from exchange or worse yet are lobi & deli store exclusives.
@@miamijules2149 Same , and with the amount of cash cryptic is bringing in they aren’t going to change monetary strategy or develop new mechanics anytime soon.
Everytime I think of plasmas I go back to the starfleet command series.
They really love their plasma based weapons.
V-gers “weapon” isn’t a weapon at all.
It is a means of understanding and recording (assimilation, if you will…) whatever happens to be in front of it, or whatever happens to have its attention at the moment.
Yeah…the little “sparkly lightning bolt thingy” is devastating, that much is certain.
But to call it a weapon? No.
It’s a brutal recording device.
The people beeing "understood" with it, might disagree.
Granted it's probably a makeshift weapon, but a weapon.
Fear the archivist.
Now i have not watched this yet im gonna see how close i get!!
1 a plasma torpedo is a ball of plamsa wrapped in a decaying magnetic field or bleeding through the magnetic "skin" of the torpedo. Being both thermal and radioactive the shileds of most vessels cannot withstand the sudden massive thermal reaction and tend to be overwhelmed by the heat and energy transference. The torpedo is most likely spun in a magnetic field to help retain energy over distance as well combined with even standard phase cannons the 1/2 combination of the torpedo disabling or even only partially discharging when in contact with the deflector with a rapid pulse fire weapon could easily overwhelm even a ToS crusier.
Now onto the video.
Three minutes in another thought occured that the msgnrtic field holding the torpedo together is most likely spun as well, im thinking spun in perfect opposition but in synchronization would probably extend the range of one.
Unstable, violent energy from the sun that's artificially generated and kept cohesive by an electro-magnetic bubble around it? I dunno, I just assume that's the way a standard plasma weapon works. Or maybe that's how it is in 40k.
From a fusion reaction yes. Pretty much.
Ngl "cloak-and-poke" gave me the giggles😂😂😂
Hehehe
"More willing to expose themselves" OH MY!!!
@@weldonwin flashers vs streakers
Romulan Key Parties are wild
I always wondered why you don’t see plasma torpedos mentioned in the 24th C save for maybe when the cardassians mention it on their battle stations at Chin’toka
The romulans put plasma torpedoes on the bajoran moon at their hospital
Those were probably cased plasma torpedoes and they are possibly larger caliber than standard torpedoes.
My suspicion is that they never got rid of the tech entirely - but photorps and similar were just way more practical, by that stage.
The Chintoka weapons were more like 22nd century style plasma torps, upgraded, likely.
One thing I love about Plasma weapons, at least that in Star Trek Online. It is that Damage-Over-Time DeBuff it adds. Plasma weapons are never flashy. Nor that exotic, like Quantum or Antiproton. They are on the same level as that of Disrupters. Pure raw power. Though Disrupters have more hitting power and doesn't burn. Plasma has that little edge. Able to keep doing damage, even after the weapon was on a recharge cycle, if the plasma shot causes a fire.
This reason alone, within STO, even as a Federation Captain, I equip my ship(s) with Plasma Weapons. Even if they are not Starfleet approved. I mean if some Mirror Universe me wants to think they are better than me. They should know better than come at me with boring (Agony) Phasers. Say hello to my little plasma flamethrower! Wait....does that make me the Mirror Universe Captain? Or does this become something akin to Brave Heart, and there can only be One? Star Trek is confusing.
Plasma Torpedoes are realistically Plasma Cannon Balls with a misnomer as a Torpedo.
It's only a Torpedo in the most rudimentary of Naval sense in that it's a projectile from a ship.
There are no guidance or physical Torpedo Casing carrying the warhead.
The Plasma is constricted inside a Electro Magnetic bubble that weakens the further out it travels away from the launcher.
Ergo the Energy Density gets weaker as the Plasma ball gets closer to it's intended target as it travels further away.
PRO(s):
- The good part about the system is that you have no Torpedo Casing you have to fabricate to use to launch your EM Plasma Cannon Ball.
- Infinite amount of shots you can fire as long as you have fuel to run your reactor to power the Plasma Cannon.
CON(s):
- The Downside is the limitation in doctrinal usage.
- Limited Range (Basically Point Blank), requires cloaking to surprise your foe.
- No Guidance mechanism or ability to steer your Plasma Torpedo, no tracking system, easily avoided by side stepping or going FTL.
- Warhead Energy Density gets worse with time / distance traveled and ergo weakens the damage upon the target.
- Long ass charge up cycle requires careful planning and timing.
TL;DR:
I reason that 24th century Plasma Torpedoes are similar Torpedo Casing tech to Photon Torpedoes, but with a Magnetically contained Plasma ball as the warhead.
Less waste, more Energy density in the Torpedo warhead while being physically smaller.
You have guidance & tracking capabilities due to the torpedo housing, the ability to fire multiple volleys.
Energy Efficienct rapid fillup of Plasma Torpedoes before battle from the reactor.
FAR superior RANGE, no need to be up close or to surprise your target.
No stupid charge up time that gives a tell to your enemy.
The ability to track your target and course correct while chasing down your enemy is valuable.
Overall, 24th Century Plasma Torpedoes using a physical Torpedo casing is VASTLY superior to the Plasma Cannonball.
There's only a minor cost of producing Physical Torpedo Casings & filling up a simple Plasma Warhead before you launch the Torpedo
Otherwise, range, speed, tracking, doctrinal flexibility is all increased compared to the Plasma Cannonball of the 23rd century
Great video. I love seeing all these SF Museum romulan ship fanart!
Fantastic Vid sir!
Agreed (mostly) on all points.
I’d love to have a discussion regarding various aspects of this video.
Good stuff cat.
Well done.
If you become a channel member you can join us on discord.
I think you need to clarify that plasma is not energy, but a 4th state of amtter. Granted, it is matter in an extremely energetic state. LOL As such, a plasma weapon basically involves splashing superheated matter at the enemy that dumps high heat and electrical charges onto starship's hull.
Because it has a charge, it can be held and directed with a magnetic field.
I can see the high energy demands in creating and holding (in a amgnetic field) the plasma. I can also see the huge energy demand in focusing and projecting the plasma. With that said, I think the plasma beam is a very short range weapon. Without a magentic field containing it, it should defocus and dispersing over time and distance.
As for the plasma torpedo, I wonder if there is a device in the torpedo that creates a magnetic containment field that delays the plasma from dispersing and cooling, as well as possibly provide some guidance.
There is one point I would contend with. A Romulan ship should not "slow down" to fire. In space, an object in motion stays in motion. It may not hav et he energy to maneuver, and it would certainly drop out of war, but it would not "slow down" due to loss of power.
Yeah plasma is a state of matter and thus very "heavy" compared to other particle weapons. And while a ship wouldn't have to slow down to fire it would have to stop accelerating and couldn't as easily maneuver.
Why would the vertical warp cores be more powerful? The only thing that would be different is gravity and on a ship with artificial gravity that would be moot. I know it was done for artistic reasons but an in universe reason for the massive refit on the constitution has escaped me since the reactor could just be put in the same space.
It's probably to do with the velocity of the collision and speed of the reaction. Which is easier to control with a vertical one.
In-universe, the reason it's more powerful is because it's a much larger warp core than the original, but it wouldn't fit into the original engineering hull of the TOS Constitution if laid down horizontally (not without sacrificing the shuttle bay anyway).
Out of universe, it's because it's what Gene Roddenberry wanted once budgets permitted, since building tall recording studio sets is hella expensive. By the time he had the big budget for Trek, he was producing movies and revving up for TNG.
@@atmosdwagon4656 that's the most logical explanation I've heard yet but without pouring over a schematic I don't think the size difference would be that great. If it was just a size thing how slow must the Miranda have went? The size a vertical core in it would probably be less than the difference between the 2 Constitution cores. There is the tie in with the impulse engines that some material place as the top of the core too. It's just something that once I noticed bugged me.
@@Pentagon6519 Yeah, the Miranda's power generation is just one of those odd paradoxes in TMP era ship design. (which is especially frustrating for me, because it''s my favorite ship design in all of Star Trek, and one of my favorites in all of sci-fi period).
But the Constitution Refit isn't that hard to eyeball the changes since there are clear visual markers for the full dimensions of where the vertical warp core is and you can tell it would barely fit in the engineering hull horizontally even if you cannabalized the shuttle bay and cargo reception. (which would have serious implications on the operational viability for the starship if they did so)
I think if the Tal Shiar had their way all plasma torpedoes have Thaleron radiation tech in them. 10:22 so essentially a shipborne version of the Halo plasma pistol charged shot?
In that respect yes but depending on which game. The tracking is stronger in some games.
@@venomgeekmedia9886 from what I've seen in Star Trek it's similar to the Halo Reach plasma pistol.
Fantastic video and I definately understand plasma weapons better than I did!!!😀
🖖😎👍Very nicely well done and very well executed and informatively explained indeed 👌.
I have bad memories of getting whooped by plasma torpedos in star trek online
So in Star Fleet Battles Plasma Torpedoes were slow as they had their own chit like a ship but they were also guided.
I loved how they would "envelope" a ship in FASA's Star Trek game, but Star fleet Battles had the more powerful Plasma weapons.
I'ts a different 'franchise' but if you could make a vid on the infamous 'Phased Plasma' weapons from the Terminator Universe, it would be great.
Loving the new Nova graphics, Well Done.
Glad you like it.
20:06, It can do fleet engagements much better than the Earth-war era Romulan ships could, but the "alpha-strike out of nowhere" design is still very much alive and well in the Nova and D'Deridex.
Both ships still mount well over half of their weapons battery on the front of their ships, and employ cloaking devices.
Furthermore, the bulk of both ships' weapons have a shorter effective range vs the targets they're intended to fight: Specifically, Federation warships armed with phasers and photon torpedoes. Ships that also happen to be faster than their contemporary Romulan counterparts.
Fighting an opponent who can dictate the terms of an engagement to harm you while you struggle to do the same in turn is a losing strategy. Thankfully for the Romulans, Cloaking evens the odds considerably, allowing the Novas and D'Deridex warbirds to ambush at close range with devastating barrages that few if any ships of their era can withstand.
Torpedo might be a misleading Name. It's more like a Carronade.
(Granted that the meaning of Torpedo changed three times during the 19th century)
Good point. Kinda fits with what me an drachinifel discussed.
Thank you for a very intelligent presentation.
The tractor beam thing was always questionable to me
Agreed! If such a thing existed, it would put a lot of other industries out of business. You would think there would be referenced history on the fallout from it, let alone how it actually works.
@@forksandspoons7272 agreed
Every time I see a Romulan bird of pray I think of the old Buck Rogers show.
I love rear facing heavy plasma torps
The up side to having 3 different systems is redundancy. Btw you should check out the dark galaxy books the gravity weapons are cool
I absolutely loved the way strange new worlds did the plasma torpedo!
*sees thumbnail * "Goodness gracious!"
Comparing the 2 is like comparing rocks thrown by hand to bullets
I wish paramount would give this man a blank cheque to make the 6 movie star trek saga we all want to see.
oh, then obviously a few series maybe lol.
The Plasma Torpedo is a 12 Gage shotgun it works
Pretty much especially if we are talking slug.
Pulse type heavy disrupter weapon. High heat and radiation, less boom! Vs photon torpedoes.
Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!!
During one episode of Next Generation, the Romulans are said to be using phasers. It's the one where an alien probe hijacks the computers of 2 Galaxy class ships and one Romulan warbird. Wonder how that fits into everything else. Perhaps the Romulans realized that phasers had some use in the field? Or perhaps that was just for that one episode?
Dude, I don’t remember that episode.... lol there’s no damn way I missed one. There’s just no way...
The Romulans had Disrupters until they had a technology swap with the Klingons. The Klingons supposedly shared that tech with the Romulans. The Disrupter's advantage was greater energy dump but Phasers were more accurate. The Klingons went with power over accuracy but maybe the Romulans decided to go the other way?
@@miamijules2149 "Contagion" - It brings in the USS Yamato as Galaxy class sister to the Enterprise.
I have a question for your supporters captain striker was he in a aolbsim group for startrek called fgo the also later called ugo?
I had assumed until strange new worlds that they could track targets. Sucks they can't.
In the original TOS episode Balance Of Terror, the torpedo not only tracked the Enterprise, but it was also moving at Warp 12.
Magnetic field holding ionized gas enroute to target , How ? Lover of physics .
All or nothing is the Romulan way then.
Compressed drive plasma in a magnetic field.
ah quit Arsen around and fire the GREAT BALL OF FIRE!
What! No model numbers?
Not this time
🖖
V'ger's weapon is to plasma torpedo what plasma torpedo is to flame thrower.
That being said, i'd like Your series more if you stuck to SFB material and the old lore more.
I'm more of a FASA guy SFB hasn't aged very well.
Uhhhh....this is" Cap" right?
.
PLASMA IS NOT RADIOACTIVE!
Ionized gas under proper conditions can emit X-Ray and UV bands of radiation. Particle emissions are low but not unnoticed Alpha and Beta bands. mostly.
@@r.connor9280 So its radioactive in the way basically everything is?
@@SpielkindFR Composition maybe, Concentration No.
@@r.connor9280 Are you telling me that plasma is radioactive to a significant enough degree to make it comparable to a nuclear incident, or weapon?
It's a brute force question at that point.
In general Plasma has other shortcomings that prevent it's current weaponization
Interesting topic Venom Good work as usual.
P.S. You’re right.... that NOVA is badassery embodied. Lol
It certainly is