Skip to main content

star trek - Why don't Starfleet ships default to having their shields up most of the time?



It's an occurrence common enough to be routine:



"Captain, they have locked on phasers."
"Shields up! Go to red alert."



It makes sense that the captain would be the one who decides to go to red alert — and, for that matter, who makes tactical decisions regarding the shields. (As the answers to this question suggest, automated responses aren't necessarily dependable under all circumstances.)


My question is... why aren't the shields up all the time unless there's a reason for them not to be? Shields don't preclude maneuverability, communications, sensors, weapons use... pretty much anything except transporting, landing a shuttlecraft, and getting shot. And presumably there's a range of situations in which the ship could be damaged before the captain could get two syllables in, and before the security officer could get two LCARS pokes in.


The out-of-universe reasoning is obvious: ordering the shields to be activated allows the captain to inform the audience, in no uncertain terms, that s___ just got real. But is there an in-universe justification? A reason that shields on a starship should be raised as necessary, rather than lowered as necessary?



Answer



Presumably, to save power.



While how deflector shields work exactly is covered up in technobabble, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, it states that shields do have a limit to how long they can be operated:



The deflector system utilizes one or more graviton polarity source generators whose output is phase-synchronized through a series of subspace field distortion amplifiers.... Heat dissipation on each generator is provided by a pair of liquid helium coolant loops with a continuous-duty rating of 750,000 MJ. Four backup generators are located in each hull, providing up to twenty-four hours of service at 65% of nominal rated power.



Emphasis mine.


And, pure speculation here: It may also be due to the same reason away teams don't wear protective gear, Starfleet is of peaceful exploration, it doesn't really help your case when if you're talking to a Klingon bird of prey that your shields are raised, like you're expecting them to suddenly attack.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more