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What would happen, in the Star Trek universe, if shields collided?


In the Star Trek universe, what happens if a ship crashes into another and one has the shields up? What happens if both have shields up?




Answer



Unshielded-ship-on-shielded-ship:


Obviously, an unprotected ship hitting a shield will be damaged in proportion to the impact momentum. Shields act as physical barriers to matter and high concentrations of energy (you will notice that visible light travels through shields just fine, while high-energy electromagnetic weapons fire is deflected).


Shield-on-shield collision


I recall either Voyager episodes "Raven" or "Equinox" (or both) containing scenes where shield contact takes place. I recall Seven's shuttle shield-bumping a B'omar vessel, but the Memory Alpha synopsis says phasers were used (my memory may be flawed).


Shield harmonics are important. Shields of differing frequencies will bounce off each other. Impact force will translate to vibrations inside the vessels, which will be handled by inertial dampeners within their limits. Both shields will suffer drains. I cannot recall ever seeing two ships with identical shield harmonics colliding, but I'm fairly certain the shields will pass through each other and the ships will collide hull-on-hull.


Update: As per comment #1 below: When harmonics are matched, instead of a hull-on-hull collision, the hull of the ship with the smaller shield will impact the shield of the other ship.


Update 2: Seven of Nine was once seen walking through a Federation-style containment field (which appear to use the same principles as deflector shields) while her Borg shield was operational. This seems to suggest that a strong field has the potential to overpower the deflective ability of a weaker one.


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