When it comes to miraculous science fiction innovations, Star Trek is a mixed bag. The big ideas are incredibly interesting developments that have occasionally influenced real-world science and technology. On the other hand, the franchise has dropped a near-infinite supply of half-baked ideas with fancy names. Something as simple as space torpedoes can develop into a million different sci-fi concepts.
Star Trek isn't generally about war. Starfleet frequently gets themselves into do-or-die scrapes, but the violence is usually a catalyst for some philosophical discussion. Though the core of the series is typically more intellectual than lasers and fisticuffs, it wouldn't be as popular as it is without the occasional deep-space dogfight.
What are Quantum Torpedoes?
The USS Defiant was introduced in the third season of Deep Space Nine. It was introduced to provide the characters with a bigger set than the traditional "runaround" vessels that were common to the series. The Defiant was the first ship to be armed with Quantum Torpedoes, though they never used them on screen. The Enterprise-E and the Lakota later carried the same weapon. Quantum Torpedoes are said to use vacuum energy, an underlying background energy that affects the universe on a cosmological scale. The weapon's explosive yield is caused by an antimatter reaction that creates "a multidimensional membrane" in a vacuum. Once that membrane naturally decomposes, it releases more energy than was used to create it. The difference is pulled from the vacuum, providing an explosion roughly twice as powerful as a traditional antimatter/matter annihilation reaction. Four quantum torpedoes could destroy a Borg sphere.
What are Transphasic Torpedoes?
Transphasic torpedoes are broadly thought to be among the most powerful weapons in the franchise. They're high-yield explosives that were created to defeat the Borg Collective. A Borg cube typically resists hundreds of attacks from Federation weapons. One transphasic torpedo will obliterate the vessel. Transphasic torpedoes abuse the subspace technology used by Star Trek ships to travel faster than light. Entering subspace causes compression, typically distorting the physical size of whatever enters. Transphasic torpedoes expose their target to that effect in an asymmetric superposition. The blast is simultaneously occurring in multiple physically distinct locations, times, and states of matter. A shield can only block a percentage of the resulting force, resulting in a tremendous amount of damage to the target through any impediment. Transphasic torpedoes were developed by Admiral Janeway in an alternate timeline and brought back in time to 2378. There's no topping a weapon that simultaneously hits alternate realities.
What are Chroniton Torpedoes?
These time-bending torpedoes take a similar strategy as the transphasic model. However, instead of occurring simultaneously across all units of potentiality, chroniton torpedoes regularly phase in and out of normal time. This allows them to disappear from the current moment, then reappear after sliding past the target's shields. The Krenim Imperium is the only notable military force that employs chroniton torpedoes. The Krenim are technologically advanced and extraordinarily violent. They appear in a two-part episode in the fourth season of Voyager. Chroniton torpedoes are not terribly reliable. One misfired into the Voyager, lodging itself into the hull without detonating. The crew of the Voyager eventually discovered a counter for the Krenim's temporal mastery in the form of a "parametric frequency". This goes unexplained, but the term parametric refers to a branch of statistics that assumes that data is derived from a population with established parameters. This implies that Janeway beat the Krenim by figuring out a general time frame in which the missile may exist and guessing until they hit the oncoming ordinance.
What Other Types of Torpedoes Are There?
The default weapon for most Star Trek ships is the photon torpedo. These antimatter weapons function by colliding a controlled amount of antimatter with an identical amount of matter. The two substances immediately experience annihilation, causing the entire yield to be expressed as explosive energy. Every Star Trek series features photon torpedoes. Their estimated explosive output is comparable to 64.442 megatons of TNT. Plasma torpedoes are used by various aliens. Their explosive yield is higher, but they don't travel very far. Phased plasma torpedoes only existed in one PC game, but they combined the effects of plasma and chroniton models. Gravimetric torpedoes cause a disturbance in gravity that pulls targets apart by force. Polaron torpedoes are exclusive to Star Trek games and are known for their ability to pierce shields. Finally, positron torpedoes only appear in Star Trek: Bridge Commander. They're essentially big quantum torpedoes.
Torpedoes only have to do one thing, but coming up with new ways to get that job done has been very edifying for the Star Trek writers. From traditional explosives to time-traveling time bombs, there's no end to the creativity on display in this franchise's arsenal. Star Trek demonstrates the simple joy of combining fascinating scientific concepts with increasingly large explosives.