Warp core breach

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In the Star Trek fictional universe, a warp core breach (or core breach) and antimatter containment loss are both catastrophic events aboard a starship, either one of which can lead to that ship's destruction.

1 Warp core breach
2 Antimatter containment loss
3 Occurrences
4 Beverage
5 External links

[edit] Warp core breach

A warp core breach occurs when a starship's matter and antimatter reactant fuels combine in an uncontrolled manner due to a failure of the ship's warp core (TNG: "Contagion"). The resulting explosion can destroy the ship (q.v.; see "Occurrences" below). Damage to a ship's warp reactor (such as the failure of the coolant system or other physical damage) can lead to a breach (Star Trek: Generations). A warp core breach can be initiated as part of a ship's auto destruct sequence (Voy: "Prophecy").

If a warp core breach is unavoidable, the warp core can sometimes be ejected from the ship (TNG: "Cause and Effect"). Some starships are modular, allowing a portion of the ship to separate from the section that contains the core (Star Trek: Generations).

[edit] Antimatter containment loss

Antimatter containment loss is related to a warp core breach in that both result in the uncontrolled mixture of a ship's antimatter fuel with normal matter, and both can lead to a ship's destruction (Star Trek: The Motion Picture). Containment loss stems from a failure in the ship's antimatter storage system, which relies on magnetic fields to keep the ship's antimatter "suspended" and out of contact with normal matter until being used by the warp core^{[citation needed]}. That system's failure causes the suspended antimatter to interact with the matter surrounding it in an uncontrolled and devastating reaction (TNG: "Disaster").

As with core ejection devices, starships also have the ability to eject their antimatter storage units if it appears that their functionality may become compromised (TNG: "Contagion").

[edit] Occurrences

Ship	Cause	Results	Episode
USS Antares	Charlie Evans removes the ship's baffle plate, causing a core breach	Antares is destroyed	TOS: "Charlie X"
USS Arcos	Unknown event causes a core breach	Arcos is destroyed	TNG: "Legacy"
Delta Flyer¹	USS Challenger attack causes a core breach	Delta Flyer is destroyed	Voy: "Timeless"
USS Enterprise-D¹	Warp core damage from impact with USS Bozeman causes a core breach	Enterprise is destroyed	TNG: "Cause and Effect"
USS Enterprise-D	Warp core temperature increase (caused by Q) causes a core breach	Amanda Rogers stops and repairs breach	TNG: "True Q"
USS Enterprise-D¹	Damage from Romulan attack causes a core breach	Enterprise is destroyed	TNG: "Timescape"
USS Enterprise-D¹	Damage from another Enterprise's attack damages already weakened warp containment system	Enterprise is destroyed	TNG: "Parallels"
USS Enterprise-Ds¹	Anti-time phenomenon compromises antimatter containment integrity	Enterprises are destroyed	TNG: "All Good Things..."
USS Enterprise-D	Damage to warp coolant system from Klingon attack causes a core breach	Stardrive section is destroyed	Star Trek: Generations
USS Enterprise-E	Deliberate warp core ejection and detonation	Son'a subspace weapon is neutralized	Star Trek: Insurrection
USS Equinox	Damage from Ankari attack causes a core breach	Equinox is destroyed	Voy: "Equinox, Part II"
Hagath's ship	Sabotage causes a core breach	Ship is destroyed	DS9: "Business as Usual"
Kohlar's ship	Core breach initiated as part of ship's self-destruct	Ship is destroyed	Voy: "Prophecy"
Kumari	Damage from Romulan attack causes a core breach	Kumari is destroyed	Ent: "Babel One"
USS Orinoco	Cardassian terrorist sabotage causes a core breach	Orinoco is destroyed	DS9: "Our Man Bashir"
USS Pasteur¹	Damage from Klingon attack causes a core breach	Pasteur is destroyed	TNG: "All Good Things..."
Romulan science ship	Damage from errant experiment causes a core breach	Core is ejected and explodes	TNG: "The Next Phase"
USS Saratoga	Damage from Borg attack causes a core breach	Saratoga is destroyed	DS9: "Emissary"
Serova's ship	Serova deliberately overloads warp engines, causing a core breach	Ship is destroyed	TNG: "Force of Nature"
Unknown	Damage from Borg attack	All hands ordered to abandon ship; ship's fate unknown	Star Trek: First Contact
USS Yamato	Dilithium chamber magnetic seal collapses and Iconian computer virus prevents antimatter ejection, causing a core breach	Yamato is destroyed	TNG: "Contagion"
Note 1: Timeline alteration, parallel universe complication, and/or other anomaly prevents this from being a "real" event.