Shields (Star Trek)

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USS Voyager's shields in action

In the Star Trek fictional universe, the reference to shields typically relates to a 23rd & 24th century technology that protects starships, space stations or planets from damage by natural hazard or enemy attack. Synonyms include deflectors, deflector shields, or screens.

Like most technologies in the Star Trek fictional universe, the exact nature of how shields work is never directly cited. Characters discuss the existence and manipulation of these technologies while only superficially explaining the exact physics behind them. This also provides a convenient deus ex machina device for writers.

Visuals in LCARS displays and various accounts by characters imply that deflector shields operate by emitting a layer of energy distortion containing a high concentration of gravitons around the object (ship, city, etc.) to be protected. Shield energies can be emitted from a localized antenna or "dish" (such as a ship's navigational deflector), or from a network of "grid" emitters laid out on the object's surface (such as a ship's hull).

The term "shields" first appears in (TOS: "Arena") when the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) raises its shields after being attacked by an alien warship of unknown origin. Shields are not used by Starfleet at the time of Star Trek: Enterprise; Starfleet ships of that time period use "polarized hull plating", in effect an energy charge applied to a ship's armor to make it more resistant to weapons fire. However, occasional alien powers were known to use primitive shielding systems.

Shielding can be lessened by repeated attack, and can also go offline. Prolonged exposure to such hazard weakens the shields, which can eventually collapse (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Q Who? (TNG episode)).

1 Use
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Use

The most commonly seen use of shields is to protect the ship and crew against enemy attacks.

In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the Enterprise crew is able to remotely lower USS Reliant's shields by the latter's "prefix code".

The Duras sisters penetrate the USS Enterprise-D's shields by matching their torpedo frequency to match the Enterprise's shield frequency (Star Trek: Generations).

Changing shield modulations can prolong the amount of time it takes the Borg to penetrate the shields (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I"). Changing both the shield size and frequency can similarly momentarily ward off the Paxans (TNG: "Clues").

Shields can prevent some transporter use, although there are workarounds, such as matching transporter harmonics to shield frequency (TNG: "The Wounded").