10 Fun Facts About Star Trek Weaponry

Starfleet phasers are numbered by type. Which number is the smallest, most concealable palm model?

Even the palm-sized model can be lethal; NASA has described phasers as a fictional extrapolation of real lasers, comparing them to microwave weapons that stun.

In Klingon mythology, who forged the first bat'leth?

He is said to have dropped a lock of his hair into the lava of the Kri'stak Volcano, plunged it into the lake of Lursor and twisted it into a blade, then used it to defeat the tyrant Molor.

Which Romulan projectile weapon carries a trilithium warhead and loses its punch after minutes of flight?

Its damage spreads across several ship systems at once, which is what made the Romulan Bird-of-Prey so feared in the original series.

Which Federation projectile weapon uses a matter-antimatter reaction for its explosive force?

The TNG Technical Manual gives each one 1.5 kg of matter and 1.5 kg of antimatter; in Wrath of Khan an empty casing served as Spock's coffin.

The Varon-T disruptor was outlawed by the Federation primarily due to what characteristic?

Only five were ever made; the collector Kivas Fajo owned four of them in the TNG episode 'The Most Toys' and slept with one under his pillow.

Starfleet phasers are numbered by type. Which number is the standard pistol-grip sidearm?

Worf once used one to bore a tunnel through rock on Celtris III; its level 16 wide-field setting can take out half a building.

Per the Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, quantum torpedoes draw their destructive power from what?

They first appear aboard the USS Defiant, hit roughly twice as hard as photon torpedoes, and the Federation is the only power known to use them.

Which numbered type of Starfleet phaser is the two-handed rifle, the most powerful small arm?

The original rifle prop from 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' sold at auction in 2013 for $231,000.

Which common Starfleet phaser setting incapacitates without killing?

In the 2009 reboot the setting is shown by colour: blue pulses stun and red pulses kill, and the user has to physically rotate the barrel to switch.

Which Klingon and Romulan energy weapon excites a target's molecular bonds until they break?

Klingons call theirs nISwI'; the weapons do more damage to matter but less to shields than phasers.