| |
|
 |
PHYSICS:
BASIC PHYSICS: RADIATION: VERTERON
RADIATION |
|
 |
Physics Brief: |
|
|
|
|
Verteron radiation is one of the seven classes
of subspace radiation (the others are
hyperonic,
nadion,
amnion,
metreon,
tetryon
and SEM). Verterons are
highly damaging to subspace equipment; in 2369 the Enterprise-D was disabled
by a Verteron pulse deliberately caused by a pair of scientists anxious to
prove that warp drive was damaging the fabric of space-time. Verteron
emanations are also associated with wormholes.
Verterons get their name from verterium cortenide, one of the component
substances used in warp coils and other subspace field generators. They were
originally discovered because older StarFleet warp coil manufacturing
techniques left trace amounts of impurities in the coils, causing certain
subspace particles to accumulate during the course of their use. These
particles would embed themselves in the material impurities, attracting
additional particles, leading to severe discontinuities is the warp coil's
molecular structure and eventually causing microfractures. This progressive
degradation would decrease the efficiency of the warp engines until they
failed altogether.
Although the manufacturing challenges that originally led to the discovery
of the particles have been overcome, concentrated bursts of verteron
particles still are corrosive to verterium cortenide. This means that
subspace dependent equipment, which uses verterium cortenide in some form or
another, can be disabled by exposure to enough of this particle radiation.
In smaller amounts, verterons act as a subspace inhibitor, scattering or
absorbing SEM in a
manner similar to the action of
tetryon
particles. As such, they can be used to mask subspace resonant signatures
(warp signatures) and other subspace emissions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
