The dominant wavelength of these secondary photons depends heavily on the technology involved or the nature of matter or energy transitioning to or from subspace. Federation subspace technology typically produces secondary wavelengths around 475 nanometers (blue light), but phasers produce small red, orange, or yellow bursts. Technology developed by other groups often creates different spectral bursts. Klingon subspace technology, for example often produces secondary wavelengths more toward the green side of the visible spectrum, while Cardassians typically produce sickly yellow effects. Other species produce secondary bursts in the microwave, infrared, or gamma-ray range, but this is uncommon as such electromagnetic radiation can have adverse effects on equipment or biological tissues.

One example of the aforementioned electromagnetic burst in action occurred on stardate 48650.1, when the USS Enterprise D fell victim to a Klingon bird of prey which had recovered details on her shield modulation. Figure 1.2 shows a Klingon weapon penetrating the shields of the starship, and the characteristic photon burst that accompanied it. This photon burst was especially concentrated; although the torpedo's shield frequency was set to that of the Enterprise's the match was not perfect, some of the mass of the torpedo had to pass through the subspace field, generating a great deal of radiant energy in the process.

Another example occurred on 44161.2, when Dr. Crusher was trapped inside a "warp bubble" created by her son, Wesley Crusher. In subsequent attempts to retrieve her, a subspace field bridge was purposely created by the engineering staff (Figure 1.3) to make it possible for her to cross over back into the normal universe. The electromagnetic burst effect can also be seen during normal shield operation (Figure 1.4), although the severity of the effect is directly proportional to the capacity of the subspace bridge being formed.

Since most non-ballistic weapons are scattered by the gravity field component of the shield, a great deal of beam's constituent particles do not come into contact with a small area of the subspace shell at the same time. Often beam weaponry is dispersed (scattered) across the interaction layer, generating a spread effect as the particles of the beam interact with the outer regions of the subspace shell (Figure 1.5).

In severe instances, the second quality of the field bridge effect becomes readily apparent. A planar "ring effect" called a disturbance ring is sometimes formed in either extremely quick, highly energetic, or haphazard changeovers of matter from subspace to realspace or vice versa. It is important to note that this ring effect is often time displaced, that is, it does not occur at the exact moment of matter or energy changeover to or from subspace, but sometimes as much as several moments after.

The most famous example of this effect was observed in the spectacular explosion on the Klingon moon Praxis on stardate 7412.6 (Figure 1.6). The electromagnetic blast (at least the subspace component) accompanying this instance is also clearly visible as the disturbance rings form (Figure 1.7).

Another severe instance of the ring disturbance occurred with the destruction of Alderaan by the first Imperial DEATH STAR battlestation. The sheer power put into the planet's demise forcibly shunted a significant amount of Alderaan's planetary mass into subspace over little more than a microsecond. As a result, a severe disturbance ring was observed (Figure 1.8). This effect also accompanied the destruction of the DEATH STAR.

Less severe instances of the disturbance ring also occur in previously cited examples. The battle of the Enterprise D with the Klingon Bird of Prey on stardate 48650.1 clearly shows a less severe ring effect shortly after the first torpedo compromised the Enterprise's shields (Figure 1.9). A similar ring effect is also visible at the incident with Dr. Crusher on stardate 44161.2 (Figure 1.10).

The effects and properties of subspace/realspace disturbances are varied and complex, but are recognizable by certain shared characteristics. In the case of Subspace Field Bridges, usually apparent in energy or matter transfers to or from the subspace domain, subspace and realspace electromagnetic bursts as well as disturbance rings are the most commonly recognized indicators.