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$$ Beware the Tantechlus Field! ["In a Mirror, Darkly" Spoilers]
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Timo: [QB] The interpretation of phaser beams as "containers" or "firehoses" of some sort is a practical one, since VOY gives us the weird ability to squirt nanoprobes through a phaser beam, and DS9 suggests the Jem'Hadar send poisons across the same way. A proximity blast would then merely mean a controlled puncturing of the "firehose" or "water balloon", allowing the destructive contents to spill out all at once. The odd hesistancy of our heroes to swing their phaser beams for greater effect could also be explained by the "hose" theory of phasers. A "hose" is first established between emitter and target point, and destruction is then pumped through it. If you try to move the target end of the "hose", it's just like using a water jet cutting machine: sideways movement of the cutting point along target metal surface works just fine, but if you cut a deep hole and stick the hose in there and then try moving it sideways, you get no results since the *hose* doesn't cut metal, only the *jet* at the tip does! It might indeed be that the "hose" is harmless if you run into it from the side, and that only the endpoint kills. Thus, the lack of safeguards in the "Mind's Eye" phaser rifle test rig is acceptable - even if LaForge had accidentally walked through the beam, he'd have suffered little damage. Another analogy would be a taser with insulated wires: you can save your captain by throwing yourself at the incoming darts, but no longer by throwing yourself at the wires once the darts have already made contact. Whatever the exact nature of phasers, we've seen them do so many weird things that "proximity blast" shouldn't really raise eyebrows. Timo Saloniemi [/QB][/QUOTE]
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