The FNU crystals (again, by the description) are what the prechamber and emitter of the phaser are made of. Both are composed of LiCu 518. In addition to enabling the rapid storage and release of energy without melting or disintegrating the FNU crystals, the RNE also enables the conversion of the energy to a type other than that introduced into the prefire chamber.

The prefire chamber accepts the incoming energy, used to create the beam. It then hands off the energy to the emitter crystal, which alters the type of energy passing through it and sends it on its way as a beam. I presume that the emitter is tuned, perhaps by a combination of electrical field strength and frequency. Directional control is very likely effected by a static electrical or magnetic field, just like an electron gun in a cathode ray tube.

There seems to be some confusion that the nuclear disruption force (NDF) a phaser has at high energy levels is "proof" that the beam is composed of rapid nadion particles. I believe the RNE does have something to do with the NDF, but not that the beam is composed of nadions.

What I have said above is not meant to imply that the phaser is simply a powerful, highly tunable laser in a compact package. Although it can do everything a laser can, it has far more capability. There must be a reason for this, and I submit the following theory to explain it:

<Speculation>There is one component of a phaser's beam that has not been mentioned up to this point, and it allows the phaser to perform feats no laser can. A phaser beam consists of a stream of photons plus a subspace field that surrounds the beam itself. This beam is helically polarized and propagates at warp factor one, the speed of light. Call it a subspace confinement field (SCF).

The SCF controls the spread of the phaser beam, preventing the beam from diverging and losing energy the way an ordinary laser beam would. Laser beams used to measure the distance from the Earth to the Moon during the 1970s started out at approximately 0.25" (~6.25mm) in diameter. By the time the beam had reached the moon, it had diverged to approximately 3' (~1M) in diameter. The energy in that beam was spread out over an area more than 20,000 times as large as the original beam. Phasers don't diverge (at least until the beam hits something).

If the SCF is tuned to shape a cone, then you have a wide-dispersal pattern, not unlike the wide stun feature of a hand phaser. At extremely high energy levels, the SCF interacts with the photon stream to produce a disintegrating effect that shifts matter from the target into alternate dimensions.

So how does the phaser do all it's different effects? More speculation:

• Stun effects: The beam is tuned to radio frequencies (RF) known to interfere with voluntary nerve impulses in most (known) humanoid species. I guess being hit by a phaser on stun might feel about like hitting your funny bone, only over most of your body.

  The heavy stun setting is probably a higher power setting that increases the length of time the target remains stunned, at the risk of interfering with involuntary nervous functions (such as breathing or heartbeat).

• "Kill" setting: Same as the stun setting, except power levels are calculated to have a lethal effect.

• Heat: The RF output is tuned to infra-red frequencies most likely to induce heat in the target. Power levels are probably adjustable for the heat settings as well, to allow selection of effects mild enough to warm a hypothermia victim or high enough to melt metals.

• Disrupt: This setting may or may not be a high-energy heat setting. Since it doesn't disintegrate the target, it might be almost any frequency just below the energy level required to disintegrate matter.

• Disintegrate: Energy levels are high enough to trigger interaction between the photon stream, SCF, and the target matter. Matter is translated to alternate dimensions very rapidly.

Why does a phaser beam glow? It's because even at low power settings the SCF captures subspace energy and redirects it into the N-space environment. The amount of energy released by this means is insignificant compared to the energy in the beam itself, however.</Speculation>

So what do you think? If the above passes muster I think I can finally do that VLV article about phasers I've been talking about.

--Baloo

------------------
Carpe Canem!

------------------
I'm the only one who understands me, and I ire of my company.
--Paul Cargile

However...I still cling to the idea of phasers using particle beams. I'll try to come up with a reasoned defense for this.

If you want it in a different style, it all depends upon how much extra work it'll be to revise it.

--Baloo

PS: I'm not going to start the new VLV file until I'm sure I've gotten all the responses I'm gonna get.

Also, the glow could be explained as a result of the helic polarization you theorized.

"Well, he's stunned, but let's wait until his radiation level drops a little before we take him into custody, shall we?"

Ever hear of "ionizing radiation"? That's the nasty stuff nobody wants to be exposed to because it will increase your odds of getting cancer and other nasty long-term health effects. I'm certain the Federation would outlaw "phasers on stun" (or any other setting) except in wartime unless it had no such ionizing effect.

A small arm such as a hand phaser would probably be used because it has no significant lethality unless you dial it up that high. Why use a weapon that makes everything it hits radioactive when conventional kinetic energy or photon weapons (lasers) can do the job without requiring the cleanup crew to wear lead BVDs?

When the target disintegrates, I have to either assume that there is no significant radiation produced by this process, or that the Federation is extremely careless about radiation exposure. Judging by the indiscriminate use of phasers on primitive planets, their only concern is whether they'll disrupt the local society -- not that they'll leave it permanently glowing. I therefore conclude that the phaser is as "environmentally friendly" as a lethal weapon can possibly be.

--Baloo

You've heard of the photoelectric effect? How about the piezoelectric effect? Have you ever heard of photoelectric piezoelectric particles?

I ain't gonna believe it if the only evidence you can provide is "But I like the idea!"

--Baloo

The Jem'Hadar put certain chemicals into their weapons to do things like stop blood from clotting. The effects of a polaron beam are very similar to that of a phaser beam. Hence, a particle beam, composed of the right "stuff" can have the proper effects without the very real dangers you mentioned, Baloo.

However, after rereading the tech. manual, I think it's pretty clear that the implication is that phasers are pure energy weapons. Where that leaves me...well, I'm not sure where that leaves me. We've had references made to nadion emissions being a part of phaser beams, mostly from Voyager, as I recall. Does that mean that nadions are part of the beam, or that they don't decay inside the phaser, or that nadions are also created on the target end?