Quantum torpedoes: what are they? – A head canon
Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 11:11 am
Quantum torpedoes have always been portrayed as 'Photon Torpedoes + 1,' but while we have a good understanding of the antimatter warhead of a photon torpedo there's not much information about quantums.
First referenced in DS9: "Defiant" we learn that the Defiant-class is equipped with these new torpedoes, which suggests an anti-Borg origin for the weapon—the Defiant was being developed to counter the Borg threat. Additionally we know they use a plasma warhead from DS9: "For the Uniform" which differentiates it from a Photon torpedo which uses an antimatter warhead. Memory Alpha has a comment that they leave an anti-matter residue which would seem to contradict that. However when reviewing ENT: "Regeneration," which they cite as the source, I suspect that's from the Borg Sphere's exploding warp core/anti-matter pods.
So quantum torpedoes are regarded as more powerful and more advanced than their photon counterpart, but why is that? My head-canon for this (not that it has any real bearing on anything) is that the plasma warhead is stored dry and instead siphons off plasma from the EPS system just before launch, the torpedo is then used to deliver this high-energy plasma to a target resulting in an explosion with possibly a higher energy density than could safely be transferred using anti-matter. Maybe this would also provide them the ability to vary the properties of the torpedo. This would allow them to overcome Borg adaptions more easily, like how phaser beams can change frequency. Additionally this would have the added safety benefit of not having packets of anti-matter lying around. However, this would also require more ships power to use as opposed to a Photon Torpedo, which just needs to be loaded and launched.
None of this is implied by canon, but I think it's a fun idea that differentiates the two weapons more than one's red and the other's blue.
First referenced in DS9: "Defiant" we learn that the Defiant-class is equipped with these new torpedoes, which suggests an anti-Borg origin for the weapon—the Defiant was being developed to counter the Borg threat. Additionally we know they use a plasma warhead from DS9: "For the Uniform" which differentiates it from a Photon torpedo which uses an antimatter warhead. Memory Alpha has a comment that they leave an anti-matter residue which would seem to contradict that. However when reviewing ENT: "Regeneration," which they cite as the source, I suspect that's from the Borg Sphere's exploding warp core/anti-matter pods.
So quantum torpedoes are regarded as more powerful and more advanced than their photon counterpart, but why is that? My head-canon for this (not that it has any real bearing on anything) is that the plasma warhead is stored dry and instead siphons off plasma from the EPS system just before launch, the torpedo is then used to deliver this high-energy plasma to a target resulting in an explosion with possibly a higher energy density than could safely be transferred using anti-matter. Maybe this would also provide them the ability to vary the properties of the torpedo. This would allow them to overcome Borg adaptions more easily, like how phaser beams can change frequency. Additionally this would have the added safety benefit of not having packets of anti-matter lying around. However, this would also require more ships power to use as opposed to a Photon Torpedo, which just needs to be loaded and launched.
None of this is implied by canon, but I think it's a fun idea that differentiates the two weapons more than one's red and the other's blue.