Particles

Anyon

Anyons are particles which can be used to counter Chronitons. In 2368 Lieutenant Commander Data used an Anyon emitter to clear the ship of Chroniton particles generated by Geordi LaForge and Ensign Ro Laren, who were on board the ship in a phased state.1

Baryon

Class of the heaviest particles. Include neutrons, protons and the heavier, unstable hyperons: the lambda, sigma, xi, and omega particles. The antiparticles of this class are termed antibaryons. Baryons consist of three quarks and interact through the strong force, which holds atomic nuclei together. The law of conservation of baryons states that for any interaction of elementary particles, the sum of baryon numbers remains unchanged.3Federation starships must periodically undergo "Baryon Sweeps" at facilities such as the Remmler Array to clear them of contamination.2

Chroniton

Particles associated with phasing / temporal technology. In 2368 Chroniton particles caused members of the Enterprise-D crew to become phased during a mission to assist a damaged Romulan vessel. The two were able to produce a massive surge of Chronitons by overloading a phased Romulan disruptor pistol in ten forward, prompting Lieutenant Commander Data to flood the space with Anyons and render them partially visible again.1 In 2371 Chroniton particles caused a transporter accident which threw Captain Sisko, Doctor Bashir and Lieutenant Commander Dax to be thrown back in time to the 21st century.5 Shortly afterwards Chroniton particles caused Chief O'Brien of Deep Space Nine to make several short jumps into the future.4

Dekyon

A class of particles which travel at below light speed. USS Voyager used a Dekyon beam to open a fissure in the event horizon of a class 3 singularity7; in 2369 the Enterprise-D crew detected changes in the Dekyon field which proved that they were trapped in a temporal loop.6

Graviton

The particle responsible for the gravitational force which exists between all masses in our universe. Gravitons can be artificially generated by Federation starships, and have various uses. The Enterprise-D used gravitons in an attempt to communicate with the crystalline entity, for example.9 Heavy gravitons can be highly destructive and this form of weapon was considered for use against the Borg by the Enterprise crew, although it was decided that the weapon would probably be insufficient.10 In 2368 graviton waves destroyed the USS Vico, and nearly destroyed the USS Enterprise, when they interacted with the power of the ships shields.11 Tractor beam systems create a graviton field during normal operation12 - The USS Defiant's tractor beam emitter had a phase-conjugate graviton emitter built into it.13 An inverse graviton field could disrupt the warp field of a ship, preventing it from using warp drive until the field had dispersed.14 Sabotage to the graviton emitters on Deep Space Nine in 2373 caused them to strengthen rather than collapse the Bajoran wormhole.15 Graviton emitters could be used to affect games of chance such as Dabo.8

Antigravitons are produced by certain alien technologies, and can be used to interfere with transporter beams.16

Ionogenic Particle

Ionogenic particles can be used to contain certain forms of energy; in 2368 Geordi LaForge used Ionogenic particles in an attempt to trap the "souls" of alien criminals who had possessed members of the crew in an attempt to escape from a prison moon.17

Lepton

A class of particles that do not interact by the strong nuclear force. They are electrically neutral or have unit charge, and are fermions. Leptons appear not to have any internal structure. The electron, the muon, the tau, and the three kinds of neutrino are all Leptons. Although all leptons are relatively light, they are not alike. The electron, for example, carries a negative charge, and is stable, meaning it does not decay into other elementary particles; the muon also has a negative charge, but has a mass about 200 times greater than that of an electron and decays into smaller particles. Leptons interact with other particles through the weak force (the force that governs radioactive decay), the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force.20Wormholes can emit Leptons prior to opening or changing position.19

Magneton

Historically, the magneton is a unit used to measure of the magnetic dipole moment of a particle. In modern physics the term refers to a specific particle which can be used by sensor systems.22 A magneton pulse consists of a burst of polarised magnetic energy which is often emitted by a damaged warp core.21 A magneton pulse was also part of the method used by Dr. Khan's team to create an artificial wormhole,23 and was sometimes used by the Jam'hadar to cover the Ion trail left by their engines.24

Meson

Any of a class of particles believed to participate in the forces that hold nucleons together in the atomic nucleus.26 Starfleet power reactors are unique in that they create warp eddies with a meson particle emission pattern.25

Metreon

Particle which allows the "Metreon Cascade" to function. This weapon was used to end a war by destroying a Talaxian lunar colony; the Cascade resulted in enormous levels of metreon radiation on the moon. Exposure to such high levels of can cause Metremea, a fatal blood disease. In 2371 Dr Jetrel, creator of the Metreon Cascade, died of Metremea which he contracted after working on the sites of the Cascade detonations.27

Muon

An unstable particle similar to an electron, but with a much greater mass. Muons are part of the Lepton family.28 A build up of Muons in a Federation warp core can result in a massive explosion if the ship enters warp. This is especially dangerous as the build up is very difficult to detect.1

Nadion

A particle associated with phaser weapons. In 2371 Captain Janeway used her phaser to close a temporal rift by creating nadion particle feedback within it.30 Voyager later used a Nadion burst to damage the lifeform inhabiting the Demon class planet the Starship had landed on, forcing it to halt its attack on the ship.29

Neutrino

A particle which has no charge and very small mass. Neutrinos are famous for their ability to pass through large amounts of matter.32 Despite this, by the 24th century neutrino detectors have become very compact and efficient, allowing these particles to be used in distress beacons.31 Neutrinos are associated with the opening and closing of the Bajoran wormhole.33 In 2365 the Enterprise was able to use a neutrino beam to destroy a colony of bacteria which were eating its hull.34 Neutrinos have a spin of 1/232 - in 2370 Jadzia Dax found that the laws of probability on Deep Space Nine were being distorted, affecting the spin of the neutrinos in the station.35

The antineutrino is the antimatter equivalent of the neutrino. These can be highly harmful to Federation warp cores - in 2371 a Sikarian space folding mechanism released antineutrino particles when B'Elanna Torres attempted to use it, threatening the safety of the ship.36

Neutron

Neutrons are one of the particles which make up atomic nuclei. They have a mass of approximately 1 u, and zero charge. Neutrons not contained within a nucleus are unstable, decaying with a half life of approximately 17 minutes. Isotopes differ from the standard form of an element by having more or less neutrons in their nucleus, altering the mass of the atom but leaving its chemical properties unchanged.38 In the late 2200's the Klingons produced a prototype Bird of Prey which could fire whilst cloaked; the vessel produced large amounts of neutron radiation, but this was insufficient to render the vessel detectable at anything other than extreme close range.39

Antineutrons have the same mass, spin, and rate of decay as the normal particle. They are sometimes produced in the collisions of antiprotons with protons, and they possess a magnetic moment equal and opposite to that of the neutron.38 Certain configurations of gravity fields allow antineutrons to pass through whilst stopping antigravitons.37

Nucleonic Particle

Nucleonic particles are associated with certain forms of communications technology. In 2368 a Kataran probe used a nucleonic beam to penetrate the shields of the Enterprise-D, implanting artificial memories within Captain Picard.40 In 2371 Voyager detected damage to a Kazon vessel due to nucleonic particle fluctuations. The vessel was eventually discovered to have been catastrophically damaged when a makeshift copy of one of Voyagers food replicators exploded.41

Omega

A molecule believed by many to have the potential to be the ultimate energy source. Even a single molecule can produce more energy than a Federation warp core, and some scientists believe that Omega molecules may have been the energy source behind the Big Bang which created the universe. Omega molecules are highly unstable and their decay can cause damage to subspace over large areas, rendering the use of warp drive impossible. The Federation regards the use of Omega molecules to be a serious threat to interstellar travel throughout the galaxy, and Starship Captains are authorized to use any and all means to destroy the molecules wherever they are found - an order which supersedes even the prime directive.42

Omicron

A possible alternative power source for Federation starships, omicron particles where detected in 2371 within a nebula by the crew of Voyager. The particles turned out to be part of the circulatory system of the nebula, which was a living being. Omicron particles are also associated with some forms of holographic technology.43

Photon

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Photon

A quantum of electromagnetic radiation. The wave and particle behaviour displayed by photons led to the development of quantum theory on Earth.44

Polaron

Polarons are a particle associated with some forms of scanning and communications systems. They can be used to detect camouflaged vessels, although they are not greatly effective at this45The Taresians used a polaron field to protect their home planet from attack.46 Polaron bursts can damage the power core of some ship designs, such as those used by the Kobali.47 The Dominion uses phased polaron weapons, as these are very effective at penetrating shield systems.48 Modern Federation and allied shield systems have been altered so as to resist phased polaron weapons much more effectively.49

Positron

The Positron is the antiparticle of the electron, one of the particles which make up atoms.38 20th century science fiction writer Issac Asimov used positronic brains in his robot stories; centuries later Dr. Soong made this a reality when he developed Positronic technology for the neural nets of his androids, including Lore and Data.50 This technology is not yet widespread, but positronic systems can be used to keep the brain of an injured person functioning.51 Positrons can also be used by scanning systems against objects which are particularly difficult to penetrate with normal scans.11

Proton

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Proton

Along with neutrons, protons make up the nuclei of atoms.52Antiprotons have many applications in scanning systems - the Enterprise-D tracked the Crystalline entity by detecting gamma radiation from antiproton decay9, and detected antiprotons as a residual trace of Romulan disruptor fire in 2369.53 The Dominion uses antiproton beams to penetrate cloaking devices.54 In 2267 the Enterprise fought an alien war machine which fired a beam of absolutely pure antiprotons capable of cutting through an entire planet.55 Antiprotons can also be used in medical applications; Voyager's EMH used antiprotons to cure Paris of genetic mutations which occurred after his Warp 10 flight.56

Tachyon

Class of particles which travel at greater than the speed of light. Active tachyon beams can be used to detect cloaked Romulan vessels.57 Naturally occurring tachyon eddies are believed to have assisted ancient Bajoran lightsail vessels in crossing interstellar distances.58 Inverse tachyon beams can have a harmful effect on the space time continuum.59

Tetryon

Tetryons are elementary particles which can only exist for any length of time in subspace, being unstable in normal space. In 2369 Tetryons were discovered on board the Enterprise-D, helping to prove that an alien race living within a subspace domain was abducting members of the crew.62 Tetryons can be damaging to equipment, and have been used on occasion to disable energy weapons.63 A beam of compressed tetryons can also be used as a weapon itself64, as can tetryon pulse launchers.65The Nasari used tetryon weapons when Voyager encountered them in 2373.46 A Tetryon compositor is part of at least some Romulan cloaking devices, and these particles are sometimes radiated by cloaked Warbirds.66 Coherent Tetryon beams were used by the Caretaker to scan over galactic distances.67 Exposure to the warp plasma conduits of a Defiant class Starship leaves a Tetryon particle trace on a person for a short time afterwards. The trace is detectable with a standard tricorder scan.68 In 2373 Quark obtained a baby Changeling which had been exposed to a massive dose of tetryon radiation; Bashir was able to purge the isotopes using an electrophoretic diffuser.69 When a phased ionic pulse is used against a craft with a metaphasic shield it creates a tetryon field inside, briefly disrupting the shield.70 Unusually intense tetryon fields in the region of the Hekaras Corridor posed a severe navigational hazard to warp driven vessels and limited sensor performance.71 In an alternate timeline, Ensign Kim planned to use tetryon plasma in the warp nacelles of the Yellowstone class runabout.72 Voyager encountered a huge field of tetryon radiation in 2373, but was able to pass through it using enhanced shields.73 Voyager itself used tetryon scans on occasion.74

Verteron

A verteron pulse can disable a starship's engines and other primary systems; repairs can take several days.71The Bajoran wormhole was formed by verteron particles75, and they are associated with natural wormholes also.76 Bombarding an area with verteron particles can even attract a wormhole entrance and force it to open.77 Verteron particles can mask a subspace resonance trace from sensors, though this is not very useful since verterons are purely artificial and so the deception would be quickly revealed.78 In the mid 22nd century Humanity maintained a 'verteron array' on Mars which was used to deflect comets.79

Z

Z particles are one of the carriers of the weak nuclear force.20 They are emitted by vessels, especially those using relatively poor versions of cloaking technology. Z particle emissions were used to determine the location of Ardras vessel in orbit around Ventax III by the crew of the Enterprise-D.80