PHOTON TORPEDOES

	The tactical value of phaser energy at warp velocities, and indeed 
high relativistic velocities, is close to none. As greater numbers of sentient 
races were encountered in the local stellar neighborhood, some of which 
were classified as definite Threats, the need for a warp-capable defensive 
weapons delivery method was recognized as an eventual necessity. 
Rudimentary nuclear projectiles were the first to be developed in the mid-
2000s, partly as an outgrowth of debris-clearing devices, independent sensor 
probes, and defensive countermeasures technology.
	Fusion explosives continued to be deployed throughout the latter half 
of the twenty-second century, as work progressed on lighter and faster 
ordnance. Late in the development of the first true photon torpedoes, a 
reliable technique for detonating variable amounts of matter and antimatter 
had continued to elude Starfleet engineers, while the casing and propulsion 
system were virtually complete. On the surface, the problem seemed simple 
enough to solve, especially since some early matter/antimatter reaction 
engines suffered regular catastophic detonations. The exact nature of the 
problem lay in the rapid total annihilation of the torpedoÕs warhead. While 
most warp engine destructions due to failure of antimatter containment 
appeared relatively violent, visually, the actual rate of particle annihilation 
was quite low.
	Two torpedo types were being developed simultaneously, beginning 
in 2215. The first was a simple 1:1 matter/antimatter collision device 
consisting of six slugs of frozen deuterium which were backed up by carbon-
carbon disks and driven by microfusion initiators into six corresponding 
magnetic cavities, each holding antideuterium in suspension. As the slugs 
drove into the cavities, the annihilation energies were trapped briefly by the 
magnetic fields, and then suddenly released. The annihilation rate was 
deemed adequate to serve as a defensive weapon and was deployed to all 
deep interstellar Starfleet vessels. While a torpedo could coast indefinitely 
after firing, the maximum effective tactical range was 750,000 kilometers 
because of stability limits inherent to the containment field design.
	The device Starfleet was waiting for was the second type, made 
operational in 2271. The basic configuration is still in use and deployed on 
the Galaxy class with a maximum effective tactical range of 3,500,000 
kilometers for midrange detonation yield. Variable amounts of matter and 
antimatter are broken into many thousand minute packets, effectively 
increasing the annihilation surface area by three orders of magnitude. The 
two components are both held in suspension by powerful magnetic field 
sustainers within the casing at the time of torpedo warhead loading. They 
are held in two separate regions of the casing, however, until just after 
torpedo launch, as a safety measure. The suspended component packets are 
mixed, though they still do not come into direct contact with one another 
because of the fields surrounding each packet. At a signal from the onboard 
detonation circuitry, the fields collapse and drive the materials together, 
resulting in the characteristic release of energy. While the maximum payload 
of antimatter in a standard photon torpedo is only about 1.5 kilograms, the 
released energy per unit time is actually greater than that calculated for a 
Galaxy class antimatter pod rupture.  Æ