# Enterprise vs. Star Destroyer **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2000, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151 "2000-04-16T21:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/321 "2000-05-23T06:12:54Z")
Welcome, welcome, Travis… your first post in my lil’ ol’ thread? I’m flattered!! Yeah, I doubt we’d ever find a “definite” conclusion… I’m tryint to direct the whole thread into a series of offered scenarios that sound interesting. Some possibilities have the Star Destroyer whupping butt, some have the Enterprise kicking ass, lots more have a draw. Why do I want people to put in their own ideas for event-chains? Well, I plan on writing a short story about it, silly people! I’ll let everyone know in MPSIMS when it’s done (I’m sure this thread will die out long after I’m gone). ---
**Author:** ![TravisT42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@TravisT42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisT42)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/322 "2000-05-23T06:16:04Z")
This being my first post to the group, I wish I could come on the scene with a big bang. At this point in the thread, however, I think I’ll just point y’all to a newsgroup that I have yet to see mentioned here. It’s alt.startrek.vs.starwars It’s been around for years and there is still no definite resolution to the hypothetical conflict being discussed here. Considering that many of you have expressed the desire to see more technical info and specs, though, I figure those people will be grateful. Perhaps this will also serve to put an end to this thread. Sorry, Spoof, I know you consider it your baby, but it’s not a very pretty one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/323 "2000-05-23T15:15:37Z")
SPOOFE Bo Diddly: > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > In the Star Wars universe, ion cannons aren’t stopped by shields because the shields are only ray shields, and ions are charged particles! > > Oh, come on, Tracer! Just about EVERYTHING is the result of a particle or two… radiation is nothing more than hurtling particles (the smaller the particle, the more dangerous the radiation), light is a bunch of photons… etc. As Dark Helmet once said… “What’s with you man? Come _ON_!” Particle shields are designed to stop “macro” objects, while ray shields are designed to stop “micro” objects. You’re right, I must’ve been remembering something I read in the _ST:TNG Tech Manual_ about the Enterprise’s shields stopping charged particles, and confused it with the _Star Wars_ universe. **However,** I did find the following information in the “Ion Cannons” entry of the _Star Wars Essential Guide to Weapons & Tech_: > [@](#): > > Since ion blasts are unimpaired by energy shields, ships have no defense against them **short of reconfiguring their shields** – and this would make the shields useless for absorbing standard laser blasts. [emphasis mine] So it **is** possible for Star Wars shields to stop ion cannon blasts if they are “reconfigured” for it. Star Trek shields seem to be more “universal” in what they can stop than Star Wars shields are. Trek shields combine the functions of Star Wars ray shields and Star Wars particle shields, and have been shown on film to be effective against plasma attacks (c.f. ST:TOS “Balance of Terror” and ST:TMP). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that they would be able to interdict ion cannon blasts as well. ---
**Author:** ![Thor\_Odinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Thor\_Odinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thor_Odinson)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/324 "2000-05-23T15:38:18Z")
Couple of Points: 1.) The much talked about Laser Quote comes from ‘The Outrageous Okona’ and is contradicted by the very next episode. (And a couple more after that.) 2.) SW shields would stop Transporters. Hell, just about everything stops transporters. 3.) For More information go to alt.startrek.vs.starwars They are very friendly to newbies giving them a warm reception. C.S.Strowbridge ASVS Master [http://members.home.net/strowbridge/Index.htm](http://members.home.net/strowbridge/Index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/325 "2000-05-23T17:57:59Z")
Okay then, Thor and Travis, maybe **you** can tell us: **CAN** an Imperial Star Destroyer’s sensors track an object moving at faster-than-light speed? ---
**Author:** ![Thor\_Odinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Thor\_Odinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thor_Odinson)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/326 "2000-05-23T18:21:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Okay then, Thor and Travis, maybe **you** can tell us: > > **CAN** an Imperial Star Destroyer’s sensors track an object moving at faster-than-light speed? > \*\* Yes, the Hyperspace cutout systems demands FTL sensors. That and the communication / sensor systems use the same medium. BTW, those domes are NOT shields. The man who designed the ISD calls them sensor domes. ---
**Author:** ![Thor\_Odinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Thor\_Odinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thor_Odinson)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/327 "2000-05-23T18:38:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Okay then, Thor and Travis, maybe **you** can tell us: > > **CAN** an Imperial Star Destroyer’s sensors track an object moving at faster-than-light speed? > \*\* Yes, the Hyperspace cutout systems demands FTL sensors. That and the communication / sensor systems use the same medium. BTW, those domes are NOT shields. The man who designed the ISD calls them sensor domes. ---
**Author:** ![TravisT42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@TravisT42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisT42)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/328 "2000-05-23T23:04:03Z")
I see you get around Strowbridge. 🙂 I’ve only posted a couple things on the STvsSW NG, but I have read plenty of yours. _praying this only posts ONE time_ Travis ---
**Author:** ![TravisT42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@TravisT42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisT42)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/329 "2000-05-23T23:16:06Z")
I see you get around Strowbridge. 🙂 I’ve only posted a couple things on the STvsSW NG, but I have read plenty of yours. _praying this only posts ONE time_ Travis ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/330 "2000-05-24T00:26:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Star Trek shields seem to be more “universal” in what they can stop than Star Wars shields are. Well, not only “universal”, but more “worryful”. It’s like they designed the shields to be a “catch-all” system, but it’s like those All-In-Wonder video cards… they’re designed to do everything, but only perform at every task in a mediocre manner. Just about any random phenomena seems to damage the shields, from quantum storms to interference from a planet’s atmoshpere… then the shields become neutralized at the drop of a hat (and also when it seems most inconvenient, too… and you don’t get much more inconvenient than having a Star Destroyer gunning for you). ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2000, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/331 "2000-05-27T00:45:09Z")
Thor Odinson wrote: > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > **CAN an Imperial Star Destroyer’s sensors track an object moving at faster-than-light speed?** > > Yes, the Hyperspace cutout systems demands FTL sensors. That and the communication / sensor systems use the same medium. But in the Timothy Zah _Thrawn_ trilogy, the Kimura lost communication with each of the other Star Destroyers as the other Star Destroyers jumped into hyperspace. And this was normal and expected. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2000, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/332 "2000-05-27T00:49:07Z")
Er, Timothy **Zahn** , not Timothy Zah. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2000, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/333 "2000-05-27T08:06:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, the Hyperspace cutout systems demands FTL sensors. That and the communication / sensor systems use the same medium. Well, the hyperdrive cutout system is different than detecting “objects” in hyperspace… the cutout system is designed to anticipate the presence of a large gravity shadow ahead of the vessel and drop out of hyperspace before hitting said shadow. Large gravity wells make the local hyperspace “sluggish” (or distort it somehow… it’s never really explained), and most likely will destroy any ship passing through that gravity shadow. The hyperdrive cutout system can only track a few moments ahead of the ship… even with a good cutout system, a ship can still be damaged from the distorted hyperspace around a planet, star, or even an interdictor cruiser. Also, similar sensors CAN be used to track another ship in hyperspace, but ONLY if the ship being tracked is REALLY close (this was done in the _Black Fleet Crisis_, but I can’t remember if it was book two or book three… probably both). Thus, the uses of Star Wars’ FTL sensors are minimal and wouldn’t apply in the slightest against the Enterprise. Now, transmissions for the Star Destroyer are done WAAAAAAY faster than light, via the holonet (it’s never explained how this works, but the gist of it is that the entire galaxy is linked to an instantaneous transmission system… however, it takes considerable resources to tap into the holonet, so only larger ships have holonet capability, usually). Theoretically, the only problem that prevents vessels from being able to transmit to each other while in hyperspace is the fact that, in hyperspace, everything is moving so dang fast, and if a ship is only a few hundred meters (billionths of a second in hyperspace) away from the expected location, the transmission wouldn’t get through. And there’re other things, too, but I won’t get into them because this post is already too long. ---
**Author:** ![Punyon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eada6e/32.png) [@Punyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punyon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/334 "2000-05-31T06:42:24Z")
Here’s the possible scenarios I can come up with: 1. before Picard can hail the star destroyer and get choked by vader, Troy senses the hatred, fear, and anger in Vatder, and warns Picard. Picard launches a salvo of photon torpedos and we say buh-bye to the ISD. 2. Vader uses the Jedi Mind Trick to cause Picard to surrender. He then moves about the Enterprise killing people for fun and profit. 3. The ISD incapasitates the Enterprise somehow and they work feverishly to fix it, succeding with some brilliant plan in exactly one hour (which is also coincidentally how long the show is!) 4. The Enterprise beams over Data, who cleans house on Vader, since he’s not human and can’t be choked, mind-tricked, and he’s so fast, he can probably keep up with Vader in a lightsaber battle… Now THAT’S a fight I’d pay to see! ---
**Author:** ![Punyon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eada6e/32.png) [@Punyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punyon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/335 "2000-05-31T06:43:19Z")
Here’s the possible scenarios I can come up with: 1. before Picard can hail the star destroyer and get choked by vader, Troy senses the hatred, fear, and anger in Vatder, and warns Picard. Picard launches a salvo of photon torpedos and we say buh-bye to the ISD. 2. Vader uses the Jedi Mind Trick to cause Picard to surrender. He then moves about the Enterprise killing people for fun and profit. 3. The ISD incapasitates the Enterprise somehow and they work feverishly to fix it, succeding with some brilliant plan in exactly one hour (which is also coincidentally how long the show is!) 4. The Enterprise beams over Data, who cleans house on Vader, since he’s not human and can’t be choked, mind-tricked, and he’s so fast, he can probably keep up with Vader in a lightsaber battle… Now THAT’S a fight I’d pay to see! ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/336 "2000-05-31T08:24:34Z")
Well, we never really determined that Vader was aboard the Star Destroyer… but it seems to be a popular concept, so what the heck! It’s not like you’ll get penalized or anything, so it sounds good to me… except for number 4: An android can be affected by the Force, too, just like those battle droids in Episode 1 or the knick-knacks hanging around the Cloud City bowels. Amusing, though… hehe… ---
**Author:** ![ig88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/fbc32d/32.png) [@ig88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ig88)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/337 "2000-05-31T09:43:37Z")
Hey guys! A new geek arrives! Now, please don’t jump on me, I have reviewed this only very briefly. If anything is wrong, don’t hesitate to tell me! I, upon glancing at the Star Trek Encyclopedia for approximately 30 seconds, read that it is inadvisable to go to warp drive in a solar system because the gravity affects the warp core in a very negative way, usually stopping warp drive. Now if we bring in the Interdictor, a sub-class of Star Destroyer, we have a solution. Interdiction field stops warp drive, Interdictor constantly microjumps to get within blasting range and opens fire. Anyone agree! ---
**Author:** ![ig88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/fbc32d/32.png) [@ig88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ig88)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/338 "2000-05-31T09:44:03Z")
Hey guys! A new geek arrives! Now, please don’t jump on me, I have reviewed this only very briefly. If anything is wrong, don’t hesitate to tell me! I, upon glancing at the Star Trek Encyclopedia for approximately 30 seconds, read that it is inadvisable to go to warp drive in a solar system because the gravity affects the warp core in a very negative way, usually stopping warp drive. Now if we bring in the Interdictor, a sub-class of Star Destroyer, we have a solution. Interdiction field stops warp drive, Interdictor constantly microjumps to get within blasting range and opens fire. Anyone agree! ---
**Author:** ![ig88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/fbc32d/32.png) [@ig88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ig88)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/339 "2000-05-31T09:46:26Z")
Mumble…mumble…dang Internet connection… ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151/340 "2000-05-31T17:52:49Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] Movin’ to IMHO. One more Trek thread for ya, slythe–now you have a thread that’s been featured in Threadspotting! [Moderator Hat OFF] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-vs-star-destroyer/18151.md?page=18)