Relative to Klingon & Romulan ships, how powerful was Kirk's Enterprise?

How large can we make this thing?

Until the post reaches such size as to generate it’s own gravity field.

Then it will suck in the internet, and look like a black hole.

Keptin, we cannot maintain orbit!

When the “Enterprise” is hit by a Klingon photon torpedo (or whatver), do chunks of ceiling plaster fall down in the control room?
Those guys (in red coveralls) who sit at consoles (and are harassed by Scottie)-what happens to them? Do they communicate with the bridge via speaking tube (when the intercom system shorts out)?

In the novelized version of Star Trek IV, when the USS Saratoga’s power was knocked out (by the whale friendly probe), the crew communicates with each other via sound powered phones.

This was not shown in the movie.

You know, speaking of black holes, one thing I felt strongly about in the new Star Trek reboot.

I guess I should spoiler it, it involves the climax of the movie

OK, Nemo’s ship is being pulled into the black hole. Wow, a black hole. Once you’re inside the event horizon you can never escape, and so Nemo will be gone for good. But why can’t you escape the event horizon of a black hole? Because that is where the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light, therefore nothing can ever escape. Except, you know, something that could go faster than the speed of light. Like, you know, a spaceship that can travel faster than the speed of light. Which Nemo has.

A very good point. However, I believe that in the Star Trek Universe, it is very difficult for a ship to go to warp speed when it is deep in a gravity well.
Since a black hole has a very steep gravity well, the attempt would probably fail.
I am certain that there are more accurate replies, but this is the best I can do on short notice.

I’m still waiting for the phaser cutting phasers.

Never mind.

We’re gonna need them to get out of here.

Kind of looks like a schematic, dunnit?

[spoiler]Except that I’m pretty sure that in TNG and beyond Federation ships are capable of exceeding lightspeed with impulse engines.

In other words…you have a damn. good. point.[/spoiler]

Irrespective of the main point, which is that the Enterprise was capable of acquitting itself fairly well in battle (in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” it’s implied that even the outdated Ambassador-class Enterprise-C would be useful against the Klingons, if I recall properly), the person who describes the Enterprise-D as a battleship is not Riker but “MacDuff,” who is an alien impostor trying to convince them that it’s a battleship. I don’t know that it’s made clear how Starfleet views the ship.

Enough with the nested quotes. If there’s actual content to be discussed, I’ll leave this open – but if all you’re doing is dicking around with quote boxes, I’ll close it. Your choice.

twickster, Cafe Society moderator

Yes, M’am. Sorry, M’am. No excuse, M’am. :smack:

Well, sure. But that ship is explicitly tiny. I seem to recall Sulu saying its normal crew complement was only about 10-12.

Absolutely not. Impulse engines are fusion-powered rockets. Full impulse power is, at best, a large fraction of light speed. Cite. The fanwank for the end of the reboot movie is:

that for TOS-era starships, it is indeed very difficult to form a warp field while inside a strong gravity well, such as the black hole. Also, the Romulan antagonist was Nero, not Nemo, and the other reason he couldn’t escape is that his ship was falling apart.

[quote=“Alex_Osaki, post:53, topic:548505”]

Nitpick, but I never saw that scene as indicating that the Enterprise-C would be battleworthy against modern Klingon ships. Rather, I thought the idea was just that, hey, it’s a largish ship with warp drive. Could be a troop transport, could be a freighter or a hospital ship, etc - navies need all sorts of ships in support roles.

Your spoiler also explains why the slingshot maneuver was so risky. and why pulling away at flippin’ warp 8 was only barely enough to get them away from the sun. Heck, the fact that it only affects TOS-era ships might be why it never happens from TNG on.

It still doesn’t explain that first season episode of Voyager where they find a tiny wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant 20 years in the past. Grab one of the TOS era ships from mothballs, fly around the sun, and they’re home.

Or just hide the Voyager somewhere and put the crew in stasis for 20 years.