h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Overall, I like the entry; entertaining and informative. However, there are two points that seem questionable.

The entry, at the beginning, states definitively that there are three types of hand phasers. Perhaps you meant portable phasers, because the Type I and Type II are analagous to a handgun, but Type III is obviously a rifle-type, not a hand type.

It might have been even better if it just read four types of phasers, because you bring up a type IV toward the end.

Second, the reference to 'battery' powered is news to me. I don't remember batteries being any part of the Star Trek mythology, especially in regard to phasers.

There was, for example, the episode where a Star Trek officer was arming one side of a planetary war between their versions of the asian and caucasian races on the planet. He wanted phasers and 'power cells/packs?', I think. If all he needed was a fision generators - to create electricity for re-charging batteries - he would have probably asked for a couple of those.

I think that battery is too generic a term, and not accurate to Star Trek, although I'm certainly open to anybody who remembers a scene where batteries are mentioned as the power source for phasers.

Hi FT

I think you're absolutely right about the term 'battery'. Power-pack would be much better. The point though really is that the power-packs of early phasers were not removable. Once exhausted, the phaser could only be replenished onboard ship, where as later models had removable power-packs.

Since all phasers are battery-powered, this will affect the operational life of the phaser between battery chargesIn earlier models, the phaser itself had to be recharged on-board ship; later models had replaceable battery packs..

Would you like to reword that and I'll change it?

Sorry, RL

<<All phasers have power-packs that hold a finite amount of energy - the more they are used, the quicker they will discharge. This limits their operational life between chargesIn earlier models, the phaser itself had to be recharged on-board ship; later models had replaceable power-packs..>>

Thanks GB and h5!

Glad somebody keeps their manuals!