Type-1 and 2 Phasers (2250-2270)

The Type 2 phaser is the common hand weapon seen in Star Trek and standard issue for Starfleet crews as part of an away team's gear. This video is a brief look at its capabilities and settings along with the accompanying type-1.

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Image stills are from Trekcore
This Video is for critical purposes with commentary.

[shinyagumon]

I always loved the design philosophy behind the phasers, it's a multitool first and a weapon second, perfectly encapsulating Starfleet's desire for peace and exploration over warfare.

I also just love how the Phase 1 Phaser slides into the bigger more powerful Phase 2 Phaser or how the later Phase 2 Phaser slides into the larger and even more powerful Phase Rifle.

Idk that just seems like great design to me and honestly reminds me a lot of how the Wiimote had multiple add once (just that these ones actually work and aren't just for show).

[firstcynic]

And when you fire a phaser inside a Federation starship, there is a shipwide warning sounded. Except when it isn't...

[josephmassaro]

"The type one is often used in situations where carrying an open display of aggression might not be a good idea such as negotiations, clandestine missions...dabo tables."

[lorzon]

It's not "vaporization" when they disappear something. It's disintegration and has to do with how high-enery Nadions(a synthetic particle manufactured inside the phaser itself) interacts with matter. Essentially it just disrupts the binding energies at the molecular level, reducing the object or being into incandescent dust. Why this does not have an accompaningly enormous explosion as the newly freed neutrons degenerate or another several conceivable side effects of such a process remains a mystery. It's notable that this is considered a more elegant method of achieving this effect where a Disruptor just uses brute force to do the same thing.

[floriangunzer]

Hm, very interesting video. My head canon always assumed that the energie levels in Star Trek technologies in general were so ridiculously high, that evaporating a human sized lifeform was indeed possible with a handheld device. I kind of half remember a line in one of the shows that a Federation Starship carries enough destructive power to glass a planets surface. Just one ship.

[seanembery]

TNG had type 1 & 2 but the 1 seemed to just vanish (& I'm not talking sticking it in the little waist pocket the uniform had). So many times it would've been useful & logical in later TNG, DS9 & Voyager.

[drewyourhostwiththeghost]

The type two phaser from the TOS era had a replaceable handle which was the power pack. On the shuttle craft there is a weapons locker which pulls out and the type two's were stored there along with two rows of extra power handles of approximately 6 each. There are some pictures of this on line but it's a deep dive to find them.

[redemption]

I had no idea that the type 1 was integrated into the type 2 barrel. Thank you for the information.

[sarcasticstartrek]

vapourisation is explained by disrupting the Nuclear Forces between atoms / particles. It "looks" the same - except takes far less energy. Using a Nuclear Disruption Force (NDF) you can have phasers (including as we see on ships) that continue to burn away hull / plating after the shot has ended. See: multiple DS9 fleet battles - a ship is shot but its hull continues to "vapourise" many seconds after - which clearly is not the "phaser" doing it via directed energy as the phaser has stopped firing.

[Lethgar_Smith]

I think the reason a person often disappears when killed by a phaser, in the original series, was a device used to get around network sensors and their concerns about violence and dead bodies with burn holes in them lying on the ground during a scene. There is no other logical reason for it. Certainly it requires an optical shot and that cost money, so why do it unless being forced?
In the world of Star Trek the phaser is a very unique weapon. It's neat, clean, it barely makes a sound and there's no blood or guts either. This makes it very easy and convenient to use as a device to move the story and help drive the plot. However, pretty soon the bodies can start to pile up. Best to have them simply disappear. Out of sight means out of mind.

[techstudio]

Hmm let me see ?
Ah yes this one does not kill this one does ...Oh marvelous! Devastating! Why this could kill millions! - Trelane

[CaptPatrick]

I liked how the design of the phasers in Discovery bridge the gap between the phase weapons from Enterprise, and the laser pistol & Type 3 phaser seen in The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before respectively.

[onetruekeeper]

Type 2 seems to be just a amplifier for the type 1 since it cannot function without it. Later Type 2 models were stand alone and did not need type 1 mounted.

[richmcgee]

The really amazing part is how well they can aim the things when they don't have anything akin to a sight on the silly things. Hell of a training program in Starfleet, I guess.

[Sb_]

You say under lock and key but we find multiple officers keeping phasers in their quarters or at work stations in many episodes.

[sarahscott]

Phasers are a triggering subject for me (no pun intended!)
They never behave the same way twice, and they never obey the laws of physics!

I know, complaining about physics accuracy in sci-fi is a bit silly, but still. It's what I do!

[nottelling]

@Certifiably Ingame
Thank you for what you do. ( aside from the sincere thanks, just commenting to help you with the algorithm )

[beardo]

The Phaser 2 as it was called also had a shield feature to protect the person using it. while it was a feature listed in the early development stages of Star Trek weapons, this feature never found it's way into the show. (Much like the Saucer section being able to separate in the original series, a feature not put on screen till the Next Generation. )

[johnmcnicholas]

I thought the kelvin variation was unique the way it the barrel flipped from stun to maximum and back again.

[benw]

Rick, I'm surprised you left out the older, different design of the phasers used in the Cage / Menagerie, also seen in the man Trap (Salt Vampire) episode. These had a twistable front end for the beam emitter and settings on the top, perhaps the side, plus the trigger, and the shape was more like a traditional pistol instead of the iconic later TOS phaser pistol. I don't recall if the old design was used in other episodes, but it gave a possibility of an older, outmoded design and a sort of military surplus civilian model for colonists. I believe the phasers used in the Horta and Tribble episodes were the later TOS design. I don't recall if any were actually used in the Tribble episode, only shown. In the Horta episode, I don't recall if the miners had phasers unless issued by the Enterprise security squads.