Could there ever be a chromo-electric field weapon?

  • #1
Maximum7
113
9
In Star Trek, they mention a Chromo-electric pulse and Chromo-electric force field. I know chromo-electric fields hold the nuclear force together with gluons but could a highly advanced civilization use chromo-electric fields for weapons or protection?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Maximum7 said:
In Star Trek, they mention a Chromo-electric pulse and Chromo-electric force field. I know chromo-electric fields hold the nuclear force together with gluons but could a highly advanced civilization use chromo-electric fields for weapons or protection?
Given 10,000 years or more it seems to me that technology could accomplish just about anything that we can imagine today and quite a few things that we can't. OK you skeptics, make it ten million years.
 
  • Like
Likes Nik_2213
  • #3
Hornbein said:
Given 10,000 years or more it seems to me that technology could accomplish just about anything that we can imagine today and quite a few things that we can't. OK you skeptics, make it ten million years.
Ok but is there any way disrupting the chromo-electric field can be used as a weapon or deflector shield or is it just Star Trek technobabble?
 
  • #4
Maximum7 said:
In Star Trek
Star Trek is famous for "treknobabble", outting together scientific sounding words that have no meaning other to advance the plot (or at least advance the clock). Only one of them is a "thing" so far as I know: the "baryon sweep". It's another name for "broom".
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Likes russ_watters and DaveC426913
  • #5
Maximum7 said:
Ok but is there any way disrupting the chromo-electric field can be used as a weapon or deflector shield or is it just Star Trek technobabble?
Is it something like this you're looking for?
Image (94).jpg
 
  • Like
Likes Nik_2213
  • #6
Are you sure it’s “chromo” and not “chrono”? I definitely recall lots of treknobabble about chrono this, chrono that, etc, largely revolving around a “chroniton” particle. If memory serves, chronitons dealt with time travel-esque phenomena.
 
  • #7
Vanadium 50 said:
Star Trek is famous for "treknobabble", outting together scientific sounding words that have no meaning other to advance the plot (or at least advance the clock). Only one of them is a "thing" so far as I know: the "baryon sweep". It's another name for "broom".
Someone on Discord told me that disrupting the chromo-electric field could have devastating results for anyone in the vicinity
 
  • #8
difalcojr said:
Is it something like this you're looking for?
View attachment 343720
No but this is cool! Thanks for sharing
 
  • #9
Flyboy said:
Are you sure it’s “chromo” and not “chrono”? I definitely recall lots of treknobabble about chrono this, chrono that, etc, largely revolving around a “chroniton” particle. If memory serves, chronitons dealt with time travel-esque phenomena.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Chromoelectric_pulse
 
  • #10
Maximum7 said:
Someone on Discord
Well, I'm certainly not going to argue with an authority like that!
 
  • Like
Likes russ_watters
  • #12
Vanadium 50 said:
Well, I'm certainly not going to argue with an authority like that!
Well unless your a physicist; he’s in the same boat as you. A person replying on a science forum. And I happen to have spoken to this individual and he seems to know a lot about science
 
  • Skeptical
Likes weirdoguy and berkeman
  • #13
Maximum7 said:
Well unless your a physicist
<giggle>
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Likes russ_watters, BillTre and berkeman
  • #14
Maximum7 said:
Well unless your a physicist;
LOL, seriously? Let me give you a little tip about discussion forums -- each user will generally have a Profile that you can access by clicking on their avatar (twice). Once you are in their Profile page, you can click the "About" tab to see more about their background (assuming that they have filled that information out).

How about you click on V50's avatar and have a look at his Profile/About page. Lordy.
 
  • #15
berkeman said:
LOL, seriously? Let me give you a little tip about discussion forums -- each user will generally have a Profile that you can access by clicking on their avatar (twice). Once you are in their Profile page, you can click the "About" tab to see more about their background (assuming that they have filled that information out).

How about you click on V50's avatar and have a look at his Profile/About page. Lordy.
Typically I don’t look at peoples pages. Vanadium50 frequently likes to answer my hypothetical questions with a sardonic “sneer” in his voice and his intentions are more to talk down to me than to answer my questions. Also I once told him that Isaac Arthur (YouTube futurist and established physicist) about saying something and he basically didn’t think it was from a reputable source. I can’t remember what the thing entailed but I remember the profile name and he frequently is sarcastic
 
  • #16
Maximum7 said:
Ok but is there any way disrupting the chromo-electric field can be used as a weapon or deflector shield or is it just Star Trek technobabble?
We can't realistically expect the physicists of 2354 to use exactly the same terminology of today. I expect the chromo-electric field refers to

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the study of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type of quantum field theory called a non-abelian gauge theory, with symmetry group SU(3). The QCD analog of electric charge is a property called color. -- Wikipedia

Let's suppose the strong force could be nullified in matter. The atomic nuclei would disintegrate into quarks. This reaction is very strongly unfavored, meaning this would absorb a great deal of energy. Presumably this is supplied by the weapon. The radical decrease in density of the target composed of iron or whatever would result in a terrific explosion. Once the quarks escaped the nullification they would recombine, releasing some of that stupendous input energy and wreaking more havoc.
 
Last edited:
  • #17
Maximum7 said:
. Vanadium50 frequently likes to answer my hypothetical questions with a sardonic “sneer” in his voice and his intentions are more to talk down to me than to answer my questions.
No, but he has noticed that you really don't like hearing the answer "no, it's not possible".

You have shifted your position, though. Originally it was that you could pay attention to Junior on YouTuve and Scooter on Discord instead of PF because none of us are actual physicists, Then when you found out that there are actual physicists here, you shifted to something more akin to "Tell me this science fiction concept is true because the alternative hurts my feelings."

I repeat - the Star Trek writers are putting scientific-sounding words together to advance the plot. They do not have an army of physicists on retainer to make a coherent and plausible future science.

Dilithium is not a real substance. Traveling really fast does not turn people into lizards. Infinite loops do not cause computers to explode. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Now..."get this cheese to sickbay!"
 
  • Like
Likes russ_watters, Rive, renormalize and 3 others

Similar threads

Replies
9
Views
2K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
8
Views
4K
Replies
1
Views
826
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
8
Views
989
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
7
Views
1K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • Science and Math Textbooks
Replies
9
Views
3K
  • Quantum Interpretations and Foundations
Replies
25
Views
1K
Back
Top