Editing Shields (Star Trek)

{{Short description|Fictional technology from the Star Trek universe}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Shields (''Star Trek'')}}
{{Infobox fictional artifact
| name            = Shields
| image           = 
| image_size      = 
| caption         = [[USS Voyager (Star Trek)|USS ''Voyager'']]'s shields in action
| alt             = 
| source          = [[Star Trek]]
| source_type     = franchise
| company         = 
| first           = [[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]
| first_ep        = [[Balance of Terror]]
| first_type      = TV
| date            = December 15, 1966
| creator         = [[Gene Roddenberry]]
| episode_creator = [[Paul Schneider (writer)|Paul Schneider]]
| type            = Defensive shields
| genre           = Science fiction
| owner           = 
| uses            = Protects ships, space stations, and planets from damage by hazard or enemy attack.
}}

In the ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[fictional universe]], '''shields''' refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that provides [[starship]]s, [[space station]]s, and entire planets with limited protection against damage. They are sometimes referred to as ''deflectors'', ''[[deflector shield]]s'', or (in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'') ''screens''. Types of shields include ''navigational deflectors''.

== History ==
The term 'shields' first appears in the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Balance of Terror (TOS episode)|Balance of Terror]]", in which they were deployed, albeit to little effect, by a [[United Federation of Planets|Federation]] outpost under attack from a [[Romulan]] [[Romulan#Technology|Warbird]].  The first depicted use by a starship was in the ''Star Trek'' episode "[[Arena (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Arena]]", in which the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS ''Enterprise'']] raises its 'screens' after being attacked by an alien warship although the term 'shields' is not used in this episode.  Shields are not mentioned during the earlier seasons of the ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' series, starships instead using "polarized hull plating" to make their hull more resistant to damage.

==Design==
Like most technologies in the ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[fictional universe]], the exact operation of shield technology is never precisely described. Characters discuss its existence and manipulation, while only superficially describing its exact physics, which result in a field being projected around a ship or other body, deflecting or dispersing projectiles and energy weapons.  Shields are not shown unless struck, and are then often shown briefly for dramatic effect as a translucent bubble of energy.

Shields are said to be made of a screen of [[Graviton|gravitons]] that can deflect beam and projectile weaponry.

In ''[[Star Trek#Books|The Making of Star Trek]]'', authors [[Gene Roddenberry]] and Stephen Whitfield write that shields are [[Force field (technology)|force fields]] similar in nature to the navigational deflector, while ''[[Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise]]'' further states that shields on post-refit Constitution-class vessels - of which the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS ''Enterprise'']] of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' is an example - were generated by the subatomic scan and replication of an alloy known as diburnium-osmium, and then projected as a force field beyond a ship's hull along the shield grid. In "[[That Which Survives]]", the alloy of diburnium and osmium is stated to be the hardest alloy known to the Federation.

Shields can be weakened by attack, and are often shown to collapse after prolonged bombardment.<ref>''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]''</ref><ref>[[Q Who? (TNG episode)]]</ref> Shields may be unable to repel certain types of weapons; the phased polaron weapons used by the [[Dominion (Star Trek)|Dominion]] - one of the primary antagonists of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' - are initially unhindered by the shields of Starfleet ships.

The [[USS Defiant|USS ''Defiant'']], introduced in the third season of ''Deep Space Nine'', was said to use [[ablative armor]] in addition to shields; this technology also appeared in the alternate time line of the early 25th century shown in the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' series finale "[[Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager)|Endgame]]", where it withstood repeated assaults by Borg weaponry and tractor beams.

Another type of shield, the ''navigational deflector'' (also known just as the deflector, the deflector array, the deflector dish, the main deflector, the nav deflector, or the parabolic dish), was a force beam generator, usually a dish on the front of a ship, that was primarily used to deflect objects that might collide with the ship specially when traveling using [[Warp drive]] when even minute particles could cause serious damage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Collective |url=https://www.startrek.com/database_article/collective|website=[[Star Trek|startrek.com]] |publisher=[[CBS Studios|CBS Studios Inc.]], [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount Pictures Corporation]], [[Paramount Streaming|CBS Interactive Inc.]], and [[Paramount Global|Paramount Companies]]|access-date=17 June 2022}}</ref>
==See also==

* [[Force field (technology)]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Drexler, Doug; & Sternbach, Rick; & Zimmerman, Herman (1998). ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual]].'' Pocket Books. {{ISBN|0-671-01563-X}}.
* Okuda, Michael; & Sternbach, Rick (1991). ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]''. Pocket Books. {{ISBN|0-671-70427-3}}.
* {{cite web | title=StarTrek.com Technology Library | date=2006-12-11 | work=Star Trek Library: Shields | url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/technology/article/70250.html | access-date=2006-12-11 }}
* {{cite web | title=TrekCore.com | date=2010-02-20 | work=Shield Diagram Screenshot | url=http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/twok/ch7/twok0570.jpg | access-date=2010-02-20 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Memory Alpha|Deflector shield}}
*{{Memory Alpha|Navigational deflector}}
{{Star Trek}}
[[Category:Star Trek devices]]

[[fr:Jargon de Star Trek: A-E#Bouclier]]