The Particles of Star Trek

Particle Man, Particle Man,
Doing the things a particle can.
What's he like? It's not important.
- They Might Be Giants, "Particle Man"

Twice a week, the Star Trek legacy beams its way into our homes and hearts, bringing with it a kaleidoscopic cacophony of particles, waves, fields, fissures, and anomalies. For too long these products of speculative physics have gone unrecorded. With the advent of Voyager, the flow of new particles has increased to a torrent, and I can no longer let them pass by uncatalogued.

But I can't do it without your help! At the bottom of this page, you'll find a Particle Generation Form. Tell it where you've spotted particles on Star Trek, and they'll be added to the catalog for the enjoyment of all.

"So tiny, you can't tell it's a deus ex machina!"

Last update: Mon Mar 16 08:01:11 PST 1998
Number of particles: 190

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acetin

Naturally occuring. Causes duonetic fields, resulting in equipment failures.

• DS9: Paradise - Acetin deposits in the swamp beds near Alixus' community prevented equipment from operating.

acetylcholine

Naturally occuring. In real life, a neurotransmitter produced by the brain.

• DS9: Melora - Bashir used a medication designed to increase acetylcholine absorption to increase Melora's tensile muscular strength, thus enabling her to walk.
• Voyager: The Chute - Increased amounts of acetylcholine in Kim's nervous system caused him (and others in the prison camp) to exhibit erratic behaviour.

acid dichloride

Artificially generated by crew. Gaseous chemical. Toxic to humans, essential to advanced humans. In real life, acid dichloride is impossible as chlorine and hydrogen combine in a 1:1 ratio, and chemicals tend to separate into the lowest possible number of atoms. Acid "di"chloride would be H2Cl2, and this would break down into HCl: hydrochloric acid or (when a gas) hydrogen chloride.

• Voyager: Threshold - The Doctor determines that the evolved Tom Paris requires acid dichloride gas to breathe.

actinides

Naturally occuring. Radioactive compounds generally found in uranium ore. Actinides are known to interfere with Federation sensors.

• TNG: The Mind's Eye - The crew of the Enterprise encountered these in the Ilkalian asteroid belt. The actinides made it difficult to locate the Kriosian rebels.

amniotic fluid

Naturally occuring. In real life, protects embryos from disease while in the womb.

• TNG: Genesis - Cured the outbreak of Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome.

anestascene

Artificially generated by crew. A general anesthetic. Fatal if present in the air.

• DS9: The Siege - Terrorists flooded the station's conduits with concentrated anestascene gas to try to kill the crew.
• TNG: Rascals - Ro suggests using anestascene gas to knock out the Ferengi. Unfortunately, Picard points out that it's not possible since computer control has been locked out.

antichroniton

Artificially generated by crew. Cancels out chroniton particles.

• Voyager: Before and After - When Kes was irradiated with chroniton particles from the Krenim and later subjected to a biotemporal field, she began to shift backwards in time. This was cured by the use of an antichroniton field.

antigraviton

Artificially generated by aliens. Apperently can act as "antigravity." In real life, a graviton (which is still a theoretical particle whose existence hasn't been proven) is its own antiparticle. That is, an antigraviton would actually be a normal graviton.

• TNG: Attached - Was used by aliens to delfect a transporter beam to a new set of co-ordinates.

antilepton interference

Artificially generated by aliens. Prevents communications.

• DS9: Emissary - Gul Jassad's fleet flooded subspace with antilepton interference.

antimatter

Artificially generated by crew; naturally occuring in real life. Matter whose electrical charge properties are the opposite of "normal matter." It is not well understood why the universe is made overwhelmingly of matter yet most reactions which produce particles produce matter and anti-matter equally. The imbalance could have started as a minor percentage in the early moments of the big bang, with resulting annihilation keeping the excess only (the rest is the photon background).

• Used to power the warp engines on Federation (and other) vessels. It's mentioned in countless episodes in all the series.

antineutrino

Naturally occuring. In real life, a byproduct of beta decay.

• Voyager: Prime Factors - After B'Elanna installed the Sikarian space "folding" mechanism, the device generated antineutrino particles as a part of the process of its normal operation. These particles proved harmful to the Federation warp core and almost caused a core breach. Fortunately B'Elanna thought quickly and phasered the device out of existence before any serious harm was done.

antineutron

A real particle; the antimatter version of a neutron.

• Movie: IV: Voyage Home - Computer prompts Spock to "adjust the sine wave in the gravity envelope so that antineutrons may pass but antigravitons cannot"

antiproton

Naturally occuring. Also generated by ships; can penetrate Romulan cloaking devices. In real life, the antimatter version of a proton.

• DS9: The Search, Part 1 and Defiant - Used by Jem'Hadar in "The Search" and by the Cardassians in "Defiant" to detect the cloaked Defiant.
• TOS: The Doomsday Machine - Comm. Decker called the Doomsday Machine's weapon an antiproton beam - "absolutely pure!"
• TNG: Face of the Enemy - Enterprise D used it to determine who destroyed the smuggler's ship
• TNG: Silicon Avatar - Crystalline Entity is tracked by gamma radiation from antiproton decay. A real life experiment looking to see whether antiprotons do decay by emitting gamma's can be viewed at http://fnapx1.fnal.gov/.
• Voyager: The Threshold - Used to slow down the mutation of Lt. Paris' DNA.
• Movie: First Contact - The navigational deflector of the Enterprise-E normally stores a large number of antiprotons.

antitime

Naturally occuring. Analagous to "antimatter" but for time, not matter.

• TNG: All Good Things - Produced as a result of the time rupture, which was caused by three dechyon beams from different timeframes intersecting.

anyon

Artificially generated by crew. Caused by the interaction between phased and normal matter. In real life, an anyon isn't a real particle, it's a theoretical construct formed by confining a normal fermion (and possibly boson) to a two-dimensional region. The exchange arguments which lead to the parity operator eigenvalues being +-1 no longer apply, and these theoretical constructs can have arbitrary quantum phase changes under exchange.

• TNG: The Next Phase - Data hypothesised that the bursts of anyons were caused by phased matter. When Geordi and Ro set off a disruptor on overload, a huge burst of anyons were detected, leading Data to sweep the area with amnions and save Geordi and Ro.

argine

Origin unknown. Function unknown.

• DS9: The Nagus - Used in the construction of Ferengi Locator Bombs.

badlands

Naturally occuring. Stormy region of space, plays havoc with sensors and warp drives.

baryon

Naturally occuring. In real life, "heavy" particles like protons, as opposed to "light" particles (leptons) like electrons. In TNG, something else.

• TNG: Starship Mine - Ship needed to undergo a "baryon sweep" to remove the accumulation of these particles.

Berthold radiation

Artificially generated by aliens. Unknown -- generated by aliens

• TNG: Deja Q - A method employed by the aliens to scan the enterprise D when the aliens were looking for Q

Berthold rays

Naturally occuring. Nature unknown. Harmful or fatal to humans.

• TOS: This Side of Paradise - The emotion-affecting spores granted immunity to Berthold rays, allowing a colony to survive.

bicaridine

Artificially generated by crew. A painkiller.

• TNG: The First Duty - Wesley Crusher is allergic to metorapan treatments, so he is treated with a bicaridine substitute instead.

bilitrium

Naturally occuring. A rare crystalline element which can be an incredible source of energy if hooked up to an anti-matter converter.

• DS9: Past Prologue - Tahna Los had purchased a cylinder of bilitrium from the Duras Sisters in an effort to destroy the wormhole.

biogenic field

Naturally occuring. Lethal to humans.

• Voyager: Sacred Ground - A biogenic field was present at one of the religious shrines of the Nikani.

bitrium

Naturally occuring. Nature unknown.

• TNG: The Silicon Avatar - Bitrous fibers were found on planet after crystalline entity had left. The crew theorized that bitrium was a byproduct of the consumption of biological matter.

boridium

Artificially generated by crew. Used as a power generator or convertor in compact machines and devices.

• TNG: The Quality of Life - The Exocomps are equipped with boridium power generators. Dr. Farillon attempts to destroy some of these Exocomps by overloading these generators.
• DS9: Babel - The Aphasia-inducing device has a di-boridium core which hints at possible Cardassian manufacture, but was actually created by the Bajoran Underground during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor.

Brill cheese

Origin unknown. Contaminated cheese with a virus.

• Voyager: Learning Curve - A contaminated piece of cheese threatened the entire USS Voyager.

calendenium

Naturally occuring. chemical, possibly an element

• TNG: Night Terrors - combined with hydrogen released by the Enterprise by the alien ship in order to produce a massive chemical explosion to free both vessels from the Tychon rift

carbon neutronium

Artificially generated by aliens.

• TNG: Relics - The shell of the Dyson sphere was composed of it. A phaser blast was ruled out as an option to get out of the sphere because it would be ineffective.

carbrodine

Origin unknown. When mixed with infernite, becomes explosive.

• DS9: In the Hands of the Prophets - Used by Neela to destroy Keiko's schoolroom.

cast rodinium

Naturally occuring. The hardest substance known to Federation science.

• TOS: Balance of Terror - The outer protective layers of Federation outposts along the Romulan neutral zone are composed of this material. However, even with an outpost buried miles underground, it provided insufficient defense against the Romulan energy weapon. A piece of the destroyed shield was crushed by Spock.

chemicite

Origin unknown. A highly explosive compound, dangerous to transport, can be sold for a good profit on Orion.

• DS9: Little Green Men - A cascade reaction in the chemicite caused Quark's shuttle to be flung through time.

chroniton

Artificially generated by aliens and crew. Involved in time travel and in cloaking; exact nature unknown.

• DS9: Past Tense - Used to travel back to 21st-century Earth.
• TNG: The Next Phase - Chroniton particles from a malfunctioning cloaking device cause Geordi and Ro to be phased so they can pass through walls (not floors).
• DS9: Visionary - Sent O'Brien back and forth in time whenever a cloaked warbird came near DS9.
• Voyager: Before and After - When Kes was irradiated with chroniton particles from the Krenim and later subjected to a biotemporal field, she began to shift backwards in time.

chronometric particle

Artificially generated by aliens. Involved in time travel.

• Movie: First Contact - The Borg used them to travel back in time. The Enterprise-E used them to travel forward in time.
• DS9: Trials and Tribble-ations - O'Brien reads chronometric particles around the Defiant just before it is pulled back in time by the Orb.

cobalt dinitrate

Artificially generated by crew. A chemical compound that is considered a biogenic weapon. Cobalt dinitrate is harmless to most humanoids but is lethal to Cardassians.

• DS9: For the Uniform - The Maquis, under the leadership of Mr. Eddington, contaminated Cardassian colonies in the demilitarized zone with cobalt dinitrate to force them to abandon the planets.

corbomite

Artificially generated by Captain Kirk. A fictional substance which supposedly reflects weapon fire back at the attacker.

• TOS: The Corbomite Maneuver - Kirk tells the First Federation captain that the Enterprise is equipped with corbomite, a bluff that prevents the alien from firing his weapons.
• TOS: The Deadly Years - Kirk uses the same ploy to escape romulans!!

cordrizene

Artificially generated by crew. A drug.

• TOS: City on the Edge of Forever - McCoy accidentally injects himself with a huge dose, goes insane, and beams down to a planet where he, Kirk and Spock enter a time travel portal.

cormoline

Naturally occuring. Rich deposits of this compound are found on the Kazon-Ogla Homeworld, which they use for barter with the other Kazon sects.

• Voyager: Caretaker -

corodum

Artificially generated by crew. Used in thruster packs.

• TNG: Disaster - Geordi and Beverly had to get rid of the containers of corodum, because the plasma fire was overheating them. They opened the cargo bay doors, and released the containers into space.

cosmic string

Naturally occuring. A string of particles with gravitational forces that are the strength of a black hole.

• TNG: The Loss - A flurry of energy based entities surrounding the Enterprise D were headed for it, dragging the ship toward certain destruction. These creatures disabled counselor Troi's empathic powers for a time. The cosmic string was home to them.

cryptobiolin

Artificially generated by aliens. An alien equivalent of steroids.

• TNG: The Hunted - During a checkup on Roga Danar, Beverly discovered high levels of cryptobiolin and other drugs in Danar's body.

cyanoacrylate

Naturally occuring. In real life, cyanoacrylate ester is a fast-bonding glue (e.g. Crazy Glue.)

• TNG: The Child - According to Data, Eichner radiation, which caused genetically altered spores in stasis cage to expand uncontrollably and threaten Enterprise, is released by "certain cyanoacrylates."

cyrillium

Naturally occuring. Occurs in nebulae/gaseous anomalies in Delta and Alpha quadrants. Highly combustible.

• Voyager: Flashback - Collected by Voyager for use as an energy source; used by Sulu to disable Klingons.

dark matter

Naturally occuring. Causes phase shifts in normal matter.

• TNG: In Theory - Opened the wall for Spot to escape, wrecked the conference room, and dematerialized part of the floor, causing the death of a crewmember who walked into the "hole."

De Broglie waves

Naturally occurring in real life -- in modern physics, a representation of ordinary matter as waves rather than particles. In Star Trek, artificially generated by aliens; a side effect of cloaking devices.

• TOS: Balance of Terror - In James Blish's novel adaptation, the crew tracked the Romulan Warbird by sensing these waves. (In the aired episode, Spock used "motion sensors" to track the ship.

dechyon

Artificially generated by crew. In real life, dechyons are the class of particles that travel below the speed of light (i.e., the opposite of tachyons.)

• Voyager: Parallax - Used to open a fissure in an event horizon (no, that concept doesn't make any sense to me either.)
• TNG: Cause and Effect - The crew detected these particles as remenants of each "causality loop" and Data used them to send a message into the next loop, which allowed them to break this most vicious cycle.

delta rays

Naturally occuring. Type of radiation produced by older engines; exists in real life. Delta-rays refer to moderate energy electrons which have been kicked off a nucleus by the passage of a nearby high energy charged particle.

• TOS: The Meangerie part I - Was emitted from a broken piece of an old class-J starship. Christopher pike, former captain of starship Enterprise was overexposed in that accident leaving him in a "wheelchair."
• DS9: Visionary - O'Brien absorbed a heavy dose of delta radiation, which allowed the tetryon emissions from the Romulan warbird to shift him through time.

dermateralean plasticine

Artificially generated by aliens. Used in cosmetic surgery.

• DS9: Duet - Marritza was using the plasticine to preserve his appearance as Gul Darhe'el.

deuridium

Naturally occuring. Found as deposits in asteroid fields.

• DS9: The Passenger - The Kobliad need deuridium to stabilize their cell membranes in order to survive.

deuterium

Naturally occuring. Isotope of hydrogen, having twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen, also called heavy hydrogen

• TNG: Phantasms - Used to power the warp core. Deuterium and antideuterium are combined to provide energy.

diburinium

Origin unknown. A metallic substance.

• TOS: By Any Other Name - The substance used by the Kelvin to imprison Captain Kirk and company in the cave was described by Spock as "similar to diburinium, but much denser."

diburnium-osmium alloy

Artificially generated by aliens. A substance highly resistant to energy and radiation.

• TOS: That Which Survives - An artificial planet was made of this substance. The Kelandans were the race responsible.

dicoromium

Naturally occuring. An element that makes up part of the molecular structure of a gaseous creature, possibly allowing the creature to exist in a state on the border between matter and energy and avoid weapons fire by moving itself through time.

• TOS: Obsession - Kirk encounters the gaseous creature while prospecting for tritanium deposits. It gives of a sickly sweet odor, which Kirk recognizes from another encouter with the creature 11 years before - an encounter that resulted in the death of then Lieutenant Kirk's commanding officer, Captain Garrovick, and a consequent load of guilt. Kirk and Garrovick's son destroy the creature with an anti-matter bomb, since it is immune to phasers and photon torpedoes.

dicosilium

Origin unknown. Optic material used to build lenses and mirrors.

• TNG: A Matter of Perspective - Used to build Kreeger wave generator.

dilithium

Naturally occuring. Focuses energy into highly concentrated form. Necessary for the operation of warp drives, and a vital part of a starship's power system.

• TOS: all - Cracked, running out, etc.
• TNG: Relics - La Forge states to an out-of-time Mr. Scott that they recomposite the dilithium inside the reaction chamber. Only after Mr. Scott erroneously states that dilithium crystals are going to fracture.

displacement wave

Artificially generated by aliens. Moves objects at high warp speed.

• Voyager: The Caretaker - Used by caretaker to bring ship to Delta Quadrant.

disruptor beam

Artificially generated by aliens. Klingon equivalant of a phasers. Accompanied by a shrill, echoing sound. (See Errand of Mercy, Elaan of Troyus.) The same beam is used by the Amenians in A Taste of Armaggedon (Perhaps the Klingons once conquered Ameniar during their history!)

• TOS: Errand of Mercy, others - Used by the Klingons to retaliate against the Organians for acts of sabotage by Kirk and Spock. The Klingons fired it the Enterprise during attacking runs in Ellan of Troyus. Kirk also used it to destroy suicide stations on Ameniar.

dolamide

Origin unknown. Used in power generators, reactors, and short-range transporters. If pure enough, it can be made into weapons.

• DS9: Dramatis Personae - Kira refuses a Valerian transport carrying dolamide to dock with the station under the suspicion that they are trading with the Cardassians.

duranium

Artificially generated by crew. A hard metal alloy.

• DS9: The Emissary - Duranium shadows were used to create an illusion of photon torpedo launchers on DS9. This effect is also known as "Quaker Guns" in the DS9 novel _The Way of the Warrior_.
• DS9: Captive Pursuit - Used in construction of access tunnels on DS9; impervious to normal sensors.
• TNG: Hollow Pursuits - O'Brien tested the transporter with a container made of pure duranium. The container rematerialized as molten goo.

E-band radiation

Naturally occuring. Emitted by collapsing stars; can also be used as a means of communication.

• TNG: The Mind's Eye - Data detected E-band rays and traced them to Geordi, who was brainwashed to kill Governer Vagh.

Eichner radiation

Artificially generated by aliens.

• TNG: The Child - Caused genetically altered spores in stasis cage to expand uncontrollably and threaten Enterprise. Tracked to Iain, Troi's son.

electrophoretic energy

In real life, electrophoresis is a process by which proteins are identified by putting them on a gel and running an electric current through the gel, then staining the gel and measuring how far the proteins moved in comparison to a group of standard proteins that were also put on the gel (bigger proteins move slower, in general.)

• Voyager: The Elogium - It was generated by space-dwelling lifeforms, but caused Kes to prematurely enter the Elogium (puberty.)

felicium

Naturally occuring. A substance produced from plants by the people of Brekka and exported to Ornara.

• TNG: Symbiosis - Felicium is Brekka's sole export. It was once used to cure a deadly plague. Now, everyone on Ornara is addicted to it.

fistrium

Naturally occuring. Refractory metal found in caves of Melona IV.

• TNG: Silicon Avatar - Data thought the prescence of fistrium and kelbonite prevented the Crystalline Entity from scanning the caves.

fluidic space

Naturally occuring. A parallel universe near our own composed entirely of a biological fluid.

• Voyager: Scorpion, Part 2 - Species 8472 exists in fluidic space and attacked the Delta Quadrant following a failed Borg invasion into their territory. Voyager was brought to fluidic space by Seven of Nine in order to force their cooperation.

fortanium

Naturally occuring.

• TNG: Masks - Used in the composition of the informational archive at the comet's core.

genesis wave

Artificially generated by crew. An energy wave that has the effect of rapidly terraforming planets and nebular matter.

• Movie: The Wrath of Khan; The Search for Spock - The Genesis Device, invented by Carol and David Marcus, was sought by Khan Singh as a weapon to be used to destroy Admiral Kirk and the Enterprise NCC 1701. Ultimately, the device was activated, destroying the USS Reliant, killing Khan, and creating the Genesis Planet from matter in the Mutara Nebula. Because of the unusual properties of the planet, the body of Spock was brought back to life after he'd been killed saving the Enterprise.

gold-pressed latinum

Origin unknown. A non-replicatable material, typically pressed into bars, like gold.

• DS9 - The Ferengi use bars of gold-pressed latinum as their currency.

graviton

Artificially generated by crew. Generated by Voyager. (A real particle according to modern physics.)

• Voyager: The Caretaker - To try and get out of the Caretaker's beam.
• TNG: The Best of Both Worlds - A "heavy graviton beam" was considered and rejected as a weapon against the Borg.
• TNG: Silicon Avatar - Used by Enterprise crew to communicate with the crytalline entity. Used by vengeful doctor to destroy the entity.
• TNG: Hero Worship - Graviton waves destroyed the Veco when it was surveying a region of space. Reacted with all power output by ships and magnified it.
• TNG: The Nth Degree - Barclay used a graviton field to alter subspace to take the ship into Cytherian space.

holomatter

Artificially generated by crew. A simulation of matter using force field and holo-imaging technology within a chamber known as a "holodeck". Under certain circumstances, holomatter can take on all the recognized features of life forms; however, all holomatter disintegrates when removed from the holodeck.

• TNG: Too numerous to list; also prominent in "ST:Voyager." - Training, recreation and entertainment for the crew. Some medical applications. On board the "Voyager", due to the death of the Chief Medical Officer, a holomatter "doctor" has been designated as the de facto CMO.

hyperon

Naturally occuring. Hyperons are a class of real particles whose name dates back to the days before quark structure was well known. Leptons (electrons, muons, tau and their associated neutrinos) are "light", Mesons are "medium", and baryons are heavy. When more massive short-lived particles heavier than the proton were produced, they were called hyperons. Some examples are the sigma lambda and cascade. After quark structure was understood, they first three names were kept, but the meaning was changed. Leptons are the same list as originally, but are understood to be fundamental particles with no quark structure. Mesons are quark-anitquark pairs. Baryons are triplets of quarks. The term hyperon is still used, but not so frequently.

• TNG: The Ensigns of Command - Obstacle preventing the use of transporters in the evacuation of a planet ceded to the Sheliak.

hytritium

Naturally occuring. Only known cure for tricyanate contamination of water supplies. Highly volatile.

• TNG: The Most Toys - Used to explode a shuttlecraft so that Kivas Fajo could kidnap Data without suspicion.

ilium 629

Naturally occuring. A by-product of the geological decay of dilithium.

• TNG: Pen Pals - Traces of ilium 629 were found on the planet Drema IV, leading to the discovery of unusual dilithium deposits in the planet's mantle. The dilithium transformed the planet's geological heat into mechanical stress, resulting in significant tectonic instabilities that nearly destroyed the planet. The geological instabilities were neutralized by the use of resonator probes launched from orbit.

infernite

Origin unknown. When mixed with carbrodine, becomes explosive.

• DS9: In the Hands of the Prophets - Used by Neela to destroy Keiko's schoolroom.

inversion nebula

Naturally occuring. A nebula composed of plasma strings that is apparently beautiful to look at. Nebulas of this kind do not exist in the Alpha quadrant. They are apparently relatively unstable, requiring an outside influence to stay stable.

• Voyager: Alter Ego - Voyager monitored an inversion nebula for several days observing a number of plasma string flare-ups.

invidium

Origin unknown. Unknown origin. Used in medical containment fields the previous century. No longer used. Causes adverse reactions with equipment. If brought to -200 Celsius, it becomes inert.

• TNG: Hollow Pursuits - It was in spread into the ship when a broken seal on the Michelaks' medical sample container. Laforge said, "Duffy and O'Brien picked up the broken canister and became contaiminated." It affected the magnetic capacitors on the anti- matter injector and an un-named component in the transporter.

iogenic particles

Artificially generated by crew. Has characteristic 'magnetic flux density'

• TNG: Power Play - Used to create a containment field for the 'spirits' of alien escapees of a penal colony when they attempted to possess the crew.

ion

Naturally occuring. An atom or group of atoms that carries a positive or negative electric charge.

• TOS: Spock's Brain - Used to propel the space ship that carried descendants of an advanced civilization who boarded the Enterprise and stole Spock's brain. Scotty marveled at its design at first sight, saying that "they could teach us a thing or two."

ionic pulse

Artificially generated by crew. Presumably, a bunch of charged atoms.

• Movie: Generations - An ionic pulse generated by the navigational deflector was used to trigger the cloaking device of L'ursa and B'etor's ship so their shields would drop and the Enterprise could destroy them.

iridium

Naturally occuring. A heavy element of the platinum group.

• TOS: Requiem for Methesulah - The iridium rendered the Ritalin inert and therefore unusable in combating an epidemic that the crew was trying to prevent on another planet (see Ritalin.)

isoboromine

Naturally occuring. A neurotransmitter in Trills which maintains the link between symbiont and host. If its level gets too low, the symbiont must be removed or it will die.

• DS9: Equilibrium - Dax had a low isoboromine count from the hallucinations of Joran Dax.

jakmanite

Naturally occuring. Like invidium, jakmanite cannot be detected by internal sensors. Exists in oxygen environment, and like invidium, can alter advanced structures like glass.

• TNG: Hollow Pursuits - Duffy ruled jakmanite out as a possible cause of the problems experienced by the Enterprise crew.

jevonite

Naturally occuring. Valuable gemstone found on Cardassia.

• TNG: Chain of Command Part II - Ancient jevonite artifacts found on Cardassia were sold or stolen by the army to finance the war effort.

kayolane

Artificially generated by aliens. A sedative.

• TNG: Identity Crisis - Beverly inoculates Leijten with kayolane after the latter's blood chemistry changes and after she exhibits strange behavior.

kedion

Naturally occuring. Resets positronic matrices.

• TNG: Descent, Part 2 - Used by Commander La Forge and Captain Picard to reboot Data's ethical program after Lore disabled it.

kelbonite

Naturally occuring. Refractory metal found in caves of Melona IV.

• TNG: Silicon Avatar - Data thought the prescence of kelbonite and fistrium prevented the Crystilline Entity from scanning caves.

ketracel white

Artificially generated by aliens. A vital, isogenic enzyme needed for the survival of the Jem'Hadar. The enzyme can only be provided by the Founders, and currently cannot be reproduced by the Federation. The Founders engineered the Jem'Hadar's addiction to this enzyme to ensure their loyalty to the Dominion.

• DS9: The Abandoned - Bashir is unable to reproduce the enzyme for the Jem'Hadar boy.
• DS9: Hippocratic Oath - Goran'Agar has succeeded in fighting his addiction for the enzyme and surviving. The Vorta are established as administrators of ketracel white for the Jem'Hadar.
• DS9: To the Death - Weyoun (a Vorta) administrates the enzyme to First Omet'iklan and the other Jem'Hadar before an upcoming battle with Dominion Rebels.
• DS9: The Die is Cast - Enabrum Tain notes that the destruction of the Founders and their homeworld means that the Jem'Hadar will be cut off from their only source of ketracel white, thus leading to the collapse of the Dominion. Unfortunately, Tain and his armada walk into a trap as the Founders have abandoned their homeworld, and his armada is ambushed by Jem'Hadar warships.
• DS9: A Time to Stand - Weyoun tells Dukat that supplies of Ketracel White are needed. Sisko and company are assigned in a Jem'Hadar Warship to destroy a vital Ketracel White Depot. A ship ahead of them beams down 110 empty canisters, and receives 110 full canisters of Ketracel White. Sisko's ship beams down 84 empty canisters (all fit with time bombs) to destroy the depot.
• DS9: Behind the Lines - Due to an increasingly short supply of ketracel white, Damar secretly proposed poisoning the remaining supply before it ran out and the Jem'Hadar ran amok.

kinoplasmic radiation

Origin unknown. Lt. Barclay tells the holodoc that his headaches are due to "kinoplasmic radiation oxidizing your brain cells."

• Voyager: Projections -

kironide

Artificially generated by aliens. Induces telekinetic powers.

• TOS: Plato's Stepchildren - Platonians used it to hold Enterprise crew captive and force them to perform for their amusement. McCoy synthesized the chemical so crew could escape.

koranium

Origin unknown. Subspace element used in Klingon warp drives.

• DS9: Blood Oath - Mentioned briefly as being a part of warp drive in the injectors.

Kreeger waves

Artificially generated by aliens. Nature unknown. Eats holes in walls and decks; destroys space station.

• TNG: A Matter of Perspective - An attempt is made to fashion a weapon out of a generator of these waves.

lepton

Naturally occuring. - particle "activity" increased prior to the wormhole reappearing and shifting its position.

• TNG: "The Price" - Geordi's visor detected the "activity".

lucrovexitrin

Origin unknown. Highly toxic; alters molecular structure when it comes in contact with glass. Exists in a Nitrogen-Oxygen atmosphere.

• TNG: Hollow Pursuits - Ruled out by Wesley Crusher as being the cause of the injectors failing, "Selgnineam and lucrovexitrin are highly toxic."

magneton

Artificially generated by crew. In real life, a quanta of the mangetic dipole moment of a particle. In short, it's a measurement (like inches or liters), not a particle, though the name is used for one in Star Trek.

• Voyager: Cathexis - Used to scan the ship for the disembodied aliens and crew.
• DS9: Hippocratic Oath - Picked up by O'Brien while in the Gamma quadrant, leading to the discovery of a crashed Jem'Hadar ship.

meranium

Artificially generated by aliens. A metal alloy. Its melting point is 2014 degrees Fahrenheit.

• TNG: The Vengeance Factor - The away team fired their phasers into the meranium alloy, causing a smoke screen.

merculite

Artificially generated by aliens. An explosive material used in out-of-date rockets which are no match for Federation weaponry.

• TNG: Suddenly Human - Captain Endar threatened to use them against the Enterprise if Picard did not release his adopted son, Jono. Riker remarked, "shades of Gulliver."
• TNG: Heart of Glory - The Klingons who had stolen the ship "Batris" used merculite rockets to destroy a pursuing Klingon ship.

meson

Naturally occuring. - particle "activity" increased prior to the wormhole reappearing and shifting its position.

• TNG: "The Price" - Geordi's visor detected the "activity".

metaphasic shield

Artificially generated by crew. A subspace technology which involves generating metaphasic properties - results in a low intensity, non-propulsive subspace field similar to a warp field.

• TNG: Suspicions - Developed by Ferengi scientist Dr. Reygar to encapsulate a vessel from the extreme radiation and heat generated by stars. This allowed the Shuttlecraft Justman to enter the star Veytan's corona.
• TNG: Descent Part II - Allowed the Enterprise to enter the corona of a star to save the damaged ship from be destroyed by a Borg ship.

metrion

Artificially generated by aliens. High levels of exposure can infect a humanoid with nitremia, a blood disease that causes its victims' cells to undergo fission.

• Voyager: Jetrel - The Hakonians used a "Metrion Cascade" to conquer Rynax, a Talaxian moon.

muon

Naturally occuring. Short-lived subatomic particle classified as a lepton.

• TNG: "The Next Phase - The power feed to the Romulan vessel was altered by the Romulans to build up in the Enterprise's engine core. This would lead to a catastrophic explosion that would destroy the Enterprise.

nadion

Artificially generated by crew. Berman and Okuda's _TNG_Technical_Manual_ identifies "nadion" particles as the output produced by phasers.

• Voyager: Time and Again; TNG Technical Manual - Janeway closes a "temporal rift" artifically generated by the crew by firing her phaser at it. (Torres identifies the "nadion particle feedback" as the reason why the fissure is closing.)
• TNG: The Mind's Eye - Particle pulse (rapid nadion pulse) gauged by Data and LaForge while verifying origin of Type III phaser rifle, later determined to be Romulan in origin, in Main Engineering.

nanites

Artificially generated by crew. Micro-robots that are bred for specific tasks; able in some instances to reproduce to collectively form a consciousness.

• TNG: - Part of Wesley's science experiment that got loose and eventually developed into an advanced civilization.
• TNG: - Beverly Crusher thought that a destructive breed could be introduced into the Borg collective.

neodilithium

Naturally occuring. A different form of dilithium.

• Voyager: Threshold - It was used to take Tom Paris to warp ten, after which he turned into a giant salamander.

neurogenic field

Naturally occuring. A resident 'field' that forms by a person's brain as part of the thought process. Each person's pattern varies depending on their current thought.

• Voyager: Waking Moments - Aliens formed a "collective unconciousness" by amplifying their neurogenic field and that of the Voyager crew while they slept. Seven of Nine stated that their collective dream was like the Borg consciousness. This was evident to the Doctor in the waking world as every crew member's neurogenic field pattern was identical.

neutrino

Artificially generated by crew. Real particle with no charge, until recently thought to have no mass.

• TNG: The Enemy - Used as a distress beacon.
• TNG: The Game - Wesely has to calibrate a sensing device that uses them. He ignores the device, to flirt with the crewmember that is helping him, at which point she says, "Your neutrinos are drifting."
• DS9: All - "Increased neutrino emissions", always said shortly before something comes through the wormhole.
• TNG: A Matter of Honor - Used to destroy hull-eating space bacteria endangering *Enterprise* and Klingon ship with Riker in crew.
• DS9: Rivals - The owner of the other bar/casino had machines to create good or bad luck. Dax traced all the bad luck happening everywhere on the station by noticing that the ratio between the two types of neutrino spins was not 1:1. The other casino/bar had 98% of all its neutrinos going in one spin, since it had the objects changing the probability.

neutron radiation

Naturally occuring. Neutrons are neutral particles which, along with protons, are constituents of atomic nuclei. Neutrons not contained within a nucleus have a half-life of about 15 minutes.

• Movie: Star Trek VI - The improved Bird-of-Prey gave off a surge of neutron radiation just before it fired a photon torpedo.

neutronium

Naturally occuring. Matter composed of densely-packed neutrons, held together by gravity. The material neutron stars are made of.

• TOS: The Doomsday Machine - The Doomsday Machine's hull was composed of neutronium (which incidentally would have made it far too massive to ever be able to move).
• TOS: Piece of the Action - One of the gansters upon being beamed up to the Enterprise was mad enough to chew it.
• TNG: Relics - The outer hull of the Dyson sphere was made of neutronium.

nitrium

Naturally occuring. A metal used in an important alloy commonly found in starships. The alloy is used for computers, replicators, stabilizers, ventilators, power transfer conduits, dilithium chamber walls, and life support systems.

• TNG: The Cost of Living - Nitrium parasites started feeding on the ship's systems after the Enterprise destoyed their nitrium-rich asteroid. The parasites digested much of the Enterprise's nitrium into slime before Data lured them back onto the asteroids of the Peloris Field.

nucleogenic

Naturally occuring. Dust or other particles which attract water vapor, causing rain or other precipitation to form.

• Voyager: The Caretaker - The Ocampa homeworld's atmosphere didn't have any, which accounted for its desolate condition.

nucleonic particle

Artificially generated by crew. Could refer to the nucleus of atoms?

• Voyager: State of Flux - Used to detect damage to a Kazon ship at long range -- the damage was later found to have been produced when a stolen Federation replicator exploded. Kim says something like "I am reading nucleonic particle fluctuations from their ship."

nucleonic radiation

Naturally occuring/artificially generated by crew. Something found in lifeforms.

• Voyager: The Cloud - Used to make a suture to seal up the punctured nebula creature.

omega

Artificially generated by aliens. In the present, an unstable, artificially generated particle that can serve as a virtually inexhaustable power source. The only drawback is that it reacts violently with subspace, making warp travel in the affected area impossible. Thus, after failed federation experiments, it is ordered that it be destroyed by any starfleet ship that encounters it. Even at the expense of abandoning the prime directive. It is thought that they were once naturally occuring, and may have supplied the energy to initiate the Big Bang. It is also known by the Borg as "Particle 256" and is kind of worshipped by them as "perfection".

• Voyager: The Omega Directive - As Voyager cruises along, the Omega symbol is suddenly displayed on all monitors as the computer detects omega, and tells Janeway that the omega directive is now in effect. Some aliens are messing with omega and their experiment has already destroyed subspace in their local system. Voyager then swoops in to destroy omega, even though it means violating the prime directive. Seven builds a containment unit to temporarily hold omega, and just before it is destroyed, manages to do the impossible, and stabalizes it. Seven later says that as she looked at the stabalized particles, for 3.2 seconds she saw "perfection". Thus, she apparently has had her first religious experience. All logs concerning this matter were encrypted.

omicron

Naturally occuring. Created by Space Nebula Creature, used in "circulatory" system.

• Voyager: The Cloud - Thought to be a substitute for anti-matter for the warp drives, as well as fuel for the replicators.
• DS9: Shadow Play - Emitted by holographic generator. The projections/people were "made of" them.
• Voyager: Nemesis - Chakotay was conducting a survey mission to a planet with a high concentration of omicron particles in the atmosphere when his shuttle came under attack.

particle signature

Naturally occuring. A characteristic unique to each universe.

• TNG: Parallels - Used to prove that Worf was indeed in an alternate universe and find the correct universe to return him to.

pergium

Naturally occuring. Used to regenerate enviromental controls filters.

• Voyager: Fair Trade - Janeway listed "pergium" as one of the needs that Voyager was to barter for. Submitted with other requests to the space station's manager.
• TOS: Devil in the Dark - The crew beams down to a planet that mines pergium for the Federation, to investigate the recent deaths of several pergium miners.

phospholipid fibers

Naturally occuring. In real life, phospholipids are fatty acids with phosphate groups attached. They are small and naturally occur only as liposomes and bilayer sheets, and as monolayer spheres called micelles. But they never form "fibers." Phospholipid bilayers are what cell membranes are mostly made of.

• Voyager: The Cloud - Torres gave this as a possible identification for the blue material found on the hull.

photochronic

Origin unknown.

• TNG: Descent - Used to fuse borg nanocortical fibers.

photonic energy

Naturally occuring. Emitted from the surface of a protostar. A fancy name for light.

• Voyager: Heroes and Demons - The life form that used the holodeck to kidnap crew members was made up of photonic energy.

plasma

Naturally occuring. A very hot, ionized gas. The atoms in plasma have enough kinetic energy that the electrons are torn from their nuclei, ionizing the gas.

• Movie: Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country - Plasma emissions were used to detect a cloaked Klingon Bird of Prey.

polaric ion

Artificially generated by aliens. Used as a power generation system.

• Voyager: Time and Again - Used as a very UNSTABLE power generation system which the Voyager crew has to prevent from exploding.

polaron

Artificially generated by crew. Exists in the real world. In condensed matter physics, a polaron is a type of mobile crystal defect consisting of an electron coupled to an induced lattice polarization.

• Voyager: State of Flux - Used to detect a hidden Kazon ship.
• DS9: The Jem'Hadar - A phased polaron beam was used by the Jem'Hadar to penetrate the shields of the USS Odyssey.
• Voyager: Non Sequitur - Harry Kim scanned the time stream with polarons, thus partially causing a distortion of the space-time continuum.
• Voyager: The Swarm - Used by the swarm to interconnect their ships.
• DS9: Armageddon Game - Four polaron emitters were supplied to Capt. Sisko and his strike force for use while infiltrating Klingon Military Headquarters at Tiger Claw to expose the Dominion changeling believed to be masquerading as a senior official in the Klingon government (i.e., Chancellor Gowron). When activated in concert, the emitters would cover 13000 m3 and would force a changeling to revert to a gelatinous state. A changeling impersonating General Martok was later discovered to be the Dominion operative.
• Voyager: Displaced - Torres detected a buildup of polaron particles a few seconds before a member of the crew disappeared. The particles were caused by the Nyrian translocation device.

positron

Naturally occuring. Real antimatter version of an electron.

• TNG: Encounter at Farpoint through All Good Things - Data's brain is "positronic." The term was originally used in the context of a robot's brain by Isaac Asimov, who (according to his essay, "Cybernetic Organism") used it because the then newly-discovered positron was similar to an electron, but "positronic" sounded more exotic than "electronic."
• DS9: Life Support - "Positronic" brain is used to prolong Vedek Bareil's life.
• TNG: Datalore - The away team mentions that Dr. Soong wanted to make Asimov's dream of a positronic brain a reality. Lore later confirms that this is the nature of his brain and Data's.
• TNG: The Nth Degree - When normal scans prove ineffective against the alien probe, Geordi tells Barclay to "try a positron scan."

preanimate matter

Naturally occuring. Matter that is very, very, very, close to being classified as a form of life, but doesn't quite make the grade.

• Movie: The Wrath of Khan - Chekov said this might be responsible for causing an energy flux in one dyno-scanner.

Promethean quartz

Naturally occuring. Valuable mineral that glows with an internal light.

• DS9: Q-Less - Vash discovered a similar geode resembling Promethean quartz in the Gamma Quadrant and nearly destroyed the station with a graviton field.

protomatter

Origin unknown. An unstable form of matter used by David Marcus as a short cut in the construction of the Genesis Device.

• Movie: The Wrath of Khan; The Search for Spock - Because of the instability of protomatter, the Genesis Planet began to age geologically at an accelerated rate. The resurrected Spock-child also began to age very rapidly, allowing Spock to regain his katra at about the same age as he was when he "died".
• DS9: Second Sight (?) - Was used in the probe to rejuvinate sun or (scan it). Used from USS Lexington.

proton

Naturally occuring. Baryon with a virtually infinite life span. Protons occur in all atomic nuclei.

• Voyager: Death Wish - Voayger was "attacked by protons" when Q(uinn) sent the ship back in time, not long after the Big Bang, to evade pursuing Q. Capt. Janeway suggested emitting negative ions to help repel the protons.

protoplasm

Naturally occuring. Makes up the interior of cells in living matter.

• TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome" - The giant amoeba had an interior consisting of protoplasm.

psilocynine

Naturally occuring. A neurotransmitter involved in telepathy.

• TNG: Eye of the Beholder - Deanna Troi's levels of psilocynine were very high after having an empthically induced hallucination.
• TNG: Dark Page - Lwaxana Troi's levels of psilocynine were very high after her work with the Cairn.

pulse compression wave

Artificially generated by crew. Used to increase the power of a phaser blast.

• DS9: Emissary - Used to increase the power of DS9's phasers against Gul Jassad's fleet.

pyroclastics

Naturally occuring. Rock formed by volcanic activity. A real-life geological term.

• Voyager: Macrocosm - The Doctor beamed down to the Garan mining colony to investgate the virus that had plagued them. In the process of scanning the walls granite and pyroclastics were found.

quadrotriticale

Artificially generated by crew. A "supervariant" of the hybrid grain known as triticale. Triticale is naturally occurring.

• TOS: The Trouble With Tribbles - Kirk and crew were charged with protecting a shipment of quadrotriticale against Klingon sabotage. Matters were made worse when the tribbles found their way into the grain stores.
• DS9: Trials and Tribble-ations= - Same.

quantum filament

Naturally occuring. An enlongated subatomic object, hundreds of meters long, but possessing almost no mass.

• TNG: Disaster - Caused damage to the ship. Troi asked O'Brien if a quantum filament was a kind of cosmic string; O'Brien said it was something completely different.

retinox

Artificially generated by crew. Used to improve eyesight.

• Movie: The Wrath of Khan - In the beginning of the movie, McCoy gives Kirk a set of bifocals for his birthday since Kirk is allergic to retinox 5.

riboviroxicnucleic acid

Naturally occuring. Like DNA, except the number of riboviroxicnucleic acid structures increase as the biological organism ages. In other words, without these structures, we wouldn't be able to "grow up."

• TNG: Rascals - Beverly noticed that several riboviroxicnucleic acid structures were missing in Picard, Ro, Guinan, and Keiko. Their original structures were taken from past physical exams and loaded into the Transporter Buffer to allow the four to regain their "adult" age.

ritalin

Naturally occuring. A mineral.

• TOS: Requiem for Methesulah - The crew needed it to combat an epidemic on another planet.

roginium

Naturally occuring. Hardest substance known to science.

• TOS: Balance of Terror - Found in the debris of Earth Outpost 4, after it was destroyed by the Romulans.

rubindium

Origin unknown. A nontoxic crystalline substance.

• TOS: Patterns Of Force - Rubindium crystals are component elements of starfleet subcutaneous transponders. Kirk and Spock have these monitoring devices inserted into them, but upon capture they use the crystals to generate a primitive laser.

salskinum

Origin unknown. Can alter molecular structure when it comes into contact with glass and exist in a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere.-

• TNG: Hollow Pursuits - Salskinum was not the particle that caused the malfunctions aboard the enterprise. LaForge said: "...yeah, we'd all be dead by now. That leaves Salskinum and Invidium"

sarium

Origin unknown. Can store large amounts of energy.

• TNG: In Theory - Sarium was mentioned as being vital to the engines of Federation shuttlecraft.

Scalosian water

Naturally occuring. Causes metabolic acceleration, such that anyone who drinks it begins moving extremely quickly.

• TOS: Wink of an Eye - Deela placed the Scalosian water in Kirk's coffee, so as to accelerate him to her "level."

selanogen

Naturally occuring. A substance, as carbon is, upon which a form of life is based.

• TNG: Schisms - Trans-dimensional creatures who were abducting members of the crew for medical experimentation were thought by Commander Data to be "selanogen based" and had to create "pockets" in our universe upon which to survive for short periods of time. These pockets can be detected by their emissions of tetryon particles.

selgnineam

Origin unknown. Highly toxic; can alter molecular structure when it comes in contact with glass and exists in a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. (Try spelling it backwards! This was confirmed by one of the writers at a con.)

• TNG: Hollow Pursuits - It was ruled out as the reason that the injectors were locked. LaForge said, "... yeah, we'd all be dead by now. That leaves Salskinum and Invidium."

serotonin

Naturally occuring. A neurotransmitter. In real life, helps the human brain maintain mental equilibrium.

• Voyager: The Gift - An increased level of serotonin in Kes' brain leads to her psychokinetic abilities.

soliton wave

In real life, a wave whose energy doesn't diminish. (More complicated than that, but that's the basic idea.) In Star Trek, an artificially generated subspace effect capable of propelling vessels at warp speeds.

• TNG: New Ground - Enterprise participates in a test of their use as a propulsion system.

sorium

Origin unknown. An explosive compound.

• DS9: The Nagus - Used in Ferengi locator bomb intended to kill Quark.

sporocystain

Naturally occuring. The Caretaker and his race were sporocystain based lifeforms.

• Voyager: Cold Fire - Janeway and the crew tracked down the Caretaker's mate by detecting the sporocystain energy matrix the mate was composed of.

static warp bubble

Artificially generated by crew. An anomaly which creates a new universe whose nature can be affected by the individual trapped inside.

• TNG: Remember Me - Beverly was stuck in one and Wesley and the Traveler had to get her out.

steelplast

Artificially generated by aliens. A construction material.

• TNG: Too Short a Season - In the tunnels of Mordan IV, the away team ran into a dead end, where a tunnel used to be. Geordi's visor indicated the sealent as steelplast, which was recently installed.

styrolite

Artificially generated by crew. A non-opaque particle used in packaging. It is biologically sterile and can be used to package potentionaly biologically hazardous substances.

• TNG: Unnatural Selection - To contain a person in suspended animation for medical examination without threat of contagion.

synthehol

Artificially generated by aliens. An alcohol substitute invented by the Ferengi that permits one to enjoy the intoxicating effects of alcoholic beverages without the deleterious effects.

• TNG: Relics - Mr. Scott found syntheholic scotch a poor substitute for the real thing.

tachyon

Artificially generated by crew. A FTL (or subspace) particle. (Postulated by some real physics theories.)

• TNG: Redemption, Part II - To detect cloaked romulan ships.
• TNG: All Good Things - An "inverse tachyon beam" was used to probe a space-time anomaly, and ultimately resulted in its creation.
• TNG: Face of the Enemy - When told by a disguised Troi to cross the Neutral Zone, Commander Toreth opposed by speculating that the Federation may have set up a tachyon net (similar to the one used in Redemption, Part II) to detect Romulan ships crossing the neutral zone.
• DS9: Explorers - Naturally occurring eddies of them propelled Sisko's Bajoran sailing ship into warp.

talgonite

Artificially generated by aliens. A ceramic substance.

• TNG: The Inner Light - Used in the construction of the Kataan probe.

Tantalus field

Artificially generated by aliens. Causes disruption of matter, like a phaser, but can be formed at a distance. In Greek mythology, Tantalus was a king who served the flesh of his son to the gods; he was punished with eternal thirst and hunger.

• TOS: Mirror, Mirror - The anti-Kirk had a Tantalus field generator in his quarters, and used it to eliminate his rivals without revealing that he was behind their disappearance.

tellerium

Origin unknown. Crystal used to stabilise the harmonic reactions inside the dilithium chamber of Voyager's matter/antimatter power reactor.

• Voyager: Resistance - Janeway is wounded while Tuvok and Torres are taken prisioners by the Mokra, a tyranic military regime, during a desperate expedition to find tellerium.

temporal wake

Artificially generated by aliens. Side effect of time travel; can cause nearby objects to shift in time along with the ship that's generating a temporal distortion. Objects in a temporal wake exist outside a linear timeline.

• Movie: First Contact - The Enterprise rode the Borg sphere's temporal wake into the past to keep them from destroying Earth's future. The wake also prevented the Enterprise from ceasing to exist due to the Borg's attack on the Phoenix.

terminium

Origin unknown. A metal alloy.

• Movie: The Search for Spock - Used in casing of photon torpedoes.

terracon

Artificially generated by aliens. Nature unknown.

• TNG: Gambit - Whilst searching through the stolen artifacts, Captain Picard used the decay profile of terracon particles in the pieces to search for the Stone of Gol.

terrion

Artificially generated by aliens.

• TNG: Tapestry - A compressed terrion beam "mortally" wounded Picard at the beginning of the episode.

tetralubisol

Origin unknown. Highly volatile lubricant used on starships.

• TOS: The Concience of the King - Lenore Karidian attempted to kill Kevin Riley by poisoning his milk with tetralubisol.

tetryon

Artificially generated by aliens. Subspace particle; shouldn't be found in normal space. (Possibly spelled "tetrion;" I'm using the spelling Tim Lynch used in his synopses.)

• TNG: Schisms - Evidence of the alien abductions.
• DS9: Blood Oath - Klingon disruptor banks modulated to emmit tetryon particles and deacivate the Albino's phasers
• DS9: Visionary - Sisko told the Romulan delegation that they had traced the tetryon emissions from an orbiting Warbird poised to attack the station.
• DS9: The Die is Cast - Commander Eddington sabotaged the tetryon compositor in the Defiant's cloaking device.
• Voyager: Caretaker - A coherent tetryon beam was used by the Caretaker to scan Voyager.
• TNG: Suspicions - Jo'Brill had been exposed to a tetryon field just before his death in the metaphasic shielded shuttle.

thalium

Naturally occuring. Thalium compound is found in rocks. It interferes with Federation sensors.

• TNG: Who Watches the Watchers - The Enterprises sensor were unable to locate Palmer, one of the scientists that was assigned to the Mintaka III duckblind. As a result of his falling out of the duckblind due to an explosion, he could not be found. Data speculated this could be due to thalium compound in the surrounding rock face.

thoron

Naturally occuring. Radioactive isotope by-product from the decay of thorium. Thorium is also known as radon-220.

• DS9: If Wishes Were Horses - Elevated thoron emissions accompanied the appearance of aliens in the Denorios Belt.
• DS9: The Emissary - A thoron field was used as a shield against Cardassian sensors by the crew of DS9 to hide the true strength of the station.

titanium

Naturally occuring. Naturally ocurring element, present in limited quantities on Earth. Used in alloys to strengthen metal and in the construction of the "Blackbird" spyplane.

• Movie: First Contact - Picard told Lily Sloane that the Enterprise-E was constructed primarily of titanium. Lily responded with astonishment, claiming that it had taken her months just to gather together enough titanium for a four-metre square cockpit for Zefram Cochrane's Warp Drive test ship, the Phoenix.

total conversion ray

Artificially generated by aliens. When aimed at a distant point, produces an explosion comparable to a nuclear blast.

• TAS: - Part of a spy device that Sulu and party recovered in the animated series.

transparent aluminum

Artificially generated by crew. Just what the name implies, an invisible metal.

• Movie: The Voyage Home - Scotty showed a scientist how to make it, in exchange for a supply of plexiglas to build a whale tank.

trianium

Artificially generated by aliens. Used in fusion-based power sources.

• Voyager: The '37s - Kim and Chakotay located the alien stasis chamber by tracking down trianium readings.

triceron

Origin unknown. An explosive compound.

• TNG: Reunion - Used in the bomb that exploded during the Sonchi ceremony.

tricobalt

Origin unknown. Presumably something to do with three cobalt atoms.

• Voyager: Caretaker - A tricobalt weapon was used to destroy the Caretaker's array to prevent the Kazon from getting their hands on it.
• TOS: A Taste of Armageddon - While the Enterprise was in orbit it was classified destroyed by a tricobalt satellite explosion in the war which is carried on by computers between Eminiar 7 and Vendecar.

tricyanate

Naturally occuring. A toxic, inorganic substance which forms pink crystals. They are difficult and expensive to synthesize. Decontamination of tricyanate in a water supply requires the highly volatile hytritium.

• TNG: The Most Toys - Synthesised tricyanate crystals were used to poison the water supply at a Federation colony so that Lt. Cmdr. Data could be kidnapped by Kivas Fajo to add him to his collection of unique items.

trigenic vapor

Naturally occuring. Contains high levels of proteins and amino acids. It is a vital source of nutrition for specific alien species. At high levels, can cause severe humanoid skin irritation.

• Voyager: Parturition - An M class planet named "Planet Hell", whose atmosphere contains high levels of this gas, was encountered by Voyager in their search to replenish their food supplies.

trilithium

Artificially generated by aliens. An advanced form of dilithium?

• Movie: ST:Generations - Used to collapse a star by dampening the energies in its core.
• TNG: Starship Mine - Terrorists attempted to steal a canister of trilithium resin to make a weapon.
• Voyager: The Chute - Paris and Kim are accused of planting a trilithium bomb in a crowded market. In fact, the bomb was placed by a brother and sister duo belonging to the Open Sky terrorist group.

trillium 323

Naturally occuring. A mineral substance.

• TNG: The Price - Used as a bargaining tool in the Chrysalian bid for the Bazaran Wormhole.

trimagnesite

Naturally occuring. A substance that reacts with trevium to produce non-visible, ultra violet radiation.

• TOS: Operation -- Annihilate! - Satellites containing trimagnesite and tritium were placed in orbit over the planet Deneva to destroy creatures that had taken over the bodies of the inhabitants. The ultra-violet radiation that they produced was found to be sufficient only after Spock was blinded by the full spectrum radiation that McCoy was testing. Of course, Vulcans have an extra set of eyelids.

trinimbic turbulence

Naturally occuring. An atmosphereic phenomenon. Disruptive to transporter technology, Federation targeting systems and apparently too "turbulent" for a shuttle. In real life, -nimbus is a meteorological suffix indicating that a cloud produces rain.

• Voyager: The '37s - Prevents beaming to site of in-stasis humans; prevents use of shuttles, so Janeway decides to land Voyager instead. Prevents Voyager from assisting in a small-arms battle by interfering with the targeting systems.

triolic wave

Artificially generated by aliens. Byproduct of little used Energy production method. Harmful to most life.

• TNG: Times Arrow Pt.1 - Cave walls subjected to triolic waves, eventually pointing to inhabitants of Planet Davidia II.

triox

Artificially generated by crew. Concentrated oxygen compound.

• TOS: Amok Time - Dr. McCoy said he was going to give Kirk a shot of triox compound to make up for the low level of oxygen in Vulcan's atmosphere.

tritanium

Origin unknown. Extremely hard substance used in construction of starship hulls. 21.4 times as hard as diamond.

• TNG: Rascals - La Forge and O'Brien determine that "something" caused the tritanium to crumble in their hands while they examined the wreckage of the shuttle from which Picard and fellow shuttlers emerge as children.
• TNG: The Arsenal of Freedom - Found on Minos, a planet of former armaments dealers throughout the galaxy, by Cmdr. Data and Lt. Yar as a heap of scrap metal amidst thick foliage on the ground.
• TOS: Obsession - Kirk, Spock, and a security team (most of which ends up dead, natch) find a large deposit of it. Spock phasers off a sample, since it is too hard to cut with tools.

tritium

Naturally occuring. A radioactive isotope of hydrogen with atoms of three times the mass of ordinary light hydrogen atoms

• TOS: Operation -- Annihilate! - (See trimagnesite.)
• DS9: Q-Less - Used by Dax and O'Brien to trace the origins of the gravimetric disturbances.

tryptamine

Naturally occuring. Biological result of exposure to a temporal disturbance - indicated by elevated levels in the brain.

• TNG: All Good Things - Used by Dr. Crusher to determine whether Picard had actually been leaving the Enterprise as he claimed.

ultritium

Origin unknown. Chemical explosive almost undetectable by transporter scanners.

• TNG: Manhunt - Used by the Antidean delegates in an attempted assassination of everyone at the Pacifica Conference of 2365.
• TNG: The Enemy - Used by Romulans aboard the ship Pi to self destruct at Galorndon Core.
• DS9: A Time to Stand - Sisko and Company use 90 kilograms of Ultritium concealed in empty containers to destroy a vital ketracel white depot deep in Cardassian Space.

venderite

Naturally occuring. An extremely valuable element or mineral to the Ferengi.

• TNG: Rascals - Rogue Ferengi capture a Science team and the USS Enterprise crew to use them as slave laborers to mine for venderite.

verdion

Naturally occuring. Generated in the cores or surfaces of White Dwarfs. I really wonder if the writers even know what a white dwarf is...

• TNG: Emergence - Made Living Organisms. As mentioned earlier was needed for the Enterprise to grow.
• TNG: The Pegasus - They used a wash of Vertion particles to hide the Pegasus from a Romulan ship.

veridium

Artificially generated by crew. Can be detected at great distances, except through a magnetic shield.

• Movie: The Undiscovered Country - Spock places a veridium patch on Kirk's shoulder so the Enterprise can find them upon emergence from the magnetic shield.

verteron

Artificially generated by aliens. Somehow damaging to sub-space equipment (not the same as 'vertion')

• TNG: Force of Nature - A generator of these, disguised as a bouy, is used by environmentalists to incapacitate several ships, including the Enterprise.
• DS9: Playing God - Threatened to destroy the proto-universe.
• Voyager: Eye of the Needle - Captain Janeway pointed out that there were "...verteron emanations, tunneling secondary particles. It certainly looks like a wormhole..."
• DS9: In The Hands of the Prophets - Keiko was explaining to her class at the beginning of the episode that this is what the Bajoran wormhole is made out of before Vedek Winn came in to complain about the absence of "creationist" theory in the classroom.

victurium alloy

Artificially generated by crew. A very dense metal alloy.

• TNG: Hero Worship - Large amounts of it blocked the transporter.

virtual

Naturally occuring.

• TNG: The Loss - Caught the Enterprise in their drift towards a "cosmic string". Deprived Counseler Troi of her empathic abilities.

warp particle

Artificially generated by crew. Emitted by warp engines.

• Voyager: Parallax - Evidence of the Voyager's path in the singularity.

warp shell

Artificially generated by crew. A field generated by the Enterprise's engines to induce warp travel.

• TNG: All Good Things - Picard used static warp shells to seal the temporal rifts in the three time instances.

wormholes

Naturally occuring. A subspace bridge or tunnel between two points in "normal" time and space. Most wormholes are extremely unstable and their end points fluctulate widely across time and space. An improperly balanced warp drive system can create an artifical wormhole that can pose a serious danger to the ship and its crew.

• DS9 - The only known stable wormhole, leading to the Gamma Quadrant, is right next to the station, lending DS9 its strategic importance to the Federation.
• TNG: The Price - The Enterprise-D encountered one and their mission was to study it.
• Movie: The Motion Picture - The Enterprise gets caught in a wormhole due to an warp engine imbalance.

yominium sulfide

Origin unknown. The name is derived from "Nimoy" spelled backwards.

• Movie: The Voyage Home - Spock recalls the chemical formula for yominium sulfide [K4Ym3(SO73Es2)] during a memory test during his re-education of Vulcan. The formula is inconsistent with that of a sulfide.

Z particle

Artificially generated by aliens; also a real type of particle. Can mess up sensor and/or visual records. In real life: today's understanding puts particles into two basic categories, matter and exchange particles. Exchange particles are thrown kind of like frisbees between matter particles as the generators of the forces. Photons mediate the electromagnetic force, gluons mediate the strong force, the graviton is proposed (not observed) to mediate the gravitational force. The weak force is mediated by the W+, W-, and Z0 particles.

• TNG: Devil's Due - Scientist on Ventax II station detected Z-particles coming from Ardra's ship.
• TNG: Identity Crisis - LaForge initiated a scan for "Z-Particle emissions" on the video recording of the Tarchannen III mission.

zenite

Naturally occuring. A raw mineral from which a potent compound is derived by the Federation for use in stopping botanical plagues.

• TOS: Cloud Minders - Zenite in its naturally found state causes temporary mental impairment when its dust is breathed. Such an effect had profound social implications in separating the Troglite miners from the Stratus city dwellers, an issue which the crew of the Enterprise had to deal with.

Particle name:  

Series:         TOSTASTNGDS9VoyagerMovie

Episode:        

Origin:         Naturally occuringArtificially generated by crewArtificially generated by aliensOrigin unknown

Nature of particle:


How used in episode:

There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, berkelium,
and also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
and argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium
and chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium
These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard,
There may be many others but they haven't been discovered.
- Tom Lehrer, "The Elements" (Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan)

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