BaldStar claims that the Romulan plasma weapon in "Balance of Terror"
'maneuvered' to follow the Enterprise after it was fired

I claim Rogaine jockey is purposely misrepresenting the scene, and that the
pulsating plasma ball is on a straight course.

When we first see the plasma weapon fired, we can clearly see it pulsating;
growing bigger and then smaller as it travels:

http://h4h.com/louis/baldy1.mpv

Now, when the plasma weapon is fired at the Enterprise, Kirk orders
emergency warp. We see the ship firing, then come back to a scene asking if
they have achieved emergency warp. Sulu answers, and then we see another
shot of the plasma ball:

http://h4h.com/louis/baldy2.mpv

Now, BaldStar claims this ball MANEUVERED.

Even though, the ship that fired it allegedly can't even achieve warp.

Not only that, but I don't believe we've ever seen an energy weapon home in on a target.

Now, wouldn't it make
MORE sense that, when Kirk orders emergency warp, the Enterprise clearly
didn't have time to spin around yet, (warp pivot, which is done in "Elaan of
Troyus")

but as the stars show, the ship IS traveling "backward" from the
Romulan ship? Then when we switch back to Kirk, then back to the viewscreen,
wouldn't it make MORE sense that, by that time, Sulu has had time for the
warp pivot, and the ship is pointed AWAY from the plasma ball, and in fact,
we are seeing the ball on ANOTHER external camera?

Note that the ball is SMALLER in the second scene, lending weight to the above theory. Unless BaldStar wants us to believe that the plasma ball was courteous enough to slow down for few seconds...

Well, there was that time in the Spock thread where Poe kept calling him Fuckface.

I claim Rogaine jockey is purposely misrepresenting the scene, and that the pulsating plasma ball is on a straight course.

Man, that "Darth Mullet" thing really got to you.

It was fired from above the plane of the ship.

Even though, the ship that fired it allegedly can't even achieve warp.
Man, there's a bullshit story I never get tired of hearing. No, wait, I did get tired of it long ago.

Not only that, but I don't believe we've ever seen an energy weapon home in on a target.
V'ger fired some,

and the Defiant's phaser pulses were once seen to turn along with the ship.

but as the stars show, the ship IS traveling "backward" from the
Romulan ship? Then when we switch back to Kirk, then back to the viewscreen,
wouldn't it make MORE sense that, by that time, Sulu has had time for the
warp pivot, and the ship is pointed AWAY from the plasma ball, and in fact,
we are seeing the ball on ANOTHER external camera?

No, it wouldn't. We see the stars moving toward the ship, then Kirk learns the Romulans are decloaking. Kirk guesses their move, orders "full astern, emergency warp speed" (your second video begins there), and we see the Romulan ship fire. When the Romulans fire, the stars are already moving in reverse, and there are no further turning orders.

Those reversing stars are heading toward a point below the plasma weapon. By the next viewscreen shot, they are headed toward a point behind the plasma weapon.

Geez... whatever crackwhore format you put that movie in sucks. I can't get anything but Windows junk to open it, so I can't go counting pixels.

But, yes, it does appear to be about ten percent smaller... and in the center, instead of the upper left of the screen where it started out. Oh, right, I forgot that makes your theory look stupid. Sorry.

The idea that you're missing isn't that the plasma weapon slowed... the Enterprise was speeding up.

The most you can claim out of the smaller plasma weapon was that the magnification on the screen changed.

But, changing magnification, or even entire cameras, isn't going to change the direction of the ship's travel, or the direction of travel of the plasma weapon.

There is no evidence that the ship changed direction of travel (well, except for reversing), so the plasma ball must have.

Are you still going to argue your stupid point, or face the facts?

*Question Dark Mullet because I agree with Darkstar that picture is distirbed
How is being bald a bad thing agian?

Did I say it was a bad thing? I'm merely responding in kind to BaldStar. As you can see, someone so obsessed with my long hair must be feeling quite inadequate with his Male Pattern Baldness.

Once again, nope. Like every other argument of yours that has been shot down in flames here and elsewhere, the hair to the left isn't a "mullet". The haircut I CURRENTLY have would definitely be considered a mullet, but that one is just long hair. I simply notice your obsession with my hair for what it is- envy to the "follicly challenged".

It was fired from direct center.

Probably because its idiocy is immediately canceled. Not only do you assume incorrectly that it was "pointing down", but that the weapon is "fixed" and can't fire off-center. Rather, you stick to the more ludicrous assumption that the plasma ball adjusted its course for no reason against a target that wasn't maneuvering.

Ah yes, another Trekkie that insists that Scotty MUST be wrong when he said the ship's power was "simple impulse".

V'ger's weapons never adjusted course after being fired. Didn't need to since not one of its targets even tried to evade.

Can you be any more vague?

Wrong once again. I've never disputed it.
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=warp+ ... com&rnum=2
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=warp+ ... com&rnum=3

This doesn't mean they were already turned around. We've seen the speed of a "warp pivot", and its far from immediate.

Yup, when the Enterprise has already completed its turn.

You're projecting again, since it fully supports my theory-- new camera angle.

No shit. Really? Your theory is the one that allows us idiotic assumptions like the plasma ball can course correct (for no reason)

and therefore slow down (for no reason).

My theory fits all the facts, without making up a theory so idiotic that even a spacebattles.com resident would laugh at it.

Incorrect. Anytime there is a screen magnification change, Kirk orders it. He didn't.

It will if the object is being shot from a different perspective.

Yes, that the most logical explanation.

Ok, I admit it. The fact is, you ARE an idiot.

*Question Dark Mullet because I agree with Darkstar that picture is distirbed
How is being bald a bad thing agian?
Besides a lack of heat retition in the Winter which can be solved by any numbers of meansures(Hats, Cats, Hoods,Hairpieces) there are no real disadvantages
In the summer you would stay cooler do to lack of heat retition
Prehaps you could even glue a heatsink where your hair would have been to increase heat-disperson.
Lack of mating does not seem to be a problem because Bald men producde more teststeron so then what are the disadvatanges of being Bald
And if you can't think of anything don't you need a better insult than Baldstar?
Its almost a complement

[i]Not only do you assume incorrectly that it was "pointing down", but that the weapon is "fixed" and can't fire off-center. Rather, you stick to the more ludicrous assumption that the plasma ball adjusted its course for no reason against a target that wasn't maneuvering.
Your hair-care products have gone to your brain.

Funny that the moving blip we see of the Enterprise which is moving at maximum warp shows that the trip just to get to the Earth Outposts would have taken several lifetimes in a sublight vessel [/q]
So you have canon proof that it DIDN'T take them a long time to get there? Hey, *I* didn't write this shit...

Strawman. I never claimed that.

Again, for those like DarkBradshaw that can't read:

V'ger's weapons never adjusted course after being fired.

Nope. You're just wrong, once again. The pulse clearly hit the ship, there was no "turn"

Didn't claim it wasn't.


Kirk ordered "full astern", pretty much like he did in Elaan of Troyus. Unless you want to say the Enterprise was flying sideways relative to the plasma ball..

Concession Accepted. Kirk NEVER ordered the ship "into reverse".

ROTF!! "there was not even time for a warp pivot"

Incorrect. A warp pivot would involve all the maneuvering you're tal;king about.

It was fired from direct center.

And fired "down" toward it. Concession Accepted.

Wasn't the same class of ship, asswipe. The one in "Balance Of Terror" was a prototype with an uber-plasma weapon, which we haven't seen since.

Spock: "Still no answer from Outpost Two, Captain, and now number Three has gone silent."
Kirk: "Maintain course for Outpost Four..."

Within about two minutes of this conversation, Outpost Four comes under attack.

Look here: http://www.trek5.com/caps/tos/09_BOT/pa ... OT_030.htm

It was to take the Enterprise about seven minutes to traverse the distance to Outpost Four at maximum warp speed, from the Enterprise position seen in the screenshot. From the front of the E's blip to the bottom left corner of Outpost Four's icon is 201 pixels. From the lower right corner of Outpost Four's icon to the Romulan side of the Neutral Zone is 40.5 pixels, and 14 pixels to the Federation side of the zone. From the uppermost point of the Outpost Three icon to the lower left corner of the Outpost Four icon is 14 pixels. These are conservative figures, but will do to prove the point:

The Enterprise travelling at maximum warp (presumably 8, though we've seen them at 9 for short periods in "Enterprise Incident") would have been moving at ~28 pixels per minute. The exact time between Spock reporting that Outpost Three had gone silent and his report that Outpost Four had reported being under attack was 1 minute, 12 seconds. So, a minimum of 1.2 minutes elapsed, during which time the Romulan ship would have traveled a minimum distance of 14 pixels, for a speed of 11.67 pixels per minute, or 41% of the Enterprise's maximum warp speed.

After the destruction of Outpost Four, the Romulan ship, low on fuel (as stated repeatedly by the Romulan crew and commander), then tried to make its way home. It turned to 111 mark 14, and 7.5 minutes later in the episode the Enterprise was "less than an hour" from entering the Neutral Zone. Assuming one hour exactly for the Romulan ship to go from Outpost Four to the Neutral Zone, this works out to .23 pixels per minute, or .008 of the maximum warp speed of the Enterprise.

Now, all we need is the maximum warp speed of the Enterprise. I am choosing to disregard Spock's figure of 11 hours to travel 990.7 light years in "That Which Survives"[TOS], suggesting 90 ly/hr, or 788,400 times lightspeed, and I'll also discount "Bread and Circuses"[TOS], which has the Enterprise cross .2 light years in about a minute, suggesting a speed of 107,000c.

The Kelvan-enhanced Enterprise was travelling at warp 11 to the Andromeda galaxy in "By Any Other Name", and would take 300 years to reach it. The Andromeda galaxy is at least 2,500,000 light years away, giving Warp 11 a rough speed of 8333c. (By the way, the Enterprise-D would have taken 300 years to travel 2.7 million light years in 'WNOHGB'.) If warp eight is even 25% of that figure, it still works out to over 2000c. So, if the Romulan ship was moving at .008 of the Enterprise maximum, it would still be travelling at a speed of 16c to the Neutral Zone, after having made its trip to attack Outpost Four at a speed of at least 850c.



Ah, yes, so you didn't. That is the usual stupid claim made alongside the argument that the Bird of Prey had no warp drive, though, and knowing your fondness for making stupid claims, I'm sure it will be one of yours soon.



Hmm... pitching and yawing during powered flight does not affect a ship's trajectory? How odd.



Poe, stop lying. The fourth pulse is fired below and to the right of the JH ship, yet manages to hit it dead on. Further, where is the spray of phaser pulses that should still be traveling along the Defiant's old directions? Oh, right, yes, that's funny, they are still in front of the ship, even though the ship changed direction.



So they can turn and pivot and even go into reverse, but not maneuver? WTF?



You're lying again. Kirk never ordered full astern in Elaan of Troyius, and certainly not in relation to the warp pivot maneuver.

You're the one claiming that at some point the Enterprise's side was to the plasma ball.



Full astern at emergency warp speed isn't reverse?



Hey, you're the one that said they were far from instantaneous. Don't laugh at your own ideas, it makes you look even dumber.



Ah, of course! This is why you have to argue the blatantly stupid idea that the Romulan ship was directly in front of the Enterprise when it fired! Your foolish belief requires a warp pivot, a simple 180 degree turn, but that would still put the Enterprise out of the way of the plasma weapon, so you must argue that the weapon was in just the right spot.

Of course, it wasn't, but I see now where your lies come from.

More bullshit without proof. A pulsating weapon is not a maneuvering one. Concession Accepted.

And, again, as with the other anti-me thread you started, it seems you're no longer willing to discuss the issue.

Again, neither one of us is going to make the other budge, obviously, since I'm not willing to ignore the canon facts of the episode, and you're not willing to accept them. I could say "Concession accepted" as a result, but I think the best thing would be to simply agree that we disagree.

No... what will happen is that you will refuse canon facts as usual and just claim they support you and claim victory when infact the forum is laughing it's ass off at your stupidity and stubborness.