Thalaron radiation
Thalaron radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation in the tertiary EM band, once considered merely theoretical by Federation scientists.
- Research on thalaron was banned by the Federation sometime prior to 2379, due to its biogenic properties.
Thalaron radiation consumes organic material at the subatomic level. Whereas gamma radiation merely causes the mutation of an organism's genes, thalaron radiation causes instant and complete necrosis in every cell it irradiates. * Following exposure, the organism in question degenerates into an ash-like material, completely devoid of life.
- Even a minuscule amount of thalaron radiation could kill every living being aboard a starship in a matter of seconds.
- Due to its massive destructive potential, thalaron radiation is considered to be a biogenic weapon.
- Thalaron is generated and emitted through a cascading biogenic pulse.
In 2408, the Romulans developed a new starship, the Nightowl, which featured both a phase cloak and a thalaron radiation weapon. Fearing what such a ship could do in the hands of the then-corrupt Romulan military and government, the crew of the Nightowl defected to the Federation, rendezvousing with the USS Ticonderoga. When Romulan warbirds arrived to prevent the defection, the Nightowl fought alongside the Ticonderoga, using its thalaron radiation weapon to disable one of the warbirds.
- (See The Hunt for Nightowl.)
