Tetryon

A tetryon is a subatomic particle that can only exist in subspace environments. Tetryon radiation is a bombardment of these particles. Since these particles are a property of subspace, they become highly energetic and unstable when they are extruded into normal space, which can occur by both natural and artificial means. Tetryons have a random momentum, and thus cannot be tracked by sensors.

Encounters

Tetryon fields surrounding a corridor of space

• Intense tetryon fields pose a hazard to spacecraft.

• Bombardment with tetryons can render directed-energy weapons inoperative.

• In 2370, Odo theorized that a weapon used to shoot Quark was tetryon-based, to avoid activating the weapon-detection scanners on the Promenade of Deep Space 9.
  Doctor Bashir noted that this was consistent with Quark's injuries.

• In 2372, tetryon pulse echoes were used to navigate the highly unstable atmosphere of a gas giant.
  However, course modifications were required after each pulse in order to avoid detection.

• USS Voyager traveled through a region of heavy tetryon radiation. Lieutenant Tuvok enhanced the ship's shields to compensate.

• The atmosphere inside a Borg cube contains tetryon particles.

• In 2377, Voyager struck a subspace mine, which caused the ship to be flooded with tetryon radiation. Most of the crew suffered radiation poisoning as a result.

Applications

• Tetryon compositor
• Tetryon reactor
• Tetryon power cell