View source for TechMemo:Cloaking Device:Phase Cloak

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Star Fleet Engineering<br>
Technical Memorandum<br>
Stardate: 90314 (14 March 1997)<br>
Editted: 130807 (7 AAugust 2001)

RE: Phase Cloaks
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Phase cloaks are the ultimate in stealth technology.  They provide a very low chance of detection and zero chance of being fired upon.

Phase cloaks work by changing the frequency of the quarks and gluons in all matter within there sphere of influence.  This causes the matter to cease interacting with any matter not on the same phase.

The consequences of this are that the phased ship may pass through normal (unphased) matter, any weapons fire directed against the ship will pass through the ship causing no damage.  It also means that the normal energy eminating from the ship not be detectable by unphased ships.  However the sub-space distortions caused by warp drives may be detected by unphased ships but at a reduced chance.

This type of cloak, if it were ever to be developed, could be fitted to any size ship.  It requires no extra shielding, just phase field emitters positioned at strategic points throughout the ship.

By the nature of this technology, it is fundamentally impossible for a phased ship to fire at a ship out of phase with itself, that is any ship not phased with exactly the same phase modulation as itself.  Thus, while the ship is effectively immune to attack, it cannot in turn attack.  Likewise, since the ship and all of its contents are phased, it is impossible to deploy a shuttlecraft of to use transporters while the ship is phased.  To do so would mean the death of all involved since they would be unable to maintain phase lock and would drift out of phase with both the ship and the rest of the universe.

This type of cloaking device was developed by the United Federation of Planets in violation of treaty with the Romulan Star Empire.  The prototype was never perfected and operation was extremely dangerous and unreliable.

It is believed that the advanced alien races of the Sidhe Imperium make wide use of phase cloaking technology, although contact with the Imperium has been very limited.

Note: Adapted from text written by Paul Gilbertson