From: ajm@seqp4.sequoia.com (A.J.Madison)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.tech
Subject: Re: Questions about cloaking
Summary: The old cloaking device question, again
Date: 9 Nov 92 17:26:31 GMT
Organization: Sequoia Systems Inc., Marlboro, Mass.

In article <1992Nov8.060814.25807@umr.edu>, bmaddox@cs.umr.edu (Brian Maddox) writes:
>    Sorry if this has been brought up before but I've been killing all refs to
> RASCALS so I could watch an episode unspoiled.
>    I was wondering about the cloaking devices.  I seems to me that there should
> be some way to detect a cloaked vessle.  I seem to remember that in an earlier
> episode that there was some sort of visual distorsion caused by the cloaking 
> device.  Shouldn't there also be other types of distorsions (gravitational,
> subspace, ect.)?  In ST VI, they equipped a photon torpedo to detect the 
> output of the cloaked vessle's engines.  This seems to imply that the sensors
> of ST:TNG time should be able to detect a cloaked vessle somehow.  Perhaps this
> is why the Federation doesn't bother to cloak its ships.  Why worry about 
> hiding yourself when you can detect vessles that are cloaked?  
>    Again, I apologize if this has already been brought up.

The answer to your question(s) is in the RAST group of responses, answer 1.  
Since you may be unfamiliar to the actual events in the cited sources, I'll
repeat them briefly here:
ST:tSfS.  Kirk & Sulu just watched the view screen carefully.  They noticed
something they called a "Power Flux" or something like that.  Watching where
the power flux went allowed them to track the Klingon Bird of Prey, it was
accurate enough that Sulu could score a direct hit with a Photorp when the
BOP decloaked.

TNG Redemption II: Geordi devised a method where a tachyon emitter and
receiver combination could detect any solid object passing between the source
and detector.  I would guess its sensitive enough to tell the difference
between a Romulan Warbird and an asteroid.  Data used photorps to energize a
region of space flooded with tachyon particles to indicate the presence of
passing ships.  This is either like shooting a flare into a darkened space,
or like watching dust swirl in sunlight when something sweeps through the
air.

                   ----------------------

I have more or less taken it upon myself to champion the "Why the Federation
does not use the Cloaking Device" topic.  Here is the generalized view on the
Federation/Starfleet's Lack of use of the Cloaking Device.

Here is the TechFandom Response:

(excuse the paraphrase, i'm on the less filling side of this debate, so some
might object to my choice of words for the explanations in this category)

The Federation does not use the Romulan Cloaking device because:

a) It requires an extremely specialized hull design, of which the TOS
Enterprise was extremely lucky that it worked.  However, it seems to fail on
just about any other vessel.  The Feds, in an effort to utilize resources with
the best return on investment, "gave up" on the technology.

b) The cloaking system, in order to work at reasonable levels of efficency
requires large amounts of the element "Unobtainium" (Ux) built into the outer
hulls of the vessel it is to cloak.  Unobtainium is extremely rare and
expensive to purify.  Therefore, Starfleet scouts and border monitors are
equiped with the system, but typical ships of the line (eg. the Enterprise
original, -A, et al.) are not.  Some arguments suggest that Starfleet policy
(leaving the typical commander out on the cold) on this technology is an
attempt to convince the Romulans that the Feds/Starfleet does not have a
mastery of the technology.


Here is the Response generated by everyone else on R.A.S(.T);

The Federation does not use the Cloaking device because:

1. It Does Not Work.  Evidence suggesting this comes from several sources.  In
ST:TSFS, then Adminal Kirk (& Sulu, et al.) was able to defeat the Klingon
version of the cloaking device without ANY special training OR special sensor
hardware.  TNG era long range sensors regularly detect cloaked vessel
movements.  In ST:TNG's Redemption II, no less than two (rather hastily
thought out, I might add) methodologies are shown that defeat TNG era Romulan
Cloaking devices.  In ST:TUC, it has been demonstrated that Klingon cloaking
devices do nothing to obscure the propulsion (impulse) system emissions, and
thus make the vessel's location detectable with specialized gear.

2. (a) Starfleet Commanders Hate it.  The supporting evidence here is
relatively thin.  As demonstrated in only a couple of episodes, Romulan battle
tactics are to creep up on your target and when at point blank range, fire
your weapon (Plasma bolts, which are like a space going shotgun, in comparison
to the Fed's machine gun like Phasers) and Run Like Hell.  Should you miss your
target...  We have seen that Kirk likes to run around at high warp and blast
away with everything he has operational.  Picard tends to prefer more complex
maneuvers with higher percentages of success (or fewer casualties).  Neither
strategy seems to include skulking around under cover of invisibility and
blowing away the inattentive adversary.
2. (b) In the TNG era, intra-galactic politics indicate that unrestrained
Federation use of cloak technology would undermine its "We Come In Peace"
policies and reputation.  Therefore, shooting at enemies from cover of
invisibility may be prohibited for reasons of policy rather than a deficiency
of expertise or technology.  However, ST:TUC, shows that this battle tactic
is not above Klingon principles, especially if firing the weapon never
reveals your location.

3. There are no spin-off technologies from it.  This is based more on
conjecture than any displayed evidence, and it only takes one script to
provide the necessary counter example.  Phasers can be de-tuned to provide a
variety of materials processing methods (cutting, heat treating, material
change), the Transporter in various guises provides replication systems and
recreational equipment.  One could suggest that the cloaking device only has
military (or the less charged word, defense) applications.  Since Starfleet
is more interested in uncovering interesting stuff, rather the covering it up,
the cloaking device provides very little interest to the Federation Science
Foundation principal investigators.  Also, the technology is subject to
obsolescence, like any other.  Indeed, this was the message of the closing
scene in the TOS episode "The Enterprise Incident" that introduced the
"treknology".  There does seem to be a cloak gap in ST:TNG, as evidenced by
one episode where Picard, in an attempt assertain the motives of a "defecting"
Romulan General, requests him to divulge the cloaking device "secret."
Therefore the technology has a number of strikes against it.  It has limited
basic research appeal, only defense related applications, and subject to rapid
obsolescence.

-- 
when everyone is out to get you, being paranoid is just good thinking.
         - Dr. Johnny Fever <in other words, standard disclaimer>
A.J. Madison                                           ajm@sequoia.com
Sequoia Systems Inc.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.tech
From: chris@keris.demon.co.uk (Chris Croughton)