Tachyon A tachyon is a subatomic particle that naturally exists at faster - than - light velocities , and can often be associated with time travel or produced as a byproduct of a temporal distortion . Tachyons can exist both naturally , as in the tachyon eddies in the Bajoran system , and can be produced artificially , such as in tachyon detection grid s and temporal transponder s . They can also exist as the byproducts of the use of many technologies , such as cloaking device s and transporter s . ( ; ; ) Tachyons can be utilized in a number of ways , including as scan s , offensive weapon s , and even as a means of communication . ( ; ) Overview . Some of the 31st century temporal agent ' equipment produced tachyon radiation . In 2151 , Silik detected this radiation aboard , and deduced that Daniels was on the ship , as " Enterprise " did not have any technology which emitted tachyons . ( ) In 2366 , the non - corporeal species , the Calamarain , used a tachyon field to attack Q , who had been stripped of all of his powers by the Q Continuum and deposited on board the . ( ) In 2367 , Captain Jean - Luc Picard instituted a tachyon detection grid on the Klingon - Romulan border , in order to prevent any cloaked Romulan ships from crossing the border undetected while cloaked . This effectively stopped the Romulan Empire ' s covert support for the House of Duras ' s attempts to take control of the Klingon Empire . Six years later , Lieutenant Tuvok suggested initiating a tachyon scan of a nebula that the had encountered in the Delta Quadrant , in an attempt to reveal the presence of any cloaked ships which could be hiding inside . As of 2375 , the Dominion began employing long - range tachyon scanner s to detect cloaked vessels . They were first observed being used by the crew of the Klingon vessel " Ch ' Tang " , after conducting a cavalry raid behind enemy lines . ( ; ; ) In addition , cloaked ships were known to produce detectable tachyon emissions . In 2372 , the produced a tachyon surge when decloaking in front of the " Xhosa " , and in 2373 , when a fleet of Romulan warbird s decloaked near station Deep Space 9 , they produced a large buildup of tachyons . As of 2379 , the Reman s were able to equip the Reman Warbird " Scimitar " with a cloak which did not have this limitation . ( ; ) The Borg utilized tachyon pulses of alternating frequencies to open their transwarp conduit s . In 2369 , Commander Geordi La Forge , chief engineer of the " Enterprise " - D , was able to set up a temporary tachyon matrix in the ship ' s main deflector to simulate the pulses that the Borg used , and gain access to a transwarp conduit . Five years later , Seven of Nine attempted to utilize the same procedure to create a transwarp conduit in an effort to facilitate " Voyager " s return to the Alpha Quadrant , but the tachyons flooded the warp core , threatening a breach . This forced Lieutenant Torres to eject the core . ( ; ) In an alternate timeline , Captain Picard ordered the use of an inverse tachyon pulse in three different time periods , to scan the interior of an anti - time eruption which existed in each period . It was later discovered that the tachyon pulses themselves were what ruptured the subspace barrier between time and anti - time , creating the eruption in the first place . The timeline in which these events occurred was negated when Picard was able to stop the initial formation of the eruption . ( ) In 2371 , Ensign Harry Kim , operations officer aboard " Voyager " , attempted to utilize a tachyon scan to inspect a type 4 quantum singularity which they had encountered in the Delta Quadrant , but the attempt proved unsuccessful due to the high levels of interference produced by the singularity . ( ) Later that year , temporal distortions , which existed as a result of Kes having traveled back in time from five years in the future , resulted in the presence of tachyon particles throughout " Voyager " . These particles caused Lieutenant Tuvok to experience a series of premonitions about the future , allowing the crew to prepare for Kes ' s arrival in five years time , and subsequently prevent her from traveling back in time in the first place . ( ) The naturally - existing tachyon eddies in the Bajoran system helped propel ancient Bajoran lightship s to warp velocities , and facilitated Bajoran arrival in the Cardassian system as early as the 16th century . Although claims of this so - called " ancient contact " were long disputed by the Cardassian s , Starfleet Commander Benjamin Sisko and his son Jake finally proved it in 2371 , duplicating the voyage to Cardassian space in a lightship which Sisko had constructed . ( ) In 2372 , Lieutenant Torres attempted to use a sustained tachyon beam to penetrate and destroy the core of the " " Dreadnought " , " a Cardassian missile which had been transported to the Delta Quadrant . The plan failed , however , when " Dreadnought " , which was equipped with a sophisticated artificial intelligence system , sent a plasma burst along the tachyon beam into " Voyager " s main power systems . ( ) In 1996 , after having traveled back in time from the year 2373 , Tom Paris detected tachyon emissions from a truck , leading him to believe that Henry Starling , a 20th century industrialist who had stolen the 29th century timeship " Aeon " , was moving the vessel to another location . It was soon discovered , however , that Starling was only using a temporal transponder to divert Paris ' s attention . ( ) Later in 2373 , while trapped in an illusion created by an alien , Captain Janeway came to believe that she was being affected by a temporal anomaly , and attempted to use a tachyon burst to disperse it . ( ) In 2375 , When Colonel Kira was kidnapped by Dukat from Deep Space 9 , a scan of her quarters revealed traces of tachyon energy , leading the crew to realize that she had been beamed away . ( ) The same year , Captain Picard and Lieutenant Commander Worf were able to use a tachyon pulse to force Data , who was malfunctioning at the time , to remodulate the shield harmonics of the vessel he had stolen , so they could beam him aboard . Commander Data was later able to use the same tactic on a Son ' a battle cruiser to make it possible for Worf to beam the crew to another ship . ( ) In 2376 , Reginald Barclay came up with the idea of using the MIDAS array to direct a tachyon beam at a class - B itinerant pulsar , creating an artificial microwormhole through which two - way communication could be established with " Voyager " , on the other side of the galaxy . Although his superiors were initially skeptical that the plan would work , Barclay took the initiative to implement his plan , and was able to establish communication . Two years later , Harry Kim and Seven of Nine developed a method whereby " Voyager " could communicate with Starfleet in the Alpha Quadrant , by bouncing a phased tachyon beam off of a quantum singularity . This method of communication was limited by the fact that the singularity was only in alignment for eleven minutes every day . ( ) That same year , " Voyager " encountered a unique planet in the Delta Quadrant , which had a tachyon core . The core created a spacetime differential between the planet and the surrounding space , the planet experiencing the passage of one day every 1 . 03 seconds as measured on " Voyager " . " Voyager " became trapped in orbit briefly due to the tachyon field generated by the planet , and remained in orbit for approximately one thousand years of the planet ' s time . ( ) In the year 2404 , Kathryn Janeway , who by this time had returned with " Voyager " to the Alpha Quadrant and been promoted to admiral , appropriated a time travel device called a " chrono deflector , " invented by a Klingon scientist named Korath . The device operated by generating a powerful tachyon pulse to form a temporal rift , which could then be directed to a specific time and place . Janeway used this device to travel to the Delta Quadrant , the year 2378 , where she instructed her counterpart to initiate an antitachyon pulse in order to seal the rift . Due to the fact that the chrono deflector produced levels of tachyon radiation which would be toxic to her , before she left she instructed The Doctor to treat her with chronexaline , an experimental drug at the time which protected biomatter from tachyons . Admiral Janeway subsequently collaborated with the " Voyager " crew to change history and return the ship to the Alpha Quadrant sixteen years before it would have without her intervention . ( ) Apocrypha . The game " Star Trek Online " features many applications for tachyons including tachyon beams to drain a starship ' s shields and tachyon harmonics to disrupt personal shields in ground combat .