Weapons in Star Trek

The Star Trek fictional universe contains a variety of weapons, ranging from missiles (the classic photon torpedo) to melee (primarily used by the Klingons, a race of aliens in the Star Trek universe).

Energy weapons

A directed-energy weapon emits energy in an aimed direction without the means of a projectile. It transfers energy to a target for a desired effect. Intended effects may be non-lethal or lethal. For example, in Star Trek, a hand phaser can be set to "stun" or "kill".

Laser

Lasers are a sidearm in the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage", and laser pistols appear in several Original Series episodes, although later episodes in The Next Generation seemed to indicate that the laser's use as a weapon was outdated. In one instance, the ship-mounted lasers of two spacecraft were incapable of overcoming even the navigational shields of the USS Enterprise-D, though on at least two other occasions it was threatened with destruction by laser-armed spacecraft. The Borg cutter weapon is a laser, as mentioned in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Q Who" and is apparently incapable of directly penetrating Federation shielding. (Although it is effective at making 'surgical' incisions into a ship's hull.)