Note the earlier dialogue between Spock and Scott:
At that point. Meaning that Scotty was actually in the M/ARC, what we now call the warp core. So it was the actual warp core, the place where the M/AM reaction was going on, that would've been jettisoned (with Scotty still inside) before it underwent what we now call a warp core breach. Scotty said he'd positioned explosive separator charges to achieve that, suggesting that a core ejection system was not standard yet, which is why they couldn't have done that before. Also, they needed a functioning warp core to get back to the captain et al., so jettisoning would've been a last resort in any case.
Actually I'd think that "ejecting the core" would be the first resort. The reactor is about to explode taking the ship with it. The first resort should be to get rid of it, thereby saving the ship. Only later, upon noting the flow of the ships fuel, would you come up with a plan to save the ship AND the reactor.
Scotty tell us that nothing can stop that reactor from exploding and taking the ship with it. While that was not strictly true, as it was possible to cut the anti-matter fuel off, if there was another obvious way to prevent the explosion it would have been mentioned at the start. Scotty should have said something like: "I can position some explosive separator charges so we can jettison the reactor and prevent the destruction of the ship." But instead he repeatedly tell us that this reactor overload will cause the destruction of the ship. Meaning that either the reactor can't be separated from the ship and so the ship will explode. Or even if the reactor is separated from the ship, the ship will still explode.
Isn't the "antimatter pod" essentially the Warp core?
Antimatter pods are essential synonymous with the nacelles.
Doomsday Machine: "antimatter in the warp drive pods"
Bread and Circuses: "antimatter nacelles"
Elaan of Troyus: "anti-matter pods"
By Any Other Name: "matter-anti-matter nacelles"
I, Mudd: "matter-antimatter pods"
I would theorize that the anti-matter pods(storage tanks) are technically an element of the warp drive pods/nacelles. However, when speaking the terms "warp drive pods", "matter-antimatter pods/nacelles", and "antimatter pods/nacelles" refers to the warp engines.
Great topic. Noble cause. The big discussions in the past have been
where and
how many M/AM reactors are in the ship, and how does dilithium crystals work. It also depends on which season and which writer, but you have selected Season 3
That Which Survives. Note that the terms "warp core", "warp plasma', "warp coil" didn't exist in TOS.
To help with the decisions, here's a list of power system concepts:
- One. Only one M/AM reactor in the secondary hull which generates power using dilithium crystals and provides warp power (in plasma form via the pipe structure?) for each nacelle warp engine.
- Two. M/AM reactor in each nacelle each powering a warp engine. AM fuel is also stored in each nacelle/pod. Warp power (plasma?) is diverted into the secondary hull (through the pipe structure?) for ship power generation using dilithium crystals.
- Three. M/AM reactor in each nacelle each powering a warp engine, and one in the secondary hull which generates ship power using dilithium crystals.
- AM fuel is stored in the aft end of each nacelle/pod.
- An AM fuel pod is in the secondary hull.
- AM is injected into the warp power (plasma?) supply in each nacelle warp engine to further energize/boost it for warp use.
- The dilithium crystals discharge their stored energy to produce useful ship power. Dilithium crystals are recharged in a separate facility using another power supply.
- The dilithium crystals simultaneously absorb energy from the M/AM reaction and discharge their stored energy to produce useful ship power.
- The dilithium crystals "in situ generate" antimatter fuel.
- Separate AM fuel production equipment is in the secondary hull.
- Warp engines need only high power from the dilithium crystal system to operate (energized plasma routed through the pipe structure?). No dilithium crystal power system, no warp drive.
- The dilithium crystal system needs the M/AM fuel reaction to operate. No antimatter fuel, no power.
- Warp engines need both the M/AM fuel reaction and high power from the dilithium crystal system to operate (through the pipe structure?). No dilithium crystal power system, no warp drive. No antimatter fuel, no warp drive.
- Something else even more technobabbly.
- Name your own concepts...
My own theory is more of 3, 8, and 15.
Based on this episode we know that there is one reactor that controls all of the warp drive. But we also know from "By Any Other Name" the "The Enterprise is propelled by matter-anti-matter reactors." Do there are definitely more than one reactors. That's why I think we should interpret the line for "Catspaw" about three reactors as a reference to the m/am reactors. My thought is that reactor number 3 is the smaller of the three and is in the engineering hull. It functions as a sort of a primer reactor for the two huge reactors in the nacelles(the domes). So when reactor three went into overload this drove the other two reactors into overload. I imagine this functioning almost like transistors.
I haven't yet analyzed the function of dilithium in the operation of the warp drive, but I vaguely recall that it plays an important part too. So I have to factor that in somehow.
Season Three That Which Survives seems to incorporate concepts 1, 5, 8, 11, and 12. Others may apply, but they were not discussed in the episode. The only thing we heard about the sabotage was that the emergency bypass control of the matter-antimatter integrator was fused. Shutting down the antimatter fuel into the chamber by pinching off the magnetic confinement field would stop the runaway situation, but how does Scotty fix the ship to continue the voyage with the fused systems? He might continue to use the magnetic field throttling of the antimatter fuel into the reaction chamber to control the ship's speed, but that sounds hairy.
That's an excellent point I hadn't thought about yet.
