

There are several types of phasers used by Starfleet and the United Federation of planets. Ship-mounted phasers have a similar range of functions on a larger scale: The phasers on the USS Enterprise could stun entire city blocks full of people destroy cities and even destroy entire asteroids up to a given size, it is also said to be capable of destroying continents. The overload process is marked by a distinctive sound that increases in volume and frequency until it is deactivated or it detonates. Phasers can be set to overload, whereby they build up a force-chamber explosion by continuously generating energy without releasing it the resulting blast can destroy most natural objects within a 50 meter radius. They can be used as welding torches or cutting tools, and can create heat sources by firing at a large, solid object (like a rock). Also witnessed in the TOS episode "For The World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky". A starship's phasers can be used as an 'anti-missile' defense to destroy incoming projectiles.

The beam can be adjusted to strike multiple targets at once or evenly destroy large amounts of material. A typical hand phaser can merely stun living organisms, or completely disintegrate them. Phaser beams can be adjusted in both width and output. Larger and more powerful phaser rifles are commonly issued to security personnel. Personal phasers can be made small enough to fit in the user's palm and still be very deadly. Phasers come in a wide range of sizes, ranging from hand-held versions to starship-mounted ones. Phasers are common directed-energy weapons first seen in the original Star Trek and later seen or referenced in almost all subsequent films and TV spin-offs. For example, in Star Trek, phasers can be set to "stun" or "kill". Intended effects may be non-lethal or lethal. It transfers energy to a target for a desired effect.
