Portable antigrav

A portable antigrav or antigravity lifter was a piece of technology in use by the Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire and Cardassian Union during the 23rd and 24th centuries.

Specifics[]

These small, handheld devices attach to objects with magnetic clamps or sticky pads and allow the easy movement of heavy equipment from place to place by cancelling the object's weight. Once attached to the antigrav, objects have no effective weight and can hang unsupported in mid-air. One antigrav can cancel up to 100 kilograms of weight. Several may be used to move heavier items. Antigravs cannot produce a negative gravity effect, however. (FASA RPG module: Star Fleet Intelligence Manual: Agent's Orientation Sourcebook)

A graviton inverter circuit negated the surrounding gravity and allowed an object to levitate. Controls allowed for adjustments to the antigravity field. Handles were attached to the operator's side, and three black pads were located on the opposite side. (Star Trek: The Magazine vol. 1, Issue 17: "Antigravity Lifters")

They were often used on Earth for excavation projects. (TOS novel: The Weight of Worlds)

Antigravity lifters and tractor beam generators could be disabled with a class-B jamming field. (TOS novel: Windows on a Lost World)

Civilian portable antigravs could be purchased for 125 credits. (FASA RPG module: Trader Captains and Merchant Princes (2nd edition))

History and usage[]

In 2265, Cervantes Quinn used an antigrav to toss a Klingon sensor drone out of the Rocinante's airlock. (VAN novel: Summon the Thunder)

In 2267, James T. Kirk and Spock affixed antigravs vertically on each side of Nomad to bring it to the transporter room of the USS Enterprise. (TOS episode & Star Trek 7 novelization: The Changeling)

In 2268, Kirk used a single antigrav to levitate a container of antimatter on Tycho IV. (TOS episode & Star Trek 9 novelization: Obsession)

In 2268, Ambassador Kollos's protective box was carried by an antigrav secured from above. (TOS episode & Star Trek 10 novelization: Is There in Truth No Beauty?)

In 2269, anti-grav units were available to carry equipment aboard the USS Masada. (TOS video game: 25th Anniversary mission: "Hijacked")

In 2286, cargo-grade antigravs from the FOMP Onizuka were used to raise George and Gracie from the ocean and prevent the humpback whales from drowning after they'd been rendered unconscious. (FASA RPG module: The Hottest Blood of All)

By the 24th century, tractor beams were used more often than antigravs, as directed gravitons were seen as a more efficient way to move objects. (TOS novel: Captain's Glory)

In 2374, Elim Garak watched Vorta excavate an artificial boulder in B'hala with antigrav lifters. Weyoun explained that the rock had been laden with sensors in 2373, then buried in the temple 26,000 years earlier through the use of the Orb of Time. (DS9 - Millennium novel: The War of the Prophets)

In 2377, in the Mirror Universe, Memory Prime workers used antigrav lifters to transfer supplies aboard Jean-Luc Picard's vessel, Calypso. (TNG - Star Trek: Mirror Universe novel: Rise Like Lions)

In October 2385, Geordi LaForge checked inventory as Rennan Konya stacked containers in the cargo bay of the runabout Dordogne with an antigravity lifter. Later, Ilona Daret and Raal Mosara used a lifter to move a boulder. (ST - The Fall novel: Peaceable Kingdoms)

Unusual uses[]

In the 2250s, teams of Starfleet Academy cadets would secure a classmate to a pair of antigravs, then see who could throw him furthest without getting caught. (TOS novel: Captain's Glory)

In 2369, after Glinn Datar and two Cardassian soldiers on Terok Nor convicted Quark of capital crimes, they tried to execute him by tying one end of an ODN cable to his neck and the other to a rising antigrav lifter from the cargo bay. (DS9 - Millennium novel: The Fall of Terok Nor)

In 2381, Montgomery Scott jury-rigged a pair of portable antigravs to function out of phase, redirecting the antigravity effect outward. Kirk used it as a trap, forming a small region that experienced the force of four Gs. (TOS novel: Captain's Glory)

Appendices[]

External link[]

Portable antigrav article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.

Portable antigrav

Specifics[]

History and usage[]

Unusual uses[]

Appendices[]

Connections[]

Appearances[]

References[]

External link[]