Krieger wave

La Forge and Crusher investigate radiation burn

Geordi La Forge and Wesley Crusher examining damage to duranium from Krieger waves

A Krieger wave is a powerful type of energy wave. It had the ability to melt duranium and had an energy signature similar to that of a phaser beam. These waves could be reflected off of transporter beams.

Dr. Nel Apgar, in the 2360s, developed a procedure that produced these waves using a device which converted collimated lambda field pulses through a series of mirrors and reflective coils.

The United Federation of Planets was interested in Dr. Apgar's technology for a potential energy source. Though Dr. Apgar denied said he was not motivated by profit, he was actually developing the technology to be used as a weapon as well as an energy source. Fearing the Federation was suspicious of him, Apgar had intended to kill Commander Will Riker with a Krieger wave, but, instead, the wave reflected off the transporter beam and hit the station's reactor, destroying it and killing Apgar.

During the investigation into the explosion, the USS Enterprise-D accidentally experienced the effects of these waves, since they had recreated Apgar's converter on its holodeck using his exact design. (TNG: "A Matter of Perspective")

The waves were named after David Krieger, a scientific consultant to the show in the third and fourth seasons. (Star Trek Encyclopedia, 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 445) Ironically, his pseudo-scientific explanation for what the waves actually were ended up on the cutting room floor, and in the finished episode they were simply a MacGuffin. [1]
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