Lt. Barclay and Chief O'Brien scanning the heisenberg compensators
The Heisenberg compensator is a component of the transporter system. The compensator works around the problems caused by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle (hence the name), allowing the transporter sensors to compensate for their inability to determine both the position and momentum of the target particles to the same degree of accuracy. This ensures the matter stream remains coherent during transport, and no data is lost.
A scan of the heisenberg compensators, to make sure they perform within the specified parameters, can be performed by raising the transporter pad. (TNG: "Realm of Fear")
While trying to devise a way to transport holographic matter off the holodeck without it disintegrating instantly, the idea was put forth that decoupling the Heisenberg compensators might let the matter reform normally, although the suggestion was used as a stalling tactic against Professor James Moriarty, and the idea had never actually been tried before. (TNG: "Ship in a Bottle")
In 2371, Chief Miles O'Brien ordered a crewman to check the Heisenberg compensators of the USS Defiant. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I")
Additional References
- DS9: "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River"
Background
- The Heisenberg compensator circumvents the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which states that one cannot know both the position of a subatomic particle and its momentum to arbitrary precision.
- When asked by Time Magazine in 1994, "How do the Heisenberg compensators work?" Mike Okuda replied, "They work just fine, thank you."