AP 350

The AP 350 was a 23rd century model of atmospheric processor used by the Federation to modify planetary atmospheres. It was invented by Zigwel Orgon in 2234, and first deployed on Titan following the Crestbrock mining collapse.

Unlike its predecessors, the AP 350 used charged positron rods to stabilize the ion matrix, which carried out air filtration. Failure of this coolant system could cause the matrix to detonate in an atomic explosion capable of destroying a starship.

In 2259, the USS Enterprise was assigned to deliver an AP 350 to the Federation colony on Finibus III. When the ship came under attack by the Gorn, the processor's coolant system was damaged. Though Lieutenant Hemmer and Cadet Nyota Uhura replaced the malfunctioning coolant rod, they did so too late to prevent the matrix from exceeding its critical limit, making its detonation inevitable. Captain Christopher Pike subsequently used the AP 350 in a ploy to fool a pursuing Gorn destroyer: by jettisoning it while the Enterprise accelerated towards a black hole. Pike took advantage of gravitational redshift to convince the Gorn that the destruction of the processor was actually that of the Enterprise. (SNW: "Memento Mori")