Laser weapon

Laser weapons were weapons that utilize lasers, a directed light technology that compressed photon particles into a beam that could have heat and blast effects. While many spacefaring species used lasers in other means, such as in optical data networks, few used them as weapons by the 23rd century, since a variety of exotic subatomic particles could be used to create a more powerful beam, that duplicated lasers in use, but increased the weapon's effectiveness.

History
Jonathan Archer played with a plastic laser pistol toy as a child. 

The has utilized hand-held laser weaponry from 2160s onward. 

Starfleet crews used laser weapons in 2254, around the time USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) visited Talos IV. Landing parties carried laser pistols and large laser cannons were available as heavy artillery. 

In 2268, Uhura wondered why the Klingons didn't provide the villagers of Neural with more advanced weaponry such as old-style hand lasers. 

By the 24th century, only a few races still used ship-board laser weaponry, including:
 * the Altec
 * the Borg
 * the Lysian Alliance
 * the Straleb
 * the Talarians

In 2365, the class 9 cargo vessel Erstwhile was armed with a 2.3 megawatt laser array with four emitters. (, production art)

Starfleet Regulations called for a Federation starship to go to yellow alert when targeted by laser weapons from another vessel. In 2365, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) captain Jean-Luc Picard thought the rule was outdated, since the laser weapons of an Altec vessel were incapable of even penetrating the navigational deflectors. Picard also noted that Altecs could fire until their lasers ran dry and they still wouldn't have caused any damage to the Enterprise. 

In 2371, as a result of both radiation poisoning and close proximity to an artificial quantum singularity, Chief Miles O'Brien began experiencing jumps through time by approximately five hours. In one of these jumps, he saw himself being killed by what he later thought could have possibly been a high-energy laser.