Antimatter Fuel

Antimatter is used in matter-antimatter warp cores and it is extremely volatile when it comes into contact with matter. This volatility is exploited by firing a stream of antimatter at a stream of deuterium fuel within the warp core, and channeling the energy from the explosion through a dilithium crystal to generate power for the ship's systems. The reaction also generates the plasma for the warp nacelles, thereby enabling warp travel. It must be stored in magnetically-shielded vacuum containment to prevent contact with matter outside the controlled environment of the warp core.