PTeppic
Reetou Diplomatic Corp
- Joined
- May 31, 2001
- Messages
- 3,337
And so it's here, not quite the final curtain: a summary of all that has been discussed here on the ASciFi.Com about the Stargate technology, specifically related to gate travel.
Although numerous chunks of this can reasonably be said to have be phrased or suggested by me, they are joined with, supported by, based on, extrapolated and interpolated from, inspired and refined by ideas from many other people. Oh, and the shows themselves of course.
Stargate - ring of naquadah, with moveable inner ring which is used with powered chevrons to dial an "address" for an outgoing wormhole. The gate can absorb any energy from many different forms, though generally (and by design) via a connection (see below) to a dialling device (called the "DHD" by the SGC). This device also provides semi-automatic powered dialling capability. Without a DHD the power must be applied directly to the gate, typically with electricity, wherein a charge builds until the gate can be powered, and the dialling ring turned manually. Using a DHD the power is supplied directly at the same time as a dialling command. If two gates are operated in parallel in the same glyph-address area of space (e.g. on the same planet) and one has a DHD, even though the other is powered, an incoming wormhole will go to the one with the DHD. Without a DHD, an incoming wormhole will go to a powered gate, but if that is inoperative, will go to an unpowered one. After use for an outgoing wormhole, a gate retains sufficient charge for a further outgoing wormhole. A further safety feature concerns the position of the event horizon. If any significant object is within the event horizon when an incoming wormhole is attempted, the gate will not engage, for example if the gate is buried. A vortex is created when the gate engages, but only if there is no solid surface within a very small distance away from the event horizon. If the vortex does form, it is totally destructive.
DHD - a dialling and power device associated with stargates. They "connect" to the stargate via a non-physical mechanism, which transfers both destination address and the large (but unspecified) quantities of energy charge required to initiate the wormhole. The range of this "connection" is limited, perhaps a few tens of metres, though the precise range is unknown. This may be a deliberate design decision in the system, since a race would really want to be able to see/control the gate at all times when dialling out. Although each gate/DHD pair has a unique "point of origin" glyph/chevron available for dialling sequences, these are probably only symbolic as a marker for the point of origin. This appears to be simply an end of sequence point on the address, and is still a valid point-of-origin even when the gate is subsequently moved to another location. It appears possible to create a hand-held miniaturised DHD, either fully controllable, or as an emergency fixed address get-you-home device. Again these seem to provide sufficient energy for a connection, and a valid destination address; the generic point-of-origin theory allows such a device work to work. Certain races which can physiologically control energy flow (e.g. the Nox) can also perform this function without any apparent external device. This would be consistent with their control of light and other energy. Low energy hand-devices (and physiological manipulation) controlling the gate do not seem to induce the vortex.
Glyph-space / addresses - stargate addresses are composed of six glyphs and a seventh, the point of origin (see above). The six destination glyphs represent six constellations/planets in space, the mutual intersection of which is the approximate location of the destination stargate. Note that due to planetary rotation, orbit and stellar motion, each destination must have at least 200 million miles of tolerance to the "fixed" point defined by the stellar intersection. It is also most likely that each individual gate has a galactic positioning system built into it, which allows it to know where it is, relative to other gates. It then knows which incoming wormholes to receive, especially if it has been moved. Note that outgoing wormholes can only be established when a gate is located within the tolerance zone of a valid glyph address. If a gate is being moved between star systems it cannot be dialled in to, since no valid glyph sequence applies. Again, this may be a safety feature of the gate system - outgoing wormholes can only be engaged if incoming ones can also be enacted. Any number of gates seem to be allowed within the system at a single glyph-address: three different gates have been in place at the Tau'ri planet "Earth" at one time, all potentially viable for outgoing wormholes; it is unclear how the system would have dealt with an incoming wormhole! The use of the eight and nineth glyph are still subject to a great deal of discsussion, although the eight appears to be some sort of long-distance factor (needed, with extra power, to reach the Asgard home-world)
Although numerous chunks of this can reasonably be said to have be phrased or suggested by me, they are joined with, supported by, based on, extrapolated and interpolated from, inspired and refined by ideas from many other people. Oh, and the shows themselves of course.
Stargate - ring of naquadah, with moveable inner ring which is used with powered chevrons to dial an "address" for an outgoing wormhole. The gate can absorb any energy from many different forms, though generally (and by design) via a connection (see below) to a dialling device (called the "DHD" by the SGC). This device also provides semi-automatic powered dialling capability. Without a DHD the power must be applied directly to the gate, typically with electricity, wherein a charge builds until the gate can be powered, and the dialling ring turned manually. Using a DHD the power is supplied directly at the same time as a dialling command. If two gates are operated in parallel in the same glyph-address area of space (e.g. on the same planet) and one has a DHD, even though the other is powered, an incoming wormhole will go to the one with the DHD. Without a DHD, an incoming wormhole will go to a powered gate, but if that is inoperative, will go to an unpowered one. After use for an outgoing wormhole, a gate retains sufficient charge for a further outgoing wormhole. A further safety feature concerns the position of the event horizon. If any significant object is within the event horizon when an incoming wormhole is attempted, the gate will not engage, for example if the gate is buried. A vortex is created when the gate engages, but only if there is no solid surface within a very small distance away from the event horizon. If the vortex does form, it is totally destructive.
DHD - a dialling and power device associated with stargates. They "connect" to the stargate via a non-physical mechanism, which transfers both destination address and the large (but unspecified) quantities of energy charge required to initiate the wormhole. The range of this "connection" is limited, perhaps a few tens of metres, though the precise range is unknown. This may be a deliberate design decision in the system, since a race would really want to be able to see/control the gate at all times when dialling out. Although each gate/DHD pair has a unique "point of origin" glyph/chevron available for dialling sequences, these are probably only symbolic as a marker for the point of origin. This appears to be simply an end of sequence point on the address, and is still a valid point-of-origin even when the gate is subsequently moved to another location. It appears possible to create a hand-held miniaturised DHD, either fully controllable, or as an emergency fixed address get-you-home device. Again these seem to provide sufficient energy for a connection, and a valid destination address; the generic point-of-origin theory allows such a device work to work. Certain races which can physiologically control energy flow (e.g. the Nox) can also perform this function without any apparent external device. This would be consistent with their control of light and other energy. Low energy hand-devices (and physiological manipulation) controlling the gate do not seem to induce the vortex.
Glyph-space / addresses - stargate addresses are composed of six glyphs and a seventh, the point of origin (see above). The six destination glyphs represent six constellations/planets in space, the mutual intersection of which is the approximate location of the destination stargate. Note that due to planetary rotation, orbit and stellar motion, each destination must have at least 200 million miles of tolerance to the "fixed" point defined by the stellar intersection. It is also most likely that each individual gate has a galactic positioning system built into it, which allows it to know where it is, relative to other gates. It then knows which incoming wormholes to receive, especially if it has been moved. Note that outgoing wormholes can only be established when a gate is located within the tolerance zone of a valid glyph address. If a gate is being moved between star systems it cannot be dialled in to, since no valid glyph sequence applies. Again, this may be a safety feature of the gate system - outgoing wormholes can only be engaged if incoming ones can also be enacted. Any number of gates seem to be allowed within the system at a single glyph-address: three different gates have been in place at the Tau'ri planet "Earth" at one time, all potentially viable for outgoing wormholes; it is unclear how the system would have dealt with an incoming wormhole! The use of the eight and nineth glyph are still subject to a great deal of discsussion, although the eight appears to be some sort of long-distance factor (needed, with extra power, to reach the Asgard home-world)
