Portal:Stargate/Featured article
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[edit] Stargate (device)
Stargates are large, ring-shaped devices in the Stargate science fiction universe that utilize advanced technology for nearly instantaneous personal travel across the vast distances of space. These devices were first seen in fiction with the 1994 film Stargate, directed by Roland Emmerich, and then subsequently in the TV series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis (as well as the animated series Stargate Infinity). The Stargate is the central plot generator of these productions, allowing for stories focused on a small team of protagonists exploring other planets and meeting other races on foot, rather than the more prevalent, grandiose "space opera" of interstellar starships seen elsewhere in science fiction.
Stargates are marked out by "chevrons" spaced equally around their circumference, and roughly 39 symbols displayed on an inner ring. Although typically 22 feet (6.7 m) in diameter and made of a fictional heavy mineral called "Naqahdah", the gates are almost always seen standing vertically.
In the mythology of the canon, their creators were an alien race known as the Ancients, who scattered them on habitable planets throughout the Milky Way and other galaxies, millions of years ago. Collectively, these comprise what is often called the "Stargate Network", which facilitates travel throughout the cosmos. Stargates are present on many planets but, to primitive peoples, they are no more than relics carrying associations of the divine and sacred, or of fear, as evidenced by such names as "Ring of the Gods" and "Circle of Darkness". Thus the plot of Stargate effectively begins when the United States Air Force discovers how to use the device discovered on Earth.
[edit] Name and origin
The idea of the Stargate was invented by the writers of the original feature film of the same title, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. Similar devices have been seen in previous fiction, but the complete conception of a Stargate, as seen in the Stargate canon, is quite original — though there has been contention as to whether they plagiarised the idea from a previous script submission. The name was a logical choice ("gate to the stars"), but in retrospect has caused the series and film to be mistaken for the unrelated series Star Trek and Star Wars. The Stargate was further developed conceptually by the creators of the spin-off TV series Stargate SG-1, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner.
The concept of a Stargate is based heavily in theoretical physics, particularly that of black holes and wormholes. A wormhole is a warping of spacetime causing space to become "folded" and can allow for "shortcuts" through space. They are not widely held to exist in reality, especially not ones capable of transporting human beings, as such wormholes would most likely be created by black holes, the gravity of which would destroy any potential traveller.
The idea of a "portal" for travellers has been seen often throughout the history of both fantasy and science fiction, often taking a similar form, a device or magical object shaped as a regular or irregular closed geometric form filled with a water-like, rippling puddle that represents the boundary point between two locations. The Stargate picks up on this conception, emphasising the "watery puddle" for the sake of an alien mystique, and explaining it all in terms of advanced technology.
The origins of the Stargates are expounded upon in great detail in Stargate SG-1, the follow-up TV series to the film, which involves a rich background of alien races, each of which have discovered the Stargates separately and grown around them. The Alterans, (also known as the Ancients), who built the gates, appear to have called them Astria Porta. The Jaffa and Goa'uld call them the Chaapa'ai, and the English word "Stargate" is supposedly a direct calque of this word. It seems that Chaapa'ai is itself a calque of Astria Porta. In the Pegasus galaxy, villagers know them as Rings of the Ancestors and variations thereof. They are also referred to as "the ring", "the annulus", or "the gate".
[edit] Operation
The film Stargate rushed very quickly over how a Stargate actually works and is operated, but the subsequent TV shows go into this area in a great amount of detail. In SG-1 it is explained that the Stargate generates a wormhole between itself and a remote gate by being supplied with a threshold amount of raw electricity, and that the destination gate is singled out by a process known as "dialing", described below. Objects in transit are broken down into their individual elemental components and then reconstructed on the other side, yet walking through a Stargate is superficially no different from stepping through a doorway.
[edit] Dialing
Each location served by a Stargate has its own unique "address", which is a combination of six or more non-repeating symbols appearing on the dialing Stargate. By "dialing" these symbols in the correct order, the traveler can select a destination.
The show is consistent with the mechanics of address-dialing. The process involves associating a unique symbol of the inner ring to each of at least the first seven of the chevrons on the outer circumference. The main "address" is invariably dialed first, followed by the gate's "origin" symbol, which acts as the final trigger for the completion of the address sequence. As each symbol is dialed, the chevron is said to "engage" and usually responds by lighting up or moving. When the final symbol of an address is dialed, that chevron is said to "lock" and the wormhole opens (this terminology is arbitrary and often interchangeable, but preferred by the recurring character Walter Harriman). If the address is incorrect or does not correspond to an existing or otherwise functional Stargate, the last chevron will not lock, and all of the chevrons will disengage.
There are 3 ways that a Stargate has been seen to be dialed:
- With a Dial Home Device
The most common method is with a Dial-Home Device (DHD), a control console usually found accompanying a Stargate. The console has a button for each of the symbols on its accompanying gate, and travellers use these to compile their address. The gate is then powered by the DHD itself. Puddle Jumpers have an on-board DHD panel, which functions as a remote control to the gate (SG-1: "Moebius"). - By Dialing Manually
If no dialling system is present, a user must manually select the address. On a Stargate of Milky Way design, this involves using sheer force to rotate the inner ring to select each of the seven symbols located on it (like rotating a colossal combination lock). A manual power-source is also required; the element the gate is composed of is described as a superconductor to which electricity can be fed directly, and so lightning strikes have been shown to be minimally sufficient (SG-1: "The Torment of Tantalus"). Pegasus Galaxy Stargates do not have a movable ring and so manually dialing these may be impossible. - With an Alternate Dialer
If no DHD is present, travellers will be forced to emulate one. The technology within a DHD is described as far superceding Earth technology, making DHD emulation particularly difficult. Examples of alternate dialers include:- The Stargate Command Dialing Computer: this is the technology built in the film by humans to make use of the gate. Essentially, it operates on the same principle as manual dialing, except the dialing computer controls electric motors that move the ring around; in normal manual dialing, the ring would be moved by hand. This results in an acceptable rate of dialing, but is slower than most other methods.
- The Atlantis Gate dialer: essentially a Puddle Jumper DHD; however, it appears to have extra features, like blocking out certain gate addresses.
- Remote dialers: these can be held in the hand or worn on the wrist, and have been used by the Goa'uld and Asgard in various episodes, as well as by the character Cassandra in the episode "1969". The Nox character Lya was seemingly able to engage the Stargate through her own powers, but perhaps had an unseen remote dialer.
