cyrstal tech...

[blueguy w/thehand]

There are too many kinds of crystal tech. such as the ancientd normally white or clear crystal. Then there is Gou'ld sp? crystals which are multicolored.

But is crystal tech really that great? It seems no worse than wires and circuts.

[immhotep]

are you kidding!

[Esquin]

Ok lets begin crystal computers 101.

Crystals can store more information, they store it on an atomic level so there is alot more space, the storage system is more stable, ie they won't be stuffed by a magnet being run over them. Realistically it should be far easier to burn them out then some episodes would have you believe but hey can't make it to easy can we.

Access to the crystals is also faster.

Also cystal colours are for recognitian purposes a hyperdrive control crystal made from a red one will function just as well as a blue one.

[lethalfang]

I don't know how good are cystal techs. They've never explained it.
But wire and circuits are indeed primative. The speed of electrons going from one end of wire to another is relatively slow, yet the size of the electrons are quite large (relatively speaking), which is why the computers we have right now are reaching its limit and the development of quantum computing is underway.
Electrons also generate a lot of heat, and they are susceptible to electromagnatic radiation.

[_Owen_]

Indeed crytstal technology would be a huge break through, and I believe that it would help human society, or at least make my computer run faster.

Well we are on the subject of crystals, I will mention something. In Goa'uld ships, the crystals are a whole buch of diffrent colours, so you know which is for which, as Esquin said. However in the Prometheus, as I remember, they are all white, this would make maitenance much more difficult, it would be hard to know which crystal does what without labels.

Owen Macri

[6thMonolith]

Well we are on the subject of crystals, I will mention something. In Goa'uld ships, the crystals are a whole buch of diffrent colours, so you know which is for which, as Esquin said. However in the Prometheus, as I remember, they are all white, this would make maitenance much more difficult, it would be hard to know which crystal does what without labels.

Yes, but when we are on a Ha'tak, we know right away which crystal to remove to destroy the ship, but when a Goa'uld is on our prommie, they'll have no idea. Better for security, worse for those maitenance workers.

[_Owen_]

That is a good point, the maintenance workers must have some means of identifing the crystals, but what happens when they are in deep space and they don't have maitenance workers, do they have labels on all of the crystals? For now I will assume that it is magic.

Owen Macri

[blueguy w/thehand]

have you niticed that the atlantis crystals are white too. They are formed differently than earths though.

[6thMonolith]

Yeah, I noticed that the PJ crystals look like large wafers, while the Goa'uld/Tauri crystals are more of a traditional shape. As for how the Prommie crew identifies the crystals, they might be organized in a certain way, or there is some way of telling one crystal from the next(different shape, energy signature, etc).

[blueguy w/thehand]

Do you mean about the pj crystals like the ones ford has to fix in hide and seek?

[_Owen_]

I don't remember that but I assume the answer is yes, how many crystals could it have. Yes I would hope that they have some way of identifing the crystals cause if you didn't it would get pretty complicated.

As for the Atlantis crystals looking diffrent they probably are better in some way. It is wierd in Atlantis it seems they have crystals everywhere, on pretty much all of those poles in the hallways, it occured to me that they could just be lights, because if all of Atlantis was covered in crystals that would be a lot of information.

Owen Macri

[YodaMate]

In later episodes, they mention that the Atlantis database has multiple redundancy systems, that eliminating it physically is impossible short of destroying the city itself. So maybe those crystals do have info on them as well as been able to light the city.

I'm sure that by now the Tau'ri have developed a crystal interface with their regular computers on Prommie, so if they were unsure of what was on a crystal, then they could plug it into the computer and see what's on it, so to speak. The white crystals are probably to slow down and confuse saboteurs and attackers, giving the crew more time to spot a saboteur or rally against an intruder.

[MarshAngel]

While I understand that the crystal tech is more efficient yadda yadda yada. Can someone please explain to me how moving crystals around (as seen in Hot Zone) in Atlantis's control room is more efficient than say touch screen technology? It seems to me that in a tough situation it's too easy to drop a crystal, put it in the wrong spot... it just takes too much time moving crystals around to be efficient for regular activity.
Sure it looks cool but does it actually make sense?

[Spimman]

I vote they hook the crystel take up to a touch/voice screen activated computerized device than can move the crystals for them!

[_Owen_]

In later episodes, they mention that the Atlantis database has multiple redundancy systems, that eliminating it physically is impossible short of destroying the city itself. So maybe those crystals do have info on them as well as been able to light the city.

I'm sure that by now the Tau'ri have developed a crystal interface with their regular computers on Prommie, so if they were unsure of what was on a crystal, then they could plug it into the computer and see what's on it, so to speak. The white crystals are probably to slow down and confuse saboteurs and attackers, giving the crew more time to spot a saboteur or rally against an intruder.

That is a possibility, I agree having all of the crystals the same colour is is practical incase of intrusion by and unwanted person or force.

I am sure that they have some way to identify the crystals, even if it is just some of those white stick-on labels that say which crystal does what.

Owen Macri