True power of ZPMs

[umopapisdn]

Why is it that a possibly limitless energysource keeps running out in stargate. The ZPMs that powered the cities shields for 10000 years and easily protected them against wraith bombardment somehow deplete incredibly quickly in the hands of the atlantis expidition.

[Xeon_1]

Why is it that a possibly limitless energysource keeps running out in stargate. The ZPMs that powered the cities shields for 10000 years and easily protected them against wraith bombardment somehow deplete incredibly quickly in the hands of the atlantis expidition.

The anciants had zpm's to spare just like the asurans.
And during those 10000 years the 3 zpm's the city had where depleted powering the shield

[Wraith_Boy]

Simple answer...For dramatic effect!

It makes the writers jobs easier to have them in jeopardy every season with enemies attacking & them not having enough power to deal with what's coming. If the ZPM would last for 1000's of years, then there really wouldn't be any threat or danger to Atlantis. So to make the stories simpler they have them screw up, drain the ZPM down. Bad guys come around & instant jeopardy!

Of course it gets old & tiresome, especially since they've done it a few times now & we know they'll deplete one, then quickly get another in to replace it. However I doubt they'll change it after all this time. Will be shocked if we don't see the ZPM getting drained badly in S4 & them being placed in trouble because of it.

[Mister Oragahn]

There's been several threads about the true power of ZPMs.

[HyperspaceDaemon]

Simple answer...For dramatic effect!

It makes the writers jobs easier to have them in jeopardy every season with enemies attacking & them not having enough power to deal with what's coming. If the ZPM would last for 1000's of years, then there really wouldn't be any threat or danger to Atlantis. So to make the stories simpler they have them screw up, drain the ZPM down. Bad guys come around & instant jeopardy!

Of course it gets old & tiresome, especially since they've done it a few times now & we know they'll deplete one, then quickly get another in to replace it. However I doubt they'll change it after all this time. Will be shocked if we don't see the ZPM getting drained badly in S4 & them being placed in trouble because of it.

I fully agree.
The jeopardy of having a depleted ZPM was an important element in season 1, but this is no longer working. The writers have provided new zpm's anytime they wished, so the lack of energy doesn't have any dramatic effect anymore : just look at the recent Adrift+Lifeline - a 2-episode plot that had the main purpose of providing a new ZPM.

[thekillman]

actually it has been stated that running a shield doesnt drain zpm's easily, but running a shield under attack does. wrath weapons have massive firepower and about 9 hiveships bombarded them constantly. the shield would have no regeneration time. same with the asuran beam, and also shown in unending. the key to penetrate shields is to have a lot of damage at a small spot. it either leaks energy through or quickly drains power. also running 3 zpm's simultaniously lessens the pressure on each zpm. annother thing: the AE is inexperienced with zpm's. the ancients probably used all kinds of protocols to run them at maximum efficiency. if the power input to the shield would be equal to whats required to keep it up, nothing more, nothing less, and it would be calibrated perfectly, then a zpm would hold out longer. remember atlantis wasnt submerged that deep. the entire city was asleep, and only the nessecary power to the shield was delivered.

[2ndgenerationalteran]

A single hive constantly shooting at Atlantis's shields would take at least a month and a week or so to deplete the shield assuming that the shield depletes at a linear rate rather than a parabolic rate that the odyssey shields deplete at

[fugiman]

A single hive constantly shooting at Atlantis's shields would take at least a month and a week or so to deplete the shield assuming that the shield depletes at a linear rate rather than a parabolic rate that the odyssey shields deplete at

Those are some big words good thing I took preclac or I would have no idea what you are talking about but was it you that came up with parabolic drop in shields by using math and what was said in the show or was it someone else? because I liked that theory

[2ndgenerationalteran]

thanks, that was me, some one did correct it because i drew my graphs out by hand so it was approximate.

[AvatarIII]

Why is it that a possibly limitless energysource keeps running out in stargate. The ZPMs that powered the cities shields for 10000 years and easily protected them against wraith bombardment somehow deplete incredibly quickly in the hands of the atlantis expidition.

they arent limitless, the zero point energy is drawn from an artificial microscopic universe, which collapses after a while, and the more energy you draw, the faster they collapse,

[umopapisdn]

they arent limitless, the zero point energy is drawn from an artificial microscopic universe, which collapses after a while, and the more energy you draw, the faster they collapse,

That makes sense.

[JSPuddlejumper]

Titanic in power and faster than a speeding mullet.

ZPM's are clearly the pinnacle of battery technology.

[Crazy Tom]

Titanic in power and faster than a speeding mullet.

ZPM's are clearly the pinnacle of battery technology.

do you supose they come in AAA versions?

[Turboz]

I can't help but think that the Ancients were incredibly short sighted about leaving Atlantis. They left the city with just 3 ZPMs and abandoned it hoping that "one day" their kind may return. Well..... they have - in the form of the SGA team. The city is underpowered and almost useless. Surely if you intend to let your own race return, you leave adequate reserve supplies incase the knowledge to create them is lost in time?

It would be like humans leaving earth to live on the moon. We come back a thousand years later and discover all these wonderful cars we can use. Only snag is we shortly run out of diesel and we have no idea how to make it and our ancestors didn't leave any spare barrels around..

Rather short sighted really.

[umopapisdn]

I can't help but think that the Ancients were incredibly short sighted about leaving Atlantis. They left the city with just 3 ZPMs and abandoned it hoping that "one day" their kind may return. Well..... they have - in the form of the SGA team. The city is underpowered and almost useless. Surely if you intend to let your own race return, you leave adequate reserve supplies incase the knowledge to create them is lost in time?

It would be like humans leaving earth to live on the moon. We come back a thousand years later and discover all these wonderful cars we can use. Only snag is we shortly run out of diesel and we have no idea how to make it and our ancestors didn't leave any spare barrels around..

Rather short sighted really.

We have seen the ancients make mistakes many times, they were responsible for creating the wraith, they then failed to stop them from becoming a powerfull enemy. So it doesn't suprise me that they just left atlantis. They even didn't leave a ZPM after wier went back and told them what would happen. They did do some stupid things.