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Why do the ZPMs run out?

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    Why do the ZPMs run out?

    If it realy is Zero Point Energy, then it should last forever, and give pretty much unlimited power.





    Personally, I think it would have ben cooler if the SGC ZPM didnt run out, and they could dial Atlantis anytime they wanted, just Atlantis couldn't dial home.
    FOR PETE'S (no, not THAT Pete) SAKE, THE ABOVE POST (if offensive in anyway) WAS MADE IN JEST!


    #2
    Well, since it is merely a theory the producers can make it run out if they want.
    The problem with the SGC ZPM being unlimited is that then they'd have unlimited firepower against the Goa'Uld, they could in fact power the entire planet with their single ZPM. Now as cool as that would be (I'm starting to contradict my own argument here...) they obviously thought they could do a lot more hunting for a powerful ZPM than they could with a single unlimited one. Also, they'd be able to power the whole of Atlantis, again meaning they wouldn't need to hunt around for them and thusly they have very few plot opportunites.

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      #3
      Well your right ZPE does last foever but the ZPE is being taken from an artifical space/time pocket that the Anchients have created. The space/time pocket could have destabiled or due to enthropy stop producing ZPE.

      If the space/time does not last then the ZPE does not last.
      "Khattam-Shud," he said slowly, "is the Arch-Enemy
      of all Stories, even of Language itself. He is the Prince of
      Silence and the Foe of Speech. And because everything ends,
      because dreams end, stories end, life ends, at the finish
      of everything we use his name. 'It's finished,' we tell one
      another, 'it's over. Khattam-Shud: The End.'"

      -excerpted from Haroun and the Sea of Stories,

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        #4
        It could also be a safety feature.
        The crystal that holds the ZPE / Sub-space field might degrade over time.
        If you don't turn down the juice at a certain point the crystal would become to weak to contain the ZPE.
        Then you'd have a massive subspace-explosion, which would destroy everything with dozens of lightyears of the ZPM.
        sigpic

        SGU Continued....

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          #5
          I figure that Mc Kay keeps breaking them.
          "You're creepin' me out, Mc Kay." Carter

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            #6
            Originally posted by Im_just_guessing
            If it realy is Zero Point Energy, then it should last forever, and give pretty much unlimited power.





            Personally, I think it would have ben cooler if the SGC ZPM didnt run out, and they could dial Atlantis anytime they wanted, just Atlantis couldn't dial home.
            I don't think the writers ever want to avoid entropy. It's more fun that way, and it makes for better plotlines....or plotholes, depending on your take.

            "We'll keep the light on for you."

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              #7
              because a perpetually working ZPM would be like a sarcophagus in the infirmary

              And if they didn't have the quest to get ZPM's to get home, then they'd not have to worry about food, coffee or batteries.

              It's a plot device. The same as matter going one way through a wormhole, the gate only staying open 38 minutes and zats stunning on the first shot
              Where in the World is George Hammond?


              sigpic

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                #8
                Originally posted by Im_just_guessing
                If it realy is Zero Point Energy, then it should last forever, and give pretty much unlimited power.





                Personally, I think it would have ben cooler if the SGC ZPM didnt run out, and they could dial Atlantis anytime they wanted, just Atlantis couldn't dial home.
                Another way to look at is that the concept/reality of ZPE is very different when you are using a a mathematical model of the universe that is far more advanced then the quantum mechanical one (i.e. the Ancients have gone so far beyond Earth science that the models no longer predict a perpetual energy release). A bit of a cop out I suppose, but when we start poking holes in the plot sometimes they're necessary .

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                  #9
                  Maybe the ZPM (the physical module itself) just draws so much energy it burns out. I've never heard of any piece of hardware that will last forever. Anybody else? I assume this applies to Ancient technology, as well.
                  Tripudire est irritus
                  Jumping is useless

                  Nu ani Lunatas
                  We are the Mooninites

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                    #10
                    the stargates pretty much last forever.

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                      #11
                      The ZPM is like a lightbulb...eventually it burns out. When a lightbulb burns out, it's not because it ran out of electricity.
                      Secretary-General of GATO ¤ Defender of F.O.R.D.

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                        #12
                        No, its because the filament burned up.
                        FOR PETE'S (no, not THAT Pete) SAKE, THE ABOVE POST (if offensive in anyway) WAS MADE IN JEST!

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Major Tyler
                          The ZPM is like a lightbulb...eventually it burns out. When a lightbulb burns out, it's not because it ran out of electricity.
                          I had a similar theory, but I just figured since they were millions of years old, that's why they burnt out. Zero-Point Energy might last forever but the materials used to harness that energy won't last forever and eventually give up to the rigours of old age, rust, cracking, burning out and so on.
                          "I'm thinking of nice turkey sandwich..."

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by WurdBendur
                            Maybe the ZPM (the physical module itself) just draws so much energy it burns out. I've never heard of any piece of hardware that will last forever. Anybody else? I assume this applies to Ancient technology, as well.
                            That's what I said. Entropy: look it upa.

                            "We'll keep the light on for you."

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Im_just_guessing
                              No, its because the filament burned up.
                              I said it's not because it ran out of electricity...unless you're claiming the ZPM has a filament.
                              Secretary-General of GATO ¤ Defender of F.O.R.D.

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