Was the "Eye of Ra" a Mini-ZPM ?

[Anon]

The expedition had one zpm, the Ancients had one from their ship, and the replicators brought one also

no, if you watch the ep. when they arrive, they are going .111111111111111111111111111111111111 below the speed of light and not using hyperspace because thier ZPM IS DEAD!!!!!!! LISTEN TO MCKAY SAY IT!!!!!

[Sealurk]

no, if you watch the ep. when they arrive, they are going .111111111111111111111111111111111111 below the speed of light and not using hyperspace because thier ZPM IS DEAD!!!!!!! LISTEN TO MCKAY SAY IT!!!!!

Actually...their hyperdrive was fried, and they had to rely on their sublight engines with power from a ZPM to get up to near light speed. From Gateworld's transcript of The Return Pt 1:

SHEPPARD: Don’t those ships have hyperdrives?

McKAY: Well, maybe their hyperdrive was damaged in a battle with the Wraith. It happened to us all the time. Maybe it conked out on the way and they were forced to continue at as close to light speed as possible. That would explain how they got a million light years away from Pegasus without having to leave a million years ago.

CALDWELL: You know the subspace drive specs better than I do, Doctor, but I’m not sure an Aurora class ship has the power to do what you’re suggesting.

McKAY: Well, maybe they have a ZedP.M.

[stargatefan234]

weapons/power-sources yes,
ZPMs No

[Xaeden]

Yeah the ZPM was being used to beef up the sublight engines and power the time dialation field. We know they brought it back to Atlantis because they then dialed Earth directly to let the expedition members leave and they ordered Atlantis' shields to be raised as the replicators fired on the city. Also, two of the ZPMs would've had to have been from the replicators because Mckay drained their only ZPM a couple episodes before in "Mckay and Mrs. Miller."

[wkw427]

Yeah the ZPM was being used to beef up the sublight engines and power the time dialation field. We know they brought it back to Atlantis because they then dialed Earth directly to let the expedition members leave and they ordered Atlantis' shields to be raised as the replicators fired on the city. Also, two of the ZPMs would've had to have been from the replicators because Mckay drained their only ZPM a couple episodes before in "Mckay and Mrs. Miller."

Do you realize the faster you get to the speed of light, the slower time goes? They didn't have a time dialation field -.-

[Xaeden]

Do you realize the faster you get to the speed of light, the slower time goes? They didn't have a time dialation field -.-

You're right - I saw the phrase "time dialation" when quickly scanning the trascript and got mixed up. Sorry for the bit misinformation - The ZPM was just powering the sublight engines and realitivity did the rest.

[kymeric]

Pretty sure making a zpm involves making a device that makes artificial subspace and slapping it to a device that sucks vaccume energy. Pretty sure theyre the equivilant of making a 9 volt battery to the ancients.

[Mclean]

The Eyes aren't ZPMs but the ancients made them.

Maybe as weapons/power sources less advanced than there standard technology but still powerful enough to repel the Goa'uld if needed. We've seen the Goa'uld leave advanced cultures alone when they can't defeat them so thats maybe why the Ancients died out naturally when they returned from the Pegasus Galaxy!

[RubberJesus]

you dont need to charge a ZPM it generates energy from quantum forces in a vacuum, at least thats how zero point energy would work in reality

[Sealurk]

Agreed, there is no actual charging involved - the ZPM either contains a tiny region of subspace that can be tapped for vacuum energy, or it acts as a portal / gateway / connection to that region, which could be a lot bigger. A ZPM's total lifetime output is ultimately determined by entropy, making it highly unlikely that they can be ever be recharged in any way (as I understand entropy in our universe, which is badly, this is a process that cannot be reversed...confirmation / correction?).

I doubt ZPMs were ever really common - I expect (and this is pure speculation) they were hard to make, and reserved for the most important ships, bases, weapons and technology. Otherwise, I would expect every single large Ancient device the expedition or the SGC ever encountered to be powered by them if they were so abundant. Imagine how annoyed McKay would be if they ultimately found out every Puddle Jumper has a ZPM hidden in it...

[SG-Fan5]

I doubt ZPMs were ever really common - I expect (and this is pure speculation) they were hard to make, and reserved for the most important ships, bases, weapons and technology. Otherwise, I would expect every single large Ancient device the expedition or the SGC ever encountered to be powered by them if they were so abundant.

Remember though, some ancient technology, like Puddle Jumpers, do not have a big energy requirement, and therefor do not need a ZPM. Though I agree, your theory does make sense, but ZPMs seem to have been used a lot though. Each outpost that has been found requires a ZPM, as well as many of the Ancient's ships. Also, it has been stated that the Asurans had many ZPMs, which would lead me to believe they had an easy way of creating them.

[Xaeden]

Each outpost that has been found requires a ZPM, as well as many of the Ancient's ships. Also, it has been stated that the Asurans had many ZPMs, which would lead me to believe they had an easy way of creating them.

That's not completely accurate. The outpost in Inferno made use of geothermal energy and was not powered by a ZPM. But we don't know if that Outpost was built before or after the war so it could've been created only because the Wraith were taxing their pool of ZPMs before they could build enough to replace them. Also, we've been told that some Ancient ships used ZPMs during the war, but thus far only one out of the four ships seen in modern times has had a ZPM. Which suggests that they were added on after the fact to beef up their ships but they did not have enough to go around.

As far the Asurans go - While Niam said they had many ZPMs and didn't go into specifics, Oberoth claimed that their energy needs required the use of all their ZPMs. Which could mean that they use them about as fast as they make them. But, he wasn't above lying, so while I personally think that's probably what was happening here, you never know.