Research question (Communication) - New to Stargate

[Rose Wilde Irish]

OK. I watched the movie in theaters when it came out, but (a) having no Showtime and (b) just not thinking the series could do the movie justice lead to not watching SG1. Saw enough of the promos on SciFi that I got very interested in SGA. Roommate has the first five seasons on DVD and I'm making my way through them, but I'm also working on a fic and have a question.

How do the MALF's and communicators work? My guess is they broadcast their signal to the Gate, then that Gate sends it to the main Gate, which in turn sends the signal to the receivers on the other side, thereby neatly sidestepping distance/delay issues. I'd imagine there's something about the Gates being one Gate in some quantum mannor, but I've only an intuitive grasp of science. Which can actually come in handy once in a while.

My fic(s) are currently up on fanfiction.net. But I've got something mulling in my head and and understanding of the communication issues would be good.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[VirtualCLD]

First, just to let you know, it's called a MALP, you can check out Gateworld Omnipedia for what it stands for.

Second, I don't remember the epsiode, but they do mention that any sort of RF waveform can pass through the wormhole both ways. Matter can't pass through both ways, but that's because matter has mass and even though it's broken down to base elements/atoms, it still has mass. Now, why specificaly the wormhole is one way for mass and not energy and RF waves, I don't know. However, if a radio wave is transmitted from the SGC, it will go through the wormhole and arrive at the planet with the active stargate and then it will be recieved by whoever is tuned to the right frequency to recieve it. Since the RF waves have virtually no mass, they may move faster through the wormhole, so all communications are in real time.

It would be like someone was 2 miles away from the SGC on Earth. Assuming te SGC has an antennea on the surface, someone could talk to the SGC in real-time with the radio. If someone was on anohter planet and they were dialed into the SGC, they would be able to communicate in the same fashion as they would if they were on Earth.

[Mio]

It's one way for matter, because matter can't travel through a wormhole. Energy can travel both ways. Radio waves will go both ways, for example. Matter can't go through either way. The Gate converts you into energy, then transmits you, like a fax. Therefore, the stream it sends is energy, and not matter. The matter is recostituted when the transmission hits the other gate. Why the ancients designed the gates not to let matter go out through an incoming wormhole is anyone's guess.

Tada!

[VirtualCLD]

It's one way for matter, because matter can't travel through a wormhole. Energy can travel both ways. Radio waves will go both ways, for example. Matter can't go through either way. The Gate converts you into energy, then transmits you, like a fax. Therefore, the stream it sends is energy, and not matter. The matter is recostituted when the transmission hits the other gate. Why the ancients designed the gates not to let matter go out through an incoming wormhole is anyone's guess.

Tada!

What about Red Sky?

[Mio]

What about Red Sky?

Ok, Let me rephrase that. The gate doesn't transmit matter.

Red sky, the wormhole picked up some plutonium or something on the way.

[VirtualCLD]

Red Sky Spoilers







I thought that SG-1 was carrying something (I forget what) that had a heavy element that was deposited in the sun as the wormhole went through it.

As a final, last minute solution, they tried to send the "antidote" element through the wormhole, then shut off the stargate when the element got to the sun. Now, the canister itself wouldn't bee re-assembled since it wouldn't make it to the stargate, but thebase elements and atoms/mollecules would still be intact, so it would fix the sun.

Now, they technically missed the sun, or so we are lead to believe, so the Asgard gave it a nudge in the right direction.

[Rose Wilde Irish]

Thank you for the answers; you've saved me a bundle of research time. And thanks for the corrections, too; same answer.

Does that mean that communication is being broadcast to or through EVERY Gate out there? Hmm, I would think that's a security issue. Good to know.

[VirtualCLD]

No no no, the broadcasts can only go through the open stargate. I appologize if we didn't make that clear. So if the SGC needs to contact, let's say SG-1 on another planet, the SGC will dial the planet (usually with the iris still closed) and then radio SG-1 once the wormhole is established. Theoretically, the radio transmissions (being omnidirectional) will also go through the walls of thee SGC into the other rooms, but probably not to the surface because they are so deep in the mountain.

When a wormhole is established between two stargate, only those two stargate are connected, they have no connection to other stargates. If someone tried to dial one of those stargates from somewhere else, they would be unable to get through (kind of like a busy signal, the last chevron will not engage).

[Lostinmyownvoid]

Silly goose, the wormwhole is only established between two gates so the RF waves and such only move through those gates.

[Mio]

Red Sky Spoilers







I thought that SG-1 was carrying something (I forget what) that had a heavy element that was deposited in the sun as the wormhole went through it.

As a final, last minute solution, they tried to send the "antidote" element through the wormhole, then shut off the stargate when the element got to the sun. Now, the canister itself wouldn't bee re-assembled since it wouldn't make it to the stargate, but thebase elements and atoms/mollecules would still be intact, so it would fix the sun.

Now, they technically missed the sun, or so we are lead to believe, so the Asgard gave it a nudge in the right direction.

No. The wormhole picked it up en-route.

It 'piggybacked' on the wormhole.

[VirtualCLD]

OK, the conversation has become too confusing to me. If I saw Red Sky right, matter exists in the wormhole, but it base, elemental form. That's why the final solution could work (if they were on target), because when the wormhole was disengaged, the matter still existed, just in base elements. Or am I missing something?

[Rose Wilde Irish]

Learning bunches! Thanks loads. I agree about the rt probably not making it through the mountain at SGC, but Atlantis is a (pardon the pun) whole 'nother kettle of fish.

I'd never paid all that much attention to the communication and hadn't noticed that it was only when a Gate was open. So if they need to communicate during a mission, they open the Gate, communicate, then toss something through to close the Gate? Because again, I think someone explained to me that you had to send something through the gate in order to close it. And they only work one way. (Or I suppose you could wait the 38 minutes and let it close by itself.)

Heh. I've found, generally, it doesn't pay to look too closely at the science in a TV show. But it looks like someone's been putting some thought into it. Nice change.

One last thing, although this might not have been addressed. I'm assuming the usual rules about distance, etc, applies to the ability of the comm signal to be received at the Gate?

[Mio]

No. If you aren't sending SOMETHING through the gate, it'll shut down on it's own.

[VirtualCLD]

Radio transmissions count as something being sent through the gate. If you keep transmitting signals back and forth through the open wormhole, it will remain open. Once you stop sendind transmissions, after a couple of seconds, the wormhole will shut down. If you keep transmitting radio signals constantly through the wormhole, then it will remain open for as long as possible, about 38 minutes, before it will shut down on it's own.

And yes, if let's say, Atlantis "command" is talking with someone on the other side of the gate, and the radios they are using only have a 2 mile radius, then that person on the other planet must be within 2 miles of the gate (give or take several yards).

[Gorthaur]

No no no, the broadcasts can only go through the open stargate. I appologize if we didn't make that clear. So if the SGC needs to contact, let's say SG-1 on another planet, the SGC will dial the planet (usually with the iris still closed) and then radio SG-1 once the wormhole is established. Theoretically, the radio transmissions (being omnidirectional) will also go through the walls of thee SGC into the other rooms, but probably not to the surface because they are so deep in the mountain.

When a wormhole is established between two stargate, only those two stargate are connected, they have no connection to other stargates. If someone tried to dial one of those stargates from somewhere else, they would be unable to get through (kind of like a busy signal, the last chevron will not engage).

I always wounderd how they dial out with a iris closed and not destroy it.