The Siege, Part 3 (201)

[greytop]

One thing that kinda bugs me regarding the ZPM's. It seems like they drain down way too quick, compared with most of the early info we had on them. I got the idea they were a very long lasting and very powerful source of power. But now, it can be depleted in a matter of days/weeks, just holding a shield in place, yet can last for thousands of years powering the city on minimal power usage. It seems like, if they're so susceptible to draining, then there would be many of them available.

Didn't Rodney say the ZPM would last a longtime if the Wraith weren't bomgbarding the shield?

[Lida]

Didn't Rodney say the ZPM would last a longtime if the Wraith weren't bomgbarding the shield?

I'd have to go check, but I do believe that is what the good doctor said.

[Bastet11191967]

I am curious to see what other things the Atlantis team learn about the Wraith, especially with Ford being changed. It was funny when Teyla asked McKay if she should tell the Wraith that he will be unable to engage them. That woke him up quickly.

[QuiGonJohn]

Didn't Rodney say the ZPM would last a longtime if the Wraith weren't bomgbarding the shield?

I think he did. It just seems kinda funny. The thing will run for over 3 thousand years powering the whole city, (be it on low power mode). BUt if you use it for something you actually need, like protecting the city from attack, it's only good for a matter of weeks, (not sure how long he said it would last, but it was relatively short).

So in other words, I got the idea they were very long lasting, like in our world, a nuclear reactor. But since with actual use, they deplete quickly, I would think they'd have had a lot more of them available.

[not so ancient]

I didn't like pileggi's acting, he was far too calm and collected for the first battle when he didn't know how good the wraith were.

That's kind of what a commander does: stay cool and collected in order to think clearly, give the right orders, and show leadership. Inside, they might be scared but they don't show it.

If he'd been wigging out, you'd wonder why the Air Force promoted him to such a high rank and had given him such an important assignment.

It doesn't matter to me if you like Pileggi or not, but I really cannot see how you can say he didn't do exactly what the role, realistically, required. The producers of the show have liked him so much they extended his original 5 episodes to more, perhaps 10.

[not so ancient]

I think he did. It just seems kinda funny. The thing will run for over 3 thousand years powering the whole city, (be it on low power mode). BUt if you use it for something you actually need, like protecting the city from attack, it's only good for a matter of weeks, (not sure how long he said it would last, but it was relatively short).

So in other words, I got the idea they were very long lasting, like in our world, a nuclear reactor. But since with actual use, they deplete quickly, I would think they'd have had a lot more of them available.

I can see how even a ZPM would be exhausted. Janus left 3 ZPMs for Weir to rotate ever 3000 years or so, and that was with the city asleep and the ZPM only powering the shield holding back the ocean, and Weir's stasis chamber.

This ZPM was 5000 years old, had just juiced up Daedalus, and then had to endure ballistic attacks of Wraith darts, each one of which would have ripped the city apart. The weapon blasts that the Wraith used in their bombardment are also formidable.

I hope they use the ZPM very sparingly. Otherwise, they'll be back on the naquadah generators very soon, and not getting home to Earth, by Gate or by Ship.

[Daniel's_twin]

I can see how even a ZPM would be exhausted. Janus left 3 ZPMs for Weir to rotate ever 3000 years or so, and that was with the city asleep and the ZPM only powering the shield holding back the ocean, and Weir's stasis chamber.

This ZPM was 5000 years old, had just juiced up Daedalus, and then had to endure ballistic attacks of Wraith darts, each one of which would have ripped the city apart. The weapon blasts that the Wraith used in their bombardment are also formidable.

I hope they use the ZPM very sparingly. Otherwise, they'll be back on the naquadah generators very soon, and not getting home to Earth, by Gate or by Ship.

Agreed. The ZPM's were designed to power up Ancient technology, and with the tech being so advanced and powerful, most of the systems probably require more than they first expected. And with the factors that you just pointed out plus anything else the ZPM was powering at the time, I don't question how one ZPM could fry-out during the endless bombardment.

[thread15]

It was a great episode with the first attack over i'm wondering how much that took off the life of the zpm.

[TheCorpulent1]

Probably a good bit of it. Given that it powered the Daedalus enough to make an intergalactic journey in just 4 days, withstood dozens of ballistic darts, and endured several hours of constant bombardment from high-energy weapons that would've drained it dry in just days. They're probably down to like 3/4 of the original power level, and we still don't even know what THAT was, given that it's 5,000 years old. Of course, that's a completely speculative guess on my part.

[macktheknife]

Question:

Why did they even need to use the ZPM's whilst in "slumber" mode anyway?

Do you leave the power on in your house if you go away for a year overseas?

[not so ancient]

Question:

Why did they even need to use the ZPM's whilst in "slumber" mode anyway?

Do you leave the power on in your house if you go away for a year overseas?

The ZPM powered the shield that kept the ocean from flooding the city.

[Zarko the Mad]

Probably a good bit of it. Given that it powered the Daedalus enough to make an intergalactic journey in just 4 days, withstood dozens of ballistic darts, and endured several hours of constant bombardment from high-energy weapons that would've drained it dry in just days. They're probably down to like 3/4 of the original power level, and we still don't even know what THAT was, given that it's 5,000 years old. Of course, that's a completely speculative guess on my part.

I believe the ZPM was fully powered, since I think its the one they recovered from Moebius. Daniel Jackson said that the Goa'uld didn't really know it for what it was.

[macktheknife]

The ZPM powered the shield that kept the ocean from flooding the city.

I knew I was completely overlooking something.

However. Their ancient tech "probably" could have built some sort of bulkhead system. Whatever.

[MasySyma]

Question:

Why did they even need to use the ZPM's whilst in "slumber" mode anyway?

Do you leave the power on in your house if you go away for a year overseas?

Actually, if you go overseas for a year and live in a cold climate, you should leave the heat on. Otherwise the water pipes freeze and explode.

Maybe that explains Before I Sleep

[Arative]

Question:

Why did they even need to use the ZPM's whilst in "slumber" mode anyway?

Do you leave the power on in your house if you go away for a year overseas?

Probably had life support system on but at very low levels and probably a number of secondary system as well plus the shield. Think about when your PC goes into sleep mode, it still uses power but a lot less since hard driver aren't spinning, cpu isn't processing.