Project Arcturus

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

On the series Stargate Atlantis, Project Arcturus was a failed Ancient experiment in energy production on the planet Doronda. The goal of the project was to create a Zero Point Energy technology that would produce even greater and unlimited amounts of power than a ZPM by extracting it from this universe rather than a contained region of subspace.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

1 Overview
2 Reaction Chamber
3 Command Access Tube
4 Weapons Array
5 Also See
6 Key Episode
7 External Links

Overview

Extracting zero point energy from this universe proved to be extremely unpredictable. New and exotic particles were constantly created and destroyed inside Arcturus’ containment chamber and interacted with each other and the containment field. The particles could not be contained and escaped the chamber as radiation.

The resulting radiation prevented the device from being easily deactivated which eventually led to an overload. The device attempted to expel the excess energy by firing the weapon it powered into space, which decimated the Wraith hive ships in orbit but the radiation resulted in the death of project scientists before successful shutdown. The device remained shut down until it was discovered by the Atlantis team 10,000 years later.

Dr. Rodney McKay believed he could correct the flaw in the automatic containment protocol equations that prevented the Ancients' success. He attempted to modulate the containment field manually but his attempt failed and one of Atlantis' scientists died from the radiation. McKay was determined to make the project work but made the same mistakes the Ancients did in failing to realize that he could not predict what was, by definition, unpredictable. The device overloaded resulting in the destruction of 5/6 of the solar system and Sheppard and McKay barely escaped.

Reaction Chamber

The reaction chamber holds the Acturus device which is shaped like a star. The device generates a field which siphons the zero point energy. As the field is incapable of containing the energy, it spreads outward into the command access tube as radiation when the device is activated.

Command Access Tube

The tube, which is next to the main control center, provides access to the field emitter via an access port at the end of the narrow chamber. A scientist, Collins, died in the tube while trying to manually boost power to the containment field.

Weapons Array

One of the primary functions of Project Arcturus was to power a weapons array located at the top of the facility. The weapon swivels 360 degrees and is capable of firing energy into space. The energy provided by Arcturus means the weapon never needs to charge between rounds. The weapon successfully destroyed several hive ships. Unfortunately, it also proved deadly to its users.