19

In SG-1 and SG:A the stargates are made of a material that is nearly indestructible; it didn't seem certain that even a nuclear blast would destroy a stargate.

But in SG:U a stargate had a chunk blown out by a blast from a drone. The blast of a drone couldn't take out a weakened shield on Destiny, nor did it make a ginormous blast in the streets when one tried to kill the SG:U scouting teams in the second to last episode, so I doubt the blast was on par with a nuclear explosion.

So is there anyplace that canonically stated the gates created by the seedships were different or weaker than the gates made in the Pegasus and Milkyway, but still would have held up to centuries or possibly eons of erosion/weathering on a planet in the distant reaches of the universe? My only idea is that the gates are made of more "native" materials as the seedships are recharging supplies periodically, like Destiny refuels from stars.

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    The SG-1 and SGA gates were made later on, so it's possible they're more durable. – user1027 Nov 10 '11 at 15:10
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Destiny had a lot of prototype technology, including the gates. If you remember the chair that powers Destiny had a frightening interface.

It's the discovery of naquadah in our galaxy that made them start to be nearly indestructible. They perfected the technology as they went. Remember, they build Atlantis on Earth before taking it to the Pegasus galaxy and seeding it. The SG:A gates were more advanced than ours.

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    You can tell they were more advanced, since they were prettier! :) – geoffc Nov 10 '11 at 19:03
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    I wonder if this means that the older gates wouldn't have survived dialing near a black hole, the way the SG-1 gate did in one episode... – Bart Silverstrim Nov 17 '11 at 14:52
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    @BartSilverstrim not sure, would have been a great material for SG:U to cover if it hadn't been canceled. – Alexander Kahoun Nov 17 '11 at 17:40
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    @AlexanderKahoun: There is a lot of fantastic material that we would have seen if it weren't for the evident desire of the prevalent dregs of humanity's desire to watch wrestling. Ugh. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 31 '12 at 0:55
11

Destiny's plans are old, and don't take into account the technological advances made later on. The gates it makes are less advanced as a result, and thus more prone to damage (apparently increased durability was one of those advances).

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4

I like to think of the SGU stargates as being similar to the one used in the SG1 episode Ascension, known as the mini stargate. Of course, the SGU ones were more durable, but...

In any case, the Mini Stargate was built off of materials like Titanium, fiber optics, capacitors, and a toaster. The strength of the ring was mostly Titanium, which while it is strong, wouldn't survive a reasonable blast.

As other people have said, the technology had improved considerably, surviving many events in SG-1 and SG-A. A few million years will do that;-)

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