Fictional materials in the Stargate universe
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The fictional Stargate setting contains a number of elements and other compounds unique to it, as well as fictional properties for real elements and compounds.
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[edit] Naqahdah
Naqahdah /ˈnækwɨdə/ (also spelled "Naquahdah" or "Naquadah") is a fictional, superheavy metal used in Stargate SG-1. It is also in the original Stargate movie, though never named, only described as a quartzite-like material. Also, even trace amounts of the element react to the presence of other sources of energy, a major plot element.
A variant spelling of the name, "naquahdah", is sometimes seen in various sources (including the official sites) but the "u" is not present in the instances where the word is spelled on-screen. The name originates from the Egyptian village Naqada.
Naqahdah is the basis for all the technology of the Gatebuilders known as the Ancients [Alterans]. When the ancients left the Milky Way, much of their technology was scavenged by the Goa'uld making this material the basis for their technology as well. Naqahdah is used to handle the massive energy requirements in order to create a stable wormhole by a device known as a Stargate, which is composed almost entirely of Naqahdah.
Naqahdah has a dull grey sheen in its natural form, and is known to possess two, possibly three allotropes: Liquid Naqahdah, which fluoresces green and is used to power staff weapons, Heavy Liquid Naqahdah (mentioned in a dream sequence, [1] leaving its existence in true Stargate canon questionable), and Naqahdriah, which is an unstable heavy isotope—Naqahdah's equivalent of Uranium-235. The Goa'uld have many mining operations on various planets extracting the mineral to be refined into Weapons-Grade Naqahdah. One could assume raw Naqahdah ore is only found mixed with other elements, similar to how Uranium exists in nature only as a component of pitchblende. Refining the element to what the Goa'uld call "Weapons-Grade" thus condenses it considerably. Weapons-Grade Naqahdah is so dense, in fact, that it generally requires two Jaffa to carry a piece of it roughly the size of a common housing brick.
Naqahdah is very rare, and does not exist naturally in Earth's solar system. It is not stated why this is the case, but the Goa'uld dominated Earth for a considerable amount of time, and they would of course have attempted to extract every trace of the material available—and possessed more than enough slave labor to do so. At least some of Earth's naqahdah supply comes from P3X-403, where, as a result of a treaty negotiated by Daniel Jackson with the native Unas, the Unas work the mines and turn over the naqahdah to the SGC. The Unas agreed to do this both to prevent the humans from desecrating Unas holy sites while mining it themselves, and to facilitate the SGC's war against the Goa'uld, whom the Unas, having been the Goa'ulds' first host species, despise considerably.
Technologically, naqahdah is of considerable value to just about every advanced race. As the only known material to interact with neutrinos, which are used to energize the material, and a superconductor capable of storing and converting many types of energy, including electrical and thermal forms, naqahdah is important in high-energy applications such as weapons, propulsion mechanisms (including hyperdrives) and force-field technologies. The refined weapons-grade metal has been shown to amplify the effects of both standard chemical and nuclear explosions, exploited by the System Lord Ra to create an enhanced nuclear warhead which was ultimately used against him. This effect has also been used by Earth forces to produce enhanced warheads and bombs, including a "gate-buster" capable of producing a multi-gigaton blast. Naqahdah itself can be used as an explosive; compact reactors utilising its energy-production properties can be set to overload, producing an uncontrollable chain reaction. The use of naqahdah as an energy source appears akin to standard nuclear fission reactors, although the radiation generated appears to be far more limited, shown by the lack of shielding used on naqahdah generators. Naqahdah has also been seen to react violently with potassium. The mechanism of this reaction is unknown, but not believed to be entirely chemical, evidenced by radiation release. The Goa'uld used this property to create a bomb implanted within a living person in order to (unsuccessfully) attempt to destroy the Earth Stargate.[2] The sheer utility of the element makes it prone to being used inefficiently—the Goa'uld use it in just about everything right down to the masks they wear to falsify their divinity to their slaves. Most other races conserve the scarce resource for use in weapons and power sources.
Naqahdah is also an integral part of the Goa'uld's physiology; its reaction to nearby concentrations of the element is almost a necessity to use their technology. A Goa'uld can also use this reaction to locate the Stargate on a given planet if one exists, and even to sense the presence of other Goa'uld at close range, which also holds true with Tok'ra and Jaffa. The host of a Goa'uld symbiote carries naqahdah in his or her blood which remains in their system, even if the symbiote is removed, the only exceptions being artificially cloned symbiotes and the Goa'uld who remained on their native homeworld (known only by its SGC designation, P3X-888), found to have no naqahdah. To explain this inconsistency, it is believed that heavy use of naqahdah-based technology, such as the sarcophagus, may have introduced the metal into their systems centuries after they left P3X-888.
Naqahdah is apparently also the standard medium of exchange within the area that is or has been under the dominion of the Goa'uld; weapons-grade naqahdah is preferred by the traders of the Lucian Alliance.
[edit] Naqahdriah
Naqahdriah (also spelled "Naquahdriah" or "Naquadria") /nəˈkwɑdɹiə/ (US) or /nəˈkwɒdɹiə/ (UK) is a highly unstable variant isotope of naqahdah with considerably greater energy producing capability—and equally greater explosive properties. It can also be used to power hyperspace engines with far smaller quantities than with naqahdah, and the greater amount of energy produced allows for intergalactic travel with reasonable transit times. Extended exposure to insufficiently shielded naqahdriah can lead to brain damage, resulting in delusions and/or schizophrenia.
Naqahdriah is an isotope that does not exist in nature, and is only formed when naqahdah is exposed to the proper catalyst. However, once it forms, it will catalyze naqadah in contact with it into naqahdria. The only known planet containing naqahdriah is Langara, where it was first synthesized millennia ago by the Goa'uld Thanos. However, his experiments ultimately culminated in an extinction level event: an explosion of astounding magnitude which destroyed much of the planet's surface and catalyzed small surface deposits of naqadah into naqahdriah. These deposits were later discovered by the nation of Kelowna, a human descendant race well into its industrial age—and fighting a cold war with the other two major nations on Langara. As part of its arms race, the Kelownans developed a naqahdriah-catalysed nuclear weapon, and eventually detonated it in response to an alliance between its two foes. The result was exactly what the Kelownans desired: a unanimous cease-fire was declared and diplomatic negotiations were resumed. It also had a result the Kelownans certainly had not desired: a devastating amount of environmental damage. However, there was a third result that could have been catastrophic, but would not be discovered for quite some time: the creation of yet more naqadriah. This time, however, the isotope catalyzed not small surface deposits of naqadah, but large underground veins of the element—which immediately began to react to the heat and pressure of the depths of the planet's crust. This almost resulted in the detonation of a large underground pocket of naqahdriah which would have certainly rendered the planet uninhabitable, if not destroy it entirely.
The Earth Mark IX "Gatebuster" nuclear bomb is enhanced with naqahdriah, allowing it to detonate the naqahdah in a Stargate, creating a truly overwhelming explosion. The energy released is sufficient to render most shields useless.
[edit] Trinium
Trinium is a metal that is very weak and brittle in raw form but can be refined into a substance 100 times stronger and lighter than steel. It is a key component in Tollan technology. Stargate Command has attempted to acquire reserves of it several times. It has been put to good use as the iris installed on the SGC's Stargate is a trinium-titanium alloy. It is also used for the hulls of Earth's battlecruisers such as the Prometheus and its Daedalus-class ships.
The Asgard use a Trinium, Carbon, and Naqahdah alloy as the hull for their ship, the O'Neill and presumably the rest of the O'Neill-class series of battleships that the Asgard employed following the O'Neill's destruction.
Trinium is distinct from tritium.
[edit] Maclarium
Maclarium is an artificially-synthesized super-heavy element, named after its fictional creator, Dr. MacLaren. It has an atomic weight of over 200 and was first referenced in the episode "Red Sky." Originally named HU-2340, it was introduced into a sun to render foreign plutonium atoms inert as they were changing the sun's nuclear reaction enough to eventually destroy all life on a nearby planet.
[edit] Tretonin
Tretonin is a drug extracted from Goa'uld symbiotes. The drug reproduces the symbiote's ability to heal its host, almost magically, of physical damage within a short while, in addition to drastically increasing their resistance to disease. Unfortunately, also emulating the effects of a symbiote, the drug suppresses the user's own immune system. This effectively makes a tretonin user dependent on the drug for the rest of his or her life. However, the Tok'ra were able to develop a cure which restored the user's original immune system, making it safe to permanently halt use of the drug.
The drug was developed by the Pangarans as a miracle drug to cure any disease, hopefully eventually eradicating it from their entire planet. The Pangarans got the Goa'uld symbiotes from the mother of the Tok'ra resistance movement, the queen Egeria.[3]
The Tok'ra, using Pangaran knowledge, have developed a purely synthetic Tretonin, used by the Jaffa in place of immature Goa'uld symbiotes. The first test subjects were Teal'c and Bra'tac.[4]
A small number of Jaffa may be contraindicated with regard to tretonin treatment; in such patients, the tretonin simply does not work, the symbiote can be reintroduced, but if the Jaffa does wait too long, both symbiote and Jaffa die; the first instance of this was with Mala, the second-in-command of Ishta, leader of the Hak'tyl.[5]
[edit] Neutronium
Neutronium is an element basic for the Asgard technology and essential to build human Replicators. Superdense, neutronium is composed entirely of super-packed neutrons that are truly more dense than almost any other matter. Incredibly rare, Neutronium is the only known inhibitor of both the Asgard and Replicator populations, and it is found only in the cores of super-cooled neutron stars; chunks of dark matter that would otherwise appear to be normal planetoids. Supreme Commander Thor once stated that their homeworld Orilla was the location of the only sizable source of Neutronium remaining in the Asgard galaxy.
It is revealed that the Asurans also make use of Neutronium in order to create nanites and that Earth has acquired Neutronium in order to create nanites in their own research into the technology.
[edit] Wraith enzyme
When a Wraith feeds on a human, it injects a special enzyme into the victim's bloodstream. This enables the victim to withstand the feeding process longer by making them stronger. Without it, humans succumb to the trauma associated with a feeding sooner. A user is highly resistant to Wraith stunners, tossed in unconsciousness after rematerilization from a Wraith Dart and is given super-human abilities. It was first mentioned in "The Siege, Part 3", when Dr. Carson Beckett found the substance in Lieutenant Aiden Ford who later set up a gang of enzyme addicted men to battle the Wraith in "The Lost Boys".
[edit] Hoffan Drug
The Hoffan Drug was a new type of drug developed by the Hoffan people in the Pegasus galaxy to serve as an effective weapon against Wraith feeding. Those treated with the drug were immune to Wraith feeding as the process poisoned the Wraith in question who died from organ failure. The process was however deadly to the Hoffan people as well who suffered a 50% casualty rate from the use of the drug. It was this drug that caused the destruction of the civilization by the hands of the Wraith.
The Wraith known as Michael would make use of the initial work on the Hoffan drug to create a poison that was distributed to many Human worlds in the Pegasus galaxy in order to poison the various Wraith factions. This was a weapon designed to deplete the Wraith's numbers and had a 30% fatality rate on those Humans that were treated with it.
[edit] References
- ^ "Absolute Power"
- ^ Cassandra, see "Singularity"
- ^ "Cure"
- ^ "The Changeling"
- ^ "Birthright"
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