# Stargate : Season Two - A Matter of Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822 "2005-03-16T15:27:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/1 "2005-03-16T15:27:45Z")
In this episode the presence of a blackhole near the distant stargate means that the team are unable to close the wormhome. When they realise that objects (smoke at first) was being drawn to the 'gate they guessed that it was the blackhole’s gravity that was attracting the objects. The response was to close the iris. Later in the show, when the gravity became too strong and the iris was ripped apart, the effect of the blackhole’s gravity in the base was increased (people being dragged towards the stargate and such). How is it possible that a piece of metal could have halted the effect of the 'holes gravity? Surely it shouldn’t have made any difference? ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/2 "2005-03-16T15:36:58Z")
> [@Ponster](#): > > How is it possible that a piece of metal could have halted the effect of the 'holes gravity? Surely it shouldn’t have made any difference? Hm. It’s Standard Operating Procedure to close the iris at any hint of threat, so they closed the iris as an automatic response. I doubt that the iris blocked the power of the black hole at all, the black hole kept pulling just as if the iris wasn’t there, but as long as the black hole wasn’t strong enough/close enough to pull the iris apart, smaller things (like air) wouldn’t be sucked through. I haven’t seen the episode lately, so I don’t know if they actually say, “Oh good, the iris has decreased the power of the black hole! _For now._” But assuming they didn’t… How’s that? ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/3 "2005-03-16T15:48:04Z")
A wizard did it. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/4 "2005-03-16T15:58:38Z")
I agree with Rysler. Everything was getting sucked toward the Gate - the iris made no difference. The effect of the black hole was increasing anyway. Hence the whole “world in danger” scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/5 "2005-03-16T17:28:33Z")
I think “wizard” is about the right answer. Strictly speaking, the iris should have made no difference. But it’s positioned a few angstroms above the event horizon of the wormhole, so make up your own technobabble about the gravitational energy being prevented from reintegrating. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/6 "2005-03-16T17:37:21Z")
Could someone explain the ending of that episode? To close the wormhole, they… used a bomb to pump a ton of energy into the stargate, which caused … what? Somehow, this solved the problem, but I didn’t understand what the bomb was supposed to do. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/7 "2005-03-16T17:53:49Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Could someone explain the ending of that episode? To close the wormhole, they… used a bomb to pump a ton of energy into the stargate, which caused … what? Somehow, this solved the problem, but I didn’t understand what the bomb was supposed to do. In a previous episode, they figgered out that an energy spike at a gate would cause the wormhole to jump to another gate somewhere else. In essence, the bomb was used to force a disconnect so they could hang up. Spoilers to hide details of a 7 year old episode is a silly concept, IMAO. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/8 "2005-03-16T19:04:50Z")
_Posting on behalf of **Ponster** wwho has had to go out_ “OK, but in the scene where O’Neill & Cromwell are going down the ropes to position the bomb - the iris gives way and both men are suddenly jerked closer to the Stargate as if there’s a sudden increase in gravity. Which shouldn’t happen.” ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/9 "2005-03-16T19:10:43Z")
My no-prize explanation: When the iris went, Earth’s air began to be sucked into the black hole. This caused objects, such as Air Force Colonels, to be pulled toward the gate by the airflow. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/10 "2005-03-16T19:38:16Z")
Whispering - that’s what I thought too, a sort of vacuum effect, sssh though don’t tell. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/11 "2005-03-16T22:57:19Z")
For example, take your vaccum and but a piece of cardboard infront of the hole. Nothing will get sucked through. Drop the cardboard and you’ve got suction. Basically the same thing, except a much bigger vaccum. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/12 "2005-03-17T00:00:00Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > My no-prize explanation: Great reference. Who here knows where that comes from, and further, who here has, in their very, very early youth actually sent off a letter requesting a no-prize and waited patiently expecting to actually get something? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/13 "2005-03-17T03:24:45Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > In a previous episode, they figgered out that an energy spike at a gate would cause the wormhole to jump to another gate somewhere else. Was this the episode where O’Neil and Carter ended up at the Beta gate in Antarctica? I’ve never managed to catch the first half of that epsiode. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/14 "2005-03-17T06:06:56Z")
That’s the one **Diceman** 🙂 . IIRC correctlySG-1 were under fire, O’Neill and Carter were jsut behind the other two and there was an explosion just as they enetered the gate which threw the wormhole just slightly off course. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/15 "2005-03-17T09:14:09Z")
Hmmmm, I think I’ll go with that answer though it did seem strange the first time I saw it 🙂 **Diceman** I have the DVD’s if you need them… ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-season-two-a-matter-of-time/294822/16 "2005-03-17T12:22:55Z")
Thanks, guys. It’s interesting that the energy spike effects the opposite end of the wormhole. I would have expected it to cause the same end to jump.