| Ultra-Indigo Photon De-Accelerator | |
|---|---|
|
Creator |
Leo Weinbrenner |
|
Type |
Particle Decelerator |
|
Intended Effect |
Slows down light particles and causes time to flow backwards from the activated moment |
|
Malfunction |
Recurring time loops until dissolution of user and surrounding temporal area |
|
Location |
|
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 13 |
|
Date of Incident |
August 19, 2008 x 5 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is situated between visible light and x-rays on the EM spectrum. UV exists in frequencies of 8 × 1014 to 3 × 1016 Hz and wavelengths of 400 to 10 nanometers.
Sunlight that reaches the atmosphere carries high energy as ionization, which breaks the chemical bonds of gases such as oxygen, turning it into ozone. Longer wavelengths (UVA and UVB) make the skin release melanin to absorb the light energy effectively. Most suntans are caused by this absorption, but overexposure can cause burning inflammation and even cellular damage that leads to skin cancer. The creation of vitamin D is also a direct result from UV sunlight.
Many natural sources glow under UV exposure including coral, scorpions, tree frogs, phytoplankton and a litany of mineral species. Any UV waves absorbed carry higher energy than visible light; when those electrons lose energy, they revert to a lower energy state and emit visible light. This will make some objects appear brighter in direct sunlight because it both reflects the initial visible light and releases UV as more visible light, making it useful for safety vests and road signage.
Artificial sources rely on passing an electric current through gas. Black lights release UVA radiation only to observe normally invisible fluorescence, the glowing state of an object releasing UV light. The resulting effect is usually a bright neon tint that is completely unviewable under regular light. Uses include medical diagnosis, sterilization, banknote and ID verification, security markings, art installations, astronomy photographs and forensics.
Effects[]
Generates a field of ultra-indigo surrounding the machinery. Thought to be merely theoretical, it is the frequency between visible light and UV radiation visually closest to pure black. Exposure to the light causes any reflected particles to stop moving in sync with the normal spectrum of light. The particle decelerator forces one light photon to travel slower than normal, a universal constant of physics. Any object that absorbs the slowed light will reflect some of it back, immersing it in the same field. As more atoms are reflected at a backwards velocity, a chain reaction builds to slow more of the light field in the encompassing area until the exact point of activation.
People inside the field will see afterimages of their last positions when directly under the light. Those within direct contact will repeat roughly the last half day leading up to the machine’s time of use. A roiling wave in the sky will appear at the end of each loop, and the day is reset. Any changes they make are reset after each cycle, so nobody besides the affected remember the repeats. After each passage, the victims suffer greater injuries on return – broken bones, lacerations and contusions by the fourth go. Depending on exposure time leading up to the first round, a subject will burn apart with enough repetitions.
Synchronizing back with normal time requires a connection to the exact time constant from an atomic clock. A timing mechanism was unable to be made on the last few runs, so only manual activation can correct the timestream. To do this will require the subject operating the controls from inside the decelerator to create an eruption of forward time flow, in the process dissolving the occupant away into just atoms.
Appearances[]
It appears in the Season 3 episode “I Do Over “. Former NASA temporal physicist Leo Weinbrenner worked on maintenance as time manager, making sure all equipment was synchronized. On the day of Director Stark and Allison’s marriage, a new sub-femtosecond atomic clock was brought into Global. Running on unstable plutonium, it was designed to be the most accurate source for physical time on the planet. The plan was to switchover from Greenwich time to Eureka as the standard at 6 pm.
However, both Weinbrenner and Sheriff Carter were bathed in ultra-indigo that morning. When the atomic clock synced up, the backwards photons reacted and flung the two back to that earlier morning. They looped for three more cycles until they formulated a plan. Create a timer on the next run to synchronize with the atomic clock and return to linear time. Carter partially memorized the formula to break the light speed barrier to scientifically prove a loop was occurring. Weinbrenner was exposed for longer and was burned to a husk on the next run.
Carter found Fargo and Stark to jury rig the clock to force the timers to connect with another. They had no override controls, so everything was manually adjusted while within the machine. Stark took command to ensure the system worked. All the concentrated temporal energy was too much for the human body and Stark winked away into mere dust. The position of director was transferred to Allison afterwards and the machine immediately dismantled.
Gallery[]
