Stargate

Stargate is one name for a class of fictional devices which allow almost instantaneous travel between places. This article deals with the stargates that feature as a central part of stories set in the Stargate science fiction universe. They are uniformly depicted as large, usually vertical metal rings. In the stories, their function is to transport people or objects across the vast distances of space by creating a stable artificial wormhole connected to another stargate. They first appeared in the 1994 film Stargate, directed by Roland Emmerich, and then were redesigned to subsequently appear in the television series Stargate SG-1 and its spinoff Stargate Atlantis (as well as the animated series Stargate Infinity). The stargate is the central plot generator of these productions, allowing for stories focused on a small team of protagonist exploring other planet and meeting other race on foot, rather than the more prevalent, grandiose "space opera" of interstellar starship seen... full article at wikipedia