# Power Armour power source



## Archlich (Apr 14, 2011)

Hi,

Does anyone know what kind of power source is attached to the Power Armour?


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

They run off of miniature nuclear reactors if I am not mistaken. Essentially they are nuclear powered but I do not believe they explode if shot at or at least not like a nuclear warhead would.


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## Archlich (Apr 14, 2011)

So essentialy everyone with geiger counter should be able to detect them from far away?

On the separate note I don't belive I ever read that anyone would be trying to strike power source to disable Space Marine..


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## WinZip (Oct 9, 2010)

"The armour's backpack contains the suit's main power source -- a solar power converter and 100 solar cell batteries to store the absorbed solar energy, including a back-up microfusion array -- as well as its environmental and life support systems and additional movement stabiliser thrusters for low and zero-gravity combat."
-Warhammer 40k Wiki on Power Armour


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

40kWikia is known for being the worst of them. Solar? I want to say I have Child of the Emperor's support in this but I'll say it anyways, that's 100% false. It's nuclear driven and has been stated so many times but I don't feel like reading through the various novels stating this.

And they are insulated so they can't be detected by geiger readers or at least I don't think so. But there have been instances where Astartes power-down their armor to render themselves 'invisible' to mechanical detection.


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## WinZip (Oct 9, 2010)

Bah, it was worth a read though :grin:

And now that i read the whole thing again i realize how ridiculous it sounds xD


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## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

Malus Darkblade said:


> They run off of miniature nuclear reactors if I am not mistaken. Essentially they are nuclear powered but I do not believe they explode if shot at or at least not like a nuclear warhead would.


Wait...... are you saying that if you were to shoot a nuclear bomb it would explode, or that if you shoot a nuclear reactor it would just cause a breach in containment and leak ungodly amounts of radiation, but not explode like a nuclear bomb does?


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm saying that that the nuclear fission tech in the Wh40k universe present in Astartes armor won't explode if shot at which is why in Astartes vs Astartes battles, we don't see nuclear explosions.


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## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

Malus Darkblade said:


> I'm saying that that the nuclear fission tech in the Wh40k universe present in Astartes armor won't explode if shot at which is why in Astartes vs Astartes battles, we don't see nuclear explosions.


Nuclear fission tech (re:reactor) won't produce a nuclear explosion period, be it ours or theirs, but I gotcha.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

WinZip said:


> -*Warhammer 40k Wiki* on Power Armour


:shok: 

No, just no.


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## yoyoyo12365 (Dec 6, 2010)

Quick question that pertains to the information in this thread: If 40k wikia is so bad, is librarium any better?

EDIT: sorry, I meant Lexicanum


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## khrone forever (Dec 13, 2010)

and what about lexicanum?


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## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

They are both great resources and you shouldn't be afraid to search for information there. However, it isn't advisable to hinge arguments on information acquired from them.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Lexicanum is a better source for information over 40k wiki. While both work in a similar fashion (using the coding of wikipedia and the like) Lexicanum is watched over more heavily. I have seen people try to mess with articles only for them to be returned back to normal before the hour was up, where an article from 40k wiki might never go unchanged.


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## khrone forever (Dec 13, 2010)

good  so my hours of trauling through lexicanum arnt wasted


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Key thing to look for on lexicanum is the source given. Whilst alot of the info on there is still accurate despite not having its source stated, it's still better to have one.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Though of course everyone knows I refuse to accept Lexicanum as a source unless you can provide the reference Lex gets it's info from- otherwise I consider Lexicanum about as reliable as a case of fungal cock rot.


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## Icarsun (Dec 14, 2011)

For a BL reference to the Marines power source, there is Lord of the Night. In the story, Sahaal is described as collecting an extra fusion rack designed for Marine backpacks, which he then later fashions into an IED for some good old revenge.


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## Mob (Nov 14, 2010)

As much as I am loathe to back up anything 40wikia says (for reasons that don't need gone into here), the concept of the backpacks having solar panels is not made up.

The old RT-era expanded technical drawing of a suit of Corvus armour showed solar panels, a converter, and yes, 100 energy cells. It's outdated fluff obv, but there you go.


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## Warlock in Training (Jun 10, 2008)

Mob said:


> As much as I am loathe to back up anything 40wikia says (for reasons that don't need gone into here), the concept of the backpacks having solar panels is not made up.
> 
> The old RT-era expanded technical drawing of a suit of Corvus armour showed solar panels, a converter, and yes, 100 energy cells. It's outdated fluff obv, but there you go.


The fact you remember that will get you flogged by the younger Generation. Next you'll say Hrud use to be Space Men akin the Skaven and not the Swamp Monsters they clearly always been....... oh wait.


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## Mob (Nov 14, 2010)

Warlock in Training said:


> The fact you remember that will get you flogged by the younger Generation. Next you'll say Hrud use to be Space Men akin the Skaven and not the Swamp Monsters they clearly always been....... oh wait.


Ha, I don't think it's that bad. And I do miss the space rats, but not as much as Imperial Beastmen or Chuck and Eddie. Although Chuck is kinda back now, come to think, thanks to Forgeworld.


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## stephen.w.langdon (Jan 1, 2012)

Talking of Rogue Trader,

I still have my copy in storage, as well as 2nd, 3rd and 4th edition rules somewhere :grin:

View attachment 959932292


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## Warlock in Training (Jun 10, 2008)

I lost every 3rd edition dex in a move. Really sucked.


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

If i was in aus i would have posted that myself. I seem to recall the solar bit too. The thing is we all love the fluff but there are some bits that are flat out wrong or weird. i still remember the bolter rounds with a depleted deuterium core(heavy water?). Edit. Sorry, Heavy Hydrogen. Water containing Heavy hydrogen and oxygen is heavy water.


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## Baltar (Aug 16, 2008)

Think there is some info on power source for power armour in the Dark Heresy rules somewhere. I know that it can be powered from either a backpack source, or from non-standard equipment. The rules do not give any time for how long millitary issue power supplies last, but non-millitary supplies last up to 1d5 hours (runs out very quickly).

I assume that a proper issue backpack would last much, much longer...

Probably worth checking the Deathwatch rules or the adventure book for DH that contains the character Brother-Sergeant Agamorr. He is a SM that turns up early in the DH adventures, and he has a full rules set.

EDIT: Just checked his rules - there is no mention of the time his supply last, so considering that the mission you're on lasts, potentially, weeks/months without supply, then you can prolly assume it would last almost indefinitely (within reason).

PS: Fusion reactions don't last like a fission supply. They just need hardly any energy to sustain which makes them desirable. They need a regular supply of fuel which would make them useless as a power supply to a space marine. It's much more likely that a fission source is present, such as a radioisotope attached to a thermocouple. Search RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) if you're interested. It's what we use to power spacecraft for very long durations (lasts decades) and it isn't enormous.


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## chromedog (Oct 31, 2007)

Archlich said:


> So essentialy everyone with geiger counter should be able to detect them from far away?
> 
> On the separate note I don't belive I ever read that anyone would be trying to strike power source to disable Space Marine..



Geiger counters are good for detecting Ionising radiation.

I don't believe a fusion reactor puts out that kind of radiation.
FISSION piles emit ionising radiation.
Fusion reactors (in theory) would not be visible (radiation wise) above background radiation.

You'd be able to detect the metallic (or metallo-ceramic) mass and power usage though and heat output.


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## Over Two Meters Tall! (Nov 1, 2010)

I imagine the entire backpack power scheme would have to be interchangable due to the multiple environments in which solar is just plain impractical; Necron sub-terranian hunts, entire chapters located on 'night' worlds without appreciable light, underwater battles, etc. Who knows, this could be one of the lost bits of technology that make replacing/fabricating new power armor so difficult.

On the side of a mini-fission reactor, it would ensure that any major space marine battleground would be sanctified for millennia to come due to the ambient radiation present :grin:


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

Over Two Meters Tall! said:


> I imagine the entire backpack power scheme would have to be interchangable due to the multiple environments in which solar is just plain impractical; Necron sub-terranian hunts, entire chapters located on 'night' worlds without appreciable light, underwater battles, etc. Who knows, this could be one of the lost bits of technology that make replacing/fabricating new power armor so difficult.
> 
> On the side of a mini-fission reactor, it would ensure that any major space marine battleground would be sanctified for millennia to come due to the ambient radiation present :grin:


Pretty sure the linked image has been retconned to use nuclear power because like you said, solar power in dark envrionments or where the sun has been blocked out by pollution would not work.


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## Baltar (Aug 16, 2008)

I'd find it likely that there would be many different supplies for one suit. There would likely be solar cells. RTG's. Chemical cells. The list goes on.

I strongly doubt that there would be any nuclear reactor, either fission or fusion. It is still a backpack, after all...


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

Your doubts are based on our current understanding of nuclear tech and our limitations with it. We're talking about a universe with orks and monsters.


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## Baltar (Aug 16, 2008)

Yes, but as I already mentioned: Things like chemical cells, solar cells, and RTG's don't need refuelling. Fission and fusion reactors both need fuel supplies. Fission reactors also produce waste. Rather than being a technological impossibility, it just doesn't seem sensible. Especially not when something like an RTG would do the same job for such a small demand of power - would never need refuelling (well, the half life of the fuel source could be thousands of years, if that counts as never needing to be ressuplied) - and would never need recharging.


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## Davidicus 40k (Jun 4, 2010)

The backpacks produce perpetual ("free") energy, because Space Marines are awesome.

But, seriously, I always thought it was some kind of fusion. "Nuclear powered" sounds cool, but "fusion" is much more sci-fi. Especially "cold fusion."


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/File:Mk6corvuscompositiom.JPG#.TwORH9Rhsex

this is an MK6 power armour schematic


i couldnt find a schematic for the MK7 and 8 power armour but they look substantialy different from mk8 power armour.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

It runs on Space Marine piss.


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