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Is it possible in the context of 40K that Orcs can build/fix up in an orkish way a nuclear reactor? Also what would it be used for? Zappa "Charga"? Any enlightenment on the subject is much appreciated.

I would consider the Orks nuclear energy/weapons program to be significantly below par.

I don't really see why they couldn't. Consider that some Mek brainstormed up the Shokk Attack gun on a whim one day, which is far beyond what we're capable of doing with today's technology while nuclear reactors are very much around in real life.

As for what they'd use it for, I guess whatever they need MOAR POWER for. Zappa charger, Gargant engine, whatever.

Lastly, I'd like to say there's something incredibly distracting about Lord Commissar's gif portrait. It keeps drawing my attention while I'm trying to type. I feel like a cat with a laser pointer being pointed at me.

 Lord Commissar wrote:
I would consider the Orks nuclear energy/weapons program to be significantly below par.

Why? Orks are actually fairly technologically competent. Ramshackle yeah, but look at stuff like the Shokk Attak Gun, that opens wormholes through the warp.

Agreed. Orks are not stupid. Their technology is unreliable, but sometimes quite advanced. Anyhow, it is far beyond anything we have today, a contemporary nuclear reactor would likely be considered low-tech even by Orkish standards.

But the question was whether they can "fix it up". Of course they can. The Orks can and will loot everything:

 ImAGeek wrote:

 Lord Commissar wrote:
I would consider the Orks nuclear energy/weapons program to be significantly below par.

Why? Orks are actually fairly technologically competent. Ramshackle yeah, but look at stuff like the Shokk Attak Gun, that opens wormholes through the warp.

Thank you. I am toying with the idea of an orc reactor and wanted to know if it will be some kind of "blasphemy"

It's ok, but it's spelled "nukular".

Orks can make fusion reactors out of scrap, according to Evil Sun Rising.

Given their total disregard for environmental damage and their general resistance to radiation, I expect they use fission technology whenever they can get their hands of suitable material.

 JimOnMars wrote:
It's ok, but it's spelled "nukular".

Good point. Ork Nu-ku-lar Powa Stashun.

Their tech looks crude (and often is), but they also build some things the TechPriests of Mars call "magic" rather than admit it's hard to figure out. Ofc, an ork isn't going to build a nuclear reactor for light or heat - good old fire works well enough for that. They'll use it for something else, probably something both destructive and horrifying.

Spetulhu wrote:

 JimOnMars wrote:
It's ok, but it's spelled "nukular".

Good point. Ork Nu-ku-lar Powa Stashun.

Their tech looks crude (and often is), but they also build some things the TechPriests of Mars call "magic" rather than admit it's hard to figure out. Ofc, an ork isn't going to build a nuclear reactor for light or heat - good old fire works well enough for that. They'll use it for something else, probably something both destructive and horrifying.

I'm pretty sure it actually is "magic." Ork stuff incorporates plenty of advanced components, but it also functions partly off of ork belief that it should work. Tech priests aren't frustrated that they can't discover the mechanism by which a piece of ork tech works. They're frustrated because it really *shouldn't.*

I can't say as to nuclear power in the 41st millennium, but in current day they're not something orks would really want. Uranium isn't extremely common and they'd have to mine for it, reactors need a lot of maintenance and can be destroyed in minutes if the rods overheat and start to melt, you need a constant supply of clean water to cool it and run the turbines, and all of this is in a massive building that'd take a lot of work to get going. I'm sure they must have something better in the future for power generation, even for ork standards. If the theories about fusion prove to be even half as good as we expect, fusion will be in every way better.

The only other purpose for it would be fission weapons, and I don't know if orks would be smart enough to utilize radiation as a weapon. Heck, it just seems so un-orky. That and atomic bombs, as that means there's nothing left behind to loot!

Imagine the potentiality for amazing fluff that comes with Ork Nuclear Reactors.

Wyldhunt wrote:

Spetulhu wrote:

 JimOnMars wrote:
It's ok, but it's spelled "nukular".

Good point. Ork Nu-ku-lar Powa Stashun.

Their tech looks crude (and often is), but they also build some things the TechPriests of Mars call "magic" rather than admit it's hard to figure out. Ofc, an ork isn't going to build a nuclear reactor for light or heat - good old fire works well enough for that. They'll use it for something else, probably something both destructive and horrifying.

I'm pretty sure it actually is "magic." Ork stuff incorporates plenty of advanced components, but it also functions partly off of ork belief that it should work. Tech priests aren't frustrated that they can't discover the mechanism by which a piece of ork tech works. They're frustrated because it really *shouldn't.*

I'm pretty sure the whole 'Ork tech works because they believe in it' thing was just a theory in universe by tech priests because they couldn't work out how it did work, if I remember correctly.

Spetulhu wrote:

 JimOnMars wrote:
It's ok, but it's spelled "nukular".

Good point. Ork Nu-ku-lar Powa Stashun.

Their tech looks crude (and often is), but they also build some things the TechPriests of Mars call "magic" rather than admit it's hard to figure out. Ofc, an ork isn't going to build a nuclear reactor for light or heat - good old fire works well enough for that. They'll use it for something else, probably something both destructive and horrifying.

That is what I was thinking -crude!!! Imagine a reactor made out of big barrel, with a big round riveted "viewport" on the front (to use the convenient hole that the explosive meltdown of the reactor blew while it was operated by its previous owners) !!! with pipes coming out of it (rusty and leaking green nuclear waste). A cooling "part" that is cooled by blowing air on it from an "ironsmith" style great bellow. The bellow itself powered by a running squig in a "hamster wheel". Also cooling rods "actuated" by a "sophisticated" "crank-pulley" system operated by hand


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 kingbobbito wrote:
I can't say as to nuclear power in the 41st millennium, but in current day they're not something orks would really want. Uranium isn't extremely common and they'd have to mine for it, reactors need a lot of maintenance and can be destroyed in minutes if the rods overheat and start to melt, you need a constant supply of clean water to cool it and run the turbines, and all of this is in a massive building that'd take a lot of work to get going. I'm sure they must have something better in the future for power generation, even for ork standards. If the theories about fusion prove to be even half as good as we expect, fusion will be in every way better.

The only other purpose for it would be fission weapons, and I don't know if orks would be smart enough to utilize radiation as a weapon. Heck, it just seems so un-orky. That and atomic bombs, as that means there's nothing left behind to loot!

That is exactly why I wanted to get people's opinions...I was rationally thinking exactly the same way...but as Canine Gallows said...imagine the potential...for disaster))))

Of course they'd use radiation as a weapon. Orks use everything as weapons. It's just the Orky way. But, seriously, Rad Grenades and such are definitely something Orks would create and use (even if not on the table-top).

I can also see orks working out a method of strapping a nuclear facility to a rocket and simply launching said facility straight at the nearest target.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Agreed. Orks are not stupid. Their technology is unreliable, but sometimes quite advanced. Anyhow, it is far beyond anything we have today, a contemporary nuclear reactor would likely be considered low-tech even by Orkish standards.

But the question was whether they can "fix it up". Of course they can. The Orks can and will loot everything:

Spoiler:

Even the Emperor Himself

The heresy with Those greenskins is epic in a tier of legends.

Yes they definitely could. Consider plasma weapons. They involve a small scale nuclear reaction akin to that which occurs in a star. Orks can make their own "plasma" weapon the kustom mega blasta. Ork nuclear tech already exists see!

Orks most certainly have the ability to make nuclear reactors, even more advanced than the ones we have today.

They're probably not anywhere near what we would call "safe", but they're not concerned with that and they're much hardier than we are.

I betcha its possible. But probably not very useful. I can only imagine that, if it were to happen, dozens of orks would die at the hands of it each day, just from supplying it with the materials it needs (Uranium, Plutonium, etc.) or simply from the radiation it would put out.

Edit: a reactor really isnt that complicated anyways, unless you want to make it actually safe, so it wont blow up. Same thing with an atomic bomb. If the orks can make titans, they can probably make reactors.

What most people don't realize is that a nuclear reactor is nothing more than a steam generator. The only thing it has going for it is the fuel to generate the steam to turn the turbines has no immedate polution problems. Its actually very simple in theory if not safe application.

So with that thought, Orks could easily build and maintain one. Its just that they wouldn't care as much about the byproducts and potential hazzards.

Hoever on that note its quite possible that nuclear power is so old school tech in the year 40k it would be like us being really excited about heating water over a camp fire. I'm sure new elements and/or power production exists that makes nuclear power obsolite.

Orks are not given enough credit on how smart they are. Out of all the armies they should have the largest verity of weapons and vehicles, since they are always trying new things.

heck they even loot/repair/use other races technology. No other race uses or understand other races technology. Yes they may loose a hand or two learning, but they figure it out.


So a nuclear reactor would be easy for orks.

I have no doubt that a big mek might make something out of 'sum glowwin gubbinz' and realize it was 'givvin off powa'.
Simple matter of 'klectin da powa' for a tellyporta project or something.

Bad ruck captain of the flash gitz has a gun that shoots radioactive charges and is slowly killing him but he dont care. So orks and reactors id say no problems though as said theyed ramp it up strap it to a bomb and give it as a gift to there current enemy.

ha ha boooom

 ImAGeek wrote:

Wyldhunt wrote:

Spetulhu wrote:

 JimOnMars wrote:
It's ok, but it's spelled "nukular".

Good point. Ork Nu-ku-lar Powa Stashun.

Their tech looks crude (and often is), but they also build some things the TechPriests of Mars call "magic" rather than admit it's hard to figure out. Ofc, an ork isn't going to build a nuclear reactor for light or heat - good old fire works well enough for that. They'll use it for something else, probably something both destructive and horrifying.

I'm pretty sure it actually is "magic." Ork stuff incorporates plenty of advanced components, but it also functions partly off of ork belief that it should work. Tech priests aren't frustrated that they can't discover the mechanism by which a piece of ork tech works. They're frustrated because it really *shouldn't.*

I'm pretty sure the whole 'Ork tech works because they believe in it' thing was just a theory in universe by tech priests because they couldn't work out how it did work, if I remember correctly.

In Evil Sun Rising, the character Madboy states that Ork technology makes use of etheric energies given off by Orks. He finds it strange that humans don't have a similar system. So in-universe, the Orks do understand that by believing in it (whatever "it" is), it will work.

And in the same book, the nuclear fusion reactor that the Mek builds is used to power a Gorkanaut. Everyone in the crew refers to the fusion reactor core as an "evil sun."

 Dicrel Seijin wrote:

In Evil Sun Rising, the character Madboy states that Ork technology makes use of etheric energies given off by Orks. He finds it strange that humans don't have a similar system. So in-universe, the Orks do understand that by believing in it (whatever "it" is), it will work.

And in the same book, the nuclear fusion reactor that the Mek builds is used to power a Gorkanaut. Everyone in the crew refers to the fusion reactor core as an "evil sun."

The book makes it clear that "Evil Suns" are a particularly tricky engine to cobble together and keep working, and that many more practical-minded Bosses prefer good old fashioned oil burners. However, the Evil Sun also is capable of quite substantial power generation, and is needed for a lot of energy-intensive devices like large scale traktor beams.

As for nuclear weapons, the orks are very impressed by noise and explosions, so I can certainly see them using bombs and the like, but probably not killing with radiation beams or anything like that. Heck, orks don't like lasers because they don't make enough noise. I image they would find killing the enemy using radiation poisoning as 'spoiling the whole fight'.

ok, is this a myth that needs to be stamped out? the popular opinion in media is that a nuclear reactor can explode when it goes critical...that deosnt make sense, thats not even how a nuke goes off. the most i understand of how a reactor "explodes" is a meltdown that just means that its radiation cant be contained due to poor management and is released. heck, Chernobyl is not a crater, its ghost town.

Dakkafang Dreggrim wrote: No other race uses or understand other races technology.

Well, you're right on the first part. Not so much on the second.

Nuklear powad choppas boss.

 n0t_u wrote:
Nuklear powad choppas boss.

How about a piece of terrain/objective: Imagine a reactor made out of big barrel, with a big round riveted "viewport" on the front (to use the convenient hole that the explosive meltdown of the reactor blew while it was operated by its previous owners) !!! with all kinds of pipes coming out of it (rusty and leaking green nuclear waste). A cooling "part" that a radiator of an old Ork transport, and is cooled by blowing air on it from an "ironsmith" style great bellow. The bellow itself powered by a squig running in a "hamster wheel". Also cooling rods "actuated" by a "sophisticated" "crank-pulley" system operated by hand... the ork way