Power sources in the 41st millennium

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**The Imperial Answer**

So what exactally do the factions use to power their machines of war ?

I know in the case of the imperium its promethium (usually) But what about every other faction ?

I've heard of everything from small suns to an actual boiler and gears being used in some cases.

What other power sources are available for the various races ?

**Rx8Speed**

pretty sure orks just use good ol' v8s with gasoline and prob some nitrous and grot juice thrown in there

**Wyzilla**

The Imperium uses oodles and oodles of fusion power for just about everything that isn't a guard vehicle.

**Ascalam**

Orks use everything from squig oil internal combustion engines to fusion reactors (mini suns inside a force bubble).

Humans and Tau are big on fusion tech.

Everyone else gets a hefty heaping of treknobabble.

**Furyou Miko**

Eldar tech is almost universally powered by crystal matrices - either peizoelectric (doubtful) or charged with psi-energy by the crew/user (ridiculous) or drawing it directly from the warp (insane).

Dark Eldar fuel everything with distilled agony. Literally.

**PhillyT**

Dark Eldar fluff is beyond dumb.

**morgoth**

You don't know until you've tried it

**Co'tor Shas**

Tau do fusion and plasma gens.

**Mr Nobody**

The Necrons harness the power of dying suns. Don't know how that works, but it sounds AWESOME.

**The Imperial Answer**

Mr Nobody wrote:
The Necrons harness the power of dying suns. Don't know how that works, but it sounds AWESOME.

I think the C'tan might explain the how. I think they used to eat stars in the older lore.

**ALEXisAWESOME**

Furyou Miko wrote:
Dark Eldar fuel everything with distilled agony. Literally.

Well that's an over exaggeration and you know it

Dark Eldar are, second only to Necrons, one of the most technologically advanced races in the universe, out stripping their Eldar cousins. Craftworld Eldar rely on Psychic Energy and even the Souls of their own dead for many of their weapons and almost all of their large ships while Dark Eldar power their Tech with nothing but murderous know-how. Only the Haemonculi actually power things via pain, for example the Talos and Chronus Pain Engine, most of the other, and frankly more impressive Tech, such as the Void Mine and Implosion missile were all made through almost natural causes.

**Co'tor Shas**

Mr Nobody wrote:
The Necrons harness the power of dying suns. Don't know how that works, but it sounds AWESOME.

IIRC the Tau have (at times unsuccessfully) tried to drain the power from living stars. This sometimes causes them to supernova.

**The Imperial Answer**

On the question of a power source, how effective is using a daemon ? Since their energy beings is it possible to burn one out after so long or are they considered renewable energy ?

**jhe90**

Some impirial tanks can run on multi fuel, basicly if it burns it runs but different fuels can reduce engine life before it needs a overhaul.

**Mr Nobody**

The Imperial Answer wrote:
On the question of a power source, how effective is using a daemon ? Since their energy beings is it possible to burn one out after so long or are they considered renewable energy ?

There are examples of machines being animated by bonding it to a demon. Most often the demon breaks free or warps the the machine, rather than being burnt out.

**Grey Templar**

Most regular Imperial vehicles use multi-fuel, which is just slang for any number of hydrocarbon fuels. Which includes both biofuel, petroleum derivatives, and alcohol based fuel. If its liquid and it burns it can be used as multi-fuel.

Promethium is what the Imperium calls refined petroleum, but due to its relative scarcity its mostly reserved for use in Flamer type weaponry and in high end vehicles that need better quality fuel.

Anything thats reasonably large or special will be powered by a Fusion reactor. Titans, Land Raiders, Dreadnoughts, Power and Terminator armor, etc... all have Fusion reactors.

The IG also have portable Fusion reactors and/or gas generators for the charging of lasguns in the field.

Solar power also is used, but seems to only be used where more permanent or expensive methods of power are not viable.

The Necrons seem to draw energy from stars.

Tau are at least up to Fusion. They're probably exclusively using electricity from Fusion at this point. With suits likely being battery powered.

Orks have oil squigs, and they'll use any natural sources of fuel as well.

Eldar appear to have Fusion of some kind or another, but they could be drawing energy directly from the Warp.

**Co'tor Shas**

The tau have fusion, plasma, and dark-matter generators at this point. The first battle suits were fueled by some sort of refined petroleum, but the second series had nuclear power sources. The current ones are well past the second series.

IIRC they are powered by miniature plasma gens.

**Grey Templar**

I don't remember them having Dark Matter generators.

**Co'tor Shas**

Nova generator is a miniature one. It's a smaller copy of what they use in their ships.

**morgoth**

jhe90 wrote:
Some impirial tanks can run on multi fuel, basicly if it burns it runs but different fuels can reduce engine life before it needs a overhaul.

Just like modern tanks... how surprising.

**Co'tor Shas**

Leman Russes can run on coal if they want. Steampunk tanks!

**Grey Templar**

Indeed, but that would require a different engine.

The standard Imperial engine only accepts liquids, but as long as thats flammable it works.

**Iron_Captain**

The Imperium's vehicles run on incense and prayers

**Furyou Miko**

ALEXisAWESOME wrote:
Furyou Miko wrote:
Dark Eldar fuel everything with distilled agony. Literally.

Well that's an over exaggeration and you know it Dark Eldar are, second only to Necrons, one of the most technologically advanced races in the universe, out stripping their Eldar cousins. Craftworld Eldar rely on Psychic Energy and even the Souls of their own dead for many of their weapons and almost all of their large ships while Dark Eldar power their Tech with nothing but murderous know-how. Only the Haemonculi actually power things via pain, for example the Talos and Chronus Pain Engine, most of the other, and frankly more impressive Tech, such as the Void Mine and Implosion missile were all made through almost natural causes.

Interestingly, someone recently related to me that a certain reputable dictionary has recently added 'figuratively' to the list of definitions for the word 'literally'.

**The Imperial Answer**

Co'tor Shas wrote:
Leman Russes can run on coal if they want. Steampunk tanks!

I think a few ork vehicles are steam powered. I know the feral ork gargants is.

The old poster showing the internal workings of a stompa shows they can have either a boiler or a furnace.

Also apparently that thing on the back of the gorkanaut and the morkanaut is a boiler according to the Sanctus Reach's Hour of the Wolf.

Who knew steam power worked so well in the 41st millennium.

**Maximus Bitch**

And the Tyranids eat FOOD

**EmpNortonII**

Co'tor Shas wrote:
Tau do fusion and plasma gens.

Not to be that guy... but does GW realize that fusion reactors (like the sun) are by necessity fuled by hydrogen (and other elements, when they're dying) plasma?

GW needs to hire a physicist as a science adviser.

**Grey Templar**

GW uses Plasma and Fusion interchangeably.

I like to think of it like this. Plasma is what the ignorant plebs in 40k call the generator technology, as thats likely the highest their education gets. They're told Plasma, the 4th state of matter, undergoes a complicated reaction.

the more educated call it by the proper name of Fusion.

**Frankenberry**

If it's anything super-duper advanced it's some sort of 'Plasma-Fusion *que fake latin word here* Generator'.

Generic tanks and such run on promethium.

**argonak**

Co'tor Shas wrote:
Leman Russes can run on coal if they want. Steampunk tanks!

Its actually not uncommon to gasify coal on earth, and then you're just left with (essentially) natural gas. And that's easy enough to run a combustion engine on.

An actual steam tank would be a nightmare of fuel and water issues. they're just not that efficient. But gasified coal works fine. You can even gasify wood if you want. A number of countries did so to fuel vehicles in ww2.