Artron energy



Artron energy was a form of ambient radiation that existed in the time vortex, (AUDIO: Shield of the Jötunn) later described by the Seventh Doctor as a form of mental energy, (PROSE: Timewyrm: Apocalypse) "artron particles" (AUDIO: Shockwave) that could be utilised in a variety of ways. Those who travelled through the vortex would absorb artron energy in the form of a "background radiation." Some life forms were even made of artron energy.

Properties
Visually, artron energy resembled a sort of blue electricity. Artron energy seemed to have an odour detectable by some species, such as the Groske. (TV: Death of the Doctor) It was measured in atto-Omegas. (PROSE: The Taking of Planet 5)

Artron energy altered and enhanced human antibodies, making the immune system of the human in question better at fighting diseases. (TV: Reset)

Nearby artron energy could be drained through use of an artron inhibitor. This would also prevent Time Lords from regenerating. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy)

Usage
The Sixth Doctor explained that although artron energy was benign, it had various uses, primarily as a power source. (AUDIO: Shield of the Jötunn)

TARDISes
Artron energy was apparently used as a source of energy to power all TARDISes and Time Scaphes, with "raw" artron energy flowing from the Eye of Harmony. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark) The Fifth Doctor once claimed to Monarch that artron energy had a relationship to the functioning of his TARDIS (or vice versa), although he did not elaborate. (TV: Four to Doomsday)

Artron energy was rich and refined in TARDISes, (TV: The Doctor's Wife) vital in the running of the ships; it could run low (PROSE: Option Lock) and when down to 10% it would mean even backup power was unavailable. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy) Materialisation caused a massive displacement of artron energy (PROSE: The Highest Science) which would help the scanners. (PROSE: Housewarming)

Within the TARDIS' generator room was an Artron Energy Capacitor. (PROSE: The Algebra of Ice)

Other uses
The Panjistri used artron energy to power their matter transporter. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Apocalypse)

The Eighth Doctor had a habit of using it to make toast. (PROSE: Alien Bodies)

During the Last Great Time War, Dalek technology further evolved/developed so they could use artron energy as a power source. A Dalek on the verge of death could be restored to operational status by the slightest touch from a time traveller. (TV: Dalek) Similarly, the touch of a time traveller could be used to activate the Time Lord-constructed Genesis Ark, which served as a dimensionally transcendental prison ship containing millions of Daleks. (TV: Doomsday) Some individuals exposed to artron energy developed a unique artron print that can be detected and tracked. The Time Lords used this to recognise and track Irving Braxiatel after he planted a data bomb in the Matrix. (AUDIO: The Inquiry)

Living creatures
Artron energy could be found in some organisms.

Humans
Artron energy was at low levels in humans but could be present at elevated levels in others. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy) "Artron energy is to normal energy what movements within the deeps of the sea are to the waves on the surface. Very slight in humans, but in some other –"

- The Eighth Doctor, before being interrupted

Coupling the human mind to a source of high-voltage electricity could result in a massive release of artron energy. The Eighth Doctor once compared the relationship between Artron and normal energy to the movement in the depths of the sea and the waves on the surface. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy)

Artron energy would be absorbed by travelling through time, such as by travellers in a TARDIS. (TV: Dalek, Invasion of the Bane, Reset)

Even touching a TARDIS could cause the passage of artron energy. Clyde Langer absorbed some artron energy from the outside of the TARDIS as he was trying to enter it while it was trapped in a time loop made by the Trickster. He then used the energy to attack the Trickster, as he was time-sensitive. (TV: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith) The Doctor later keyed into Clyde's residual artron energy in order to make a biological swap. (TV: Death of the Doctor)

Time Lords
Time Lord minds had a supply of artron energy, harmlessly siphoned off and fed into the birthing bays of the TARDISes. (AUDIO: Fractures) A surge of artron energy could restore the synapses, curing amnesia. (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles) Without artron energy, a Time Lord was unable to regenerate. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy, AUDIO: Repeat Offender)

Engin noted the Fourth Doctor must have had great reserves of artron energy to survive near-fatal attacks on his person while in the Matrix. (TV: The Deadly Assassin)

The Fifth Doctor stated that Time Lords start off with a certain amount of artron energy saturating their bodies in each incarnation, with the energy accumulating over time; their energy count is 'reset' to a specific level after each regeneration to prevent the accumulative artron energy absorbed during their lives causing excessive damage. (PROSE: Empire of Death)

Others
During the later days of the Doctor's first incarnation, the Time Lord Magnus encountered and attempted to exploit a living sphere of artron energy in space, hoping (in the words of the Seventh Doctor showing a projection of the incident) that it would have enabled the Time Lords "near-unlimited supply of temporal power and complete mastery over the Vortex". (COMIC: Flashback)

Planets
According to, the Cheetah World had high levels of artron energy in its magnetosphere, which the Seventh Doctor concluded was how it transformed those on the planet into Cheetah People. (PROSE: First Frontier)

The planet Kirith, one of the few remaining planets in the far future, had high levels of artron energy in its atmosphere. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Apocalypse)

The Tarsus system was immersed in a shockwave when it's star Tarsus Ultra collapsed into a spatial anomaly, throwing off a lethal space-time energy effect, "agitated temporal particles" containing artron particles. (AUDIO: Shockwave)

Other references
When the TARDIS' Banshee Circuits were activated, it used the mental artron energy of the Time Scaphe crew to reconfigure itself into a multi-dimensional city reminiscent of those of ancient Gallifrey. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)

The entity known as House fed on artron energy, the best and most refined source being TARDISes (The Eleventh Doctor compared it to preferring fish fingers over raw fish). To accomplish this he would lure wayward TARDISes into the "bubble universe" in which he resided to devour their energy supply. However he couldn't devour raw TARDIS energy as the deaths of the TARDIS consciousness would create a hole in the universe, so he would transfer the TARDIS mainframe into a human receptacle and devour the remaining artron energy. (TV: The Doctor's Wife)

The Khameirian Essence Chamber could drain artron energy from a TARDIS and use it power itself. (PROSE: Option Lock)

The Third Doctor had an artron energy detector. (PROSE: The Eye of the Giant)

K9 Mark III was capable of detecting artron energy. (PROSE: Interference - Book One)

UNIT could detect artron energy by the early 21st century; the TARDIS' arrival in the home of Amy Pond and Rory Williams prompted troops to storm the house. (TV: The Power of Three)

Artron emissions from the area around Coal Hill School attracted a Skovox Blitzer. (TV: The Caretaker)

Energía Artron