What's Data's power source?

[The Laughing Vulcan]

We know about his positronic brain, but what size batteries does he take?

In seven years and however many movies, why didn't we see him recharge? If you're going to show an android, that would be a pretty fundamental thing.

 

[Timo]

One might postulate a wireless recharging network on all Federation ships and installations. Something designed to keep the PADDs working, but also something that Soong would readily adopt and adapt for keeping his latest Pinocchio going.

Doesn't Data say in ST:Insurrection that he "constantly recharges"? The method is not indicated, but I'd rather believe in socketless power sockets than a built-in perpetual motion system.

If the recharging system isn't completely wireless, it could be something built into the chair in his cabin. He can probably manufacture recharging stations at will out of local materials, too.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Which invites a delicate question. Where's the recharge socket?

 

[Kegek]

Who says he needs one? Plugs of all kinds appear to have disappeared in the future in favour of wireless technology. Maybe he can simply recycle his own energy.

 

[Forbin]

His power source is his mighty mojo!

 

[FordSVT]

I'm sure he must recharge, he's said as much. Insurrection suggests he has a regenerative power source that uses his own motion to recharge his battery, like a kinetic watch or a hybrid car. Data mentions in one episode that he has to ingest some kind of substance that's akin to his blood. That wouldn't be related to his charging per se, but it's evidence he's not some kind of perfect machine, he does require maintenance.

We've never seen him plug in, but one would assume he's got to recharge sometimes, probably when he's alone in his quarters.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Early concept art from Rick Sternbach showed a bed for Data which recharged him sorta like a huge D-cell battery charger, with teminals for his head and feet. No physical connections - he'd just lie in the bed and it'd light up. This was obviously not used as a concept, since we later see him sleeping ins a regular bed.

While TNG's heydey was really before the real-life wireless revolution, I see no reason he couldn't recharge without having to plug himself to something. He's always sitting at that workstaion of his, which is unique among props - perhaps that had a recharging function.

There's no real way to recharge by walking around, since he has to expend energy to walk (shaking a wristwatch to charge it is really just transferring energy from your body too). You could theorhetically absorb potential energy from gravity by walking down stairs, but how often does THAT happen in Trek?

Mark

 

[OmarB]

Sure he recharges, it doesn't make for interesting story content to watch a robot recharging. We hardly see cars gassing up, or people having to go to the bathroom in movies. While things like that are naturalistic in the framework of a story it just takes away from the main thrust of the story.

 

[K-Star]

In Insurrection, he says his power cells constantly recharge themselves. I dunno how. And the semi-organic nutrient suspension he occasionally ingests isn't a power source, more like a lubricant.

Also, he gets plugged into the ship's computer alot, especially during full system diagnostics (see "Clues" for an example), and I'm sure he has to perform those every so often to make sure he's running just fine. Maybe that helps him recharge, too, like plugging an iPod into a computer (that recharges them, right? I'd heard that somewhere.)

I once tried to write a fanfic that explored what would happen if Data suffered a major power drain and was forced to recharge for an extended period of time. Due to lack of information, that idea was scrapped in favor of what is now the third and fourth chapter of the fanfic linked in my sig.

 

[Kegek]

K-Star said:
In Insurrection, he says his power cells constantly recharge themselves. I dunno how.

As I hinted above, he probably recycles his energy. Like when you re-charge a battery. Only this all internal somehow. *shrug*

 

[FordSVT]

Mark_Nguyen said:
Early concept art from Rick Sternbach showed a bed for Data which recharged him sorta like a huge D-cell battery charger, with teminals for his head and feet. No physical connections - he'd just lie in the bed and it'd light up. This was obviously not used as a concept, since we later see him sleeping ins a regular bed.

While TNG's heydey was really before the real-life wireless revolution, I see no reason he couldn't recharge without having to plug himself to something. He's always sitting at that workstaion of his, which is unique among props - perhaps that had a recharging function.

There's no real way to recharge by walking around, since he has to expend energy to walk (shaking a wristwatch to charge it is really just transferring energy from your body too). You could theorhetically absorb potential energy from gravity by walking down stairs, but how often does THAT happen in Trek?

Mark

Well, technically every time you take a step or your arm drops when it swings you're "falling". I'm just throwing out suggestions, not making a judgment of how practical or how much energy one might get from such trickery. It's 300 years in the future, battery and kinetic charging technology might be extremely efficient. Even if he could recoup only 5-10% of his losses when he's just walking around it might be worth it as a supplement to direct charging.

 

[Finn]

He absorbs the static electricity he gets from petting Spot.

 

[Spider]

Finn said:
He absorbs the static electricity he gets from petting Spot.

Well, based on the fact that all electrical devices are becoming more energy effecient and need less power, projecting that into TNG's time that might be enough.

 

[K-Star]

^Yeah, but he didn't always have Spot.

 

[Rick Sternbach]

Mark_Nguyen said:
Early concept art from Rick Sternbach showed a bed for Data which recharged him sorta like a huge D-cell battery charger, with teminals for his head and feet.

'Tweren't mine. That was a drawing by Andy Probert. If you really want to know what Data runs on, it's lots and lots of old lithium cell phone batter-- well, batteries of a sort. Sarium krellide power cells have been around for about 150 years, and Data's SK cell packs have been augmented by biochemical and electroplasma micro-reactors. Boy, that Dr. Soong was nothing if not thorough.

Rick
www.spacemodelsystems.com

 

[Amaris]

The Laughing Vulcan said:
Which invites a delicate question. Where's the recharge socket?

Tasha Yar.



J.

 

[HRHTheKING]

Probably some kind of glowing device in his chest.

 

[Sisu]

If Data is has to be plugged in for power, is he the socket or the plug?

One might impact on him being "fully functional", the other one would just be a pain in the posterior....

 

[K-Star]

^As far as being plugged in, I still like my "recharging during diagnostics" theory, where he gets recharged when he connects his head to a computer using that cable thing.

 

[Mike Have-Not]

What about when he was stuck for extended periods of time in places where electrical power is not readily available? Like, that planet where he had amnesia. Or on nineteenth century Earth?

There's always solar energy.