The Tesla Reactor is the Soviet Union's basic power plant in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and its expansion pack.
Background
It was developed based on theoretical and practical design specs created by Nikola Tesla, as its name implies. Unlike its predecessor, which was a simple conventional power plant that was practically identical to its Allied counterpart, the Tesla reactor is an USSR patented device that used a pure and regenerative energy loop of electricity to provide power for Soviet bases. It shares many similarities with an earlier creation, the Tesla coil, but differs significantly: where the Tesla coil was a barely contained open circuit of electricity, the Tesla reactor was a well grounded closed circuit.
The Tesla Reactor employs Magnetohydrodynamic MHD Technology, where the plasma channel of the Tesla discharges, activates a electric current. Periodic breakdowns generate the vivid display of the cascading energy flow seen occasionally. It is believed that there is a Van De Graff generator, carries energy to the Core Orb, where it is stored. When the charge exceeds the containment capacity point, a breakdown occurs with the energy discharging to the base, activating the MHD Coil loop.
The first models of the reactor were originally used to power Soviet homes and buildings, providing a cheap source of renewable energy that was well suited to the tight purse string economy the nation had at the time. It quickly proved useful on the battlefield, both on account of its reliability and the fact that it does not explode if ruptured, unlike the more powerful Nuclear reactor. Also, the fact that the device could be constructed from cheap and affordable parts, some of which could practically be scavenged from destroyed machine hulks, only made it grow in popularity faster.
After Anatoly Cherdenko's interference with the timeline, the Tesla reactor was replaced by the more traditional Reactor.
In-game
While the Tesla reactor is quick to construct and provides the same amount of power units per credit spent as the second-generation power plant used by the Allies, it occupies a larger footprint (2x3 vs. 2x2) and produces less power per reactor, meaning equivalent power generation requires considerably more space.
Development
Originally, it was supposed to be an advanced nuclear reactor, with the ball being an exposed reaction chamber and a sliding barrier that could extend and protect it (the cut Turtle mode).
Gallery
Add an image to this gallerySee also
- Nuclear reactor (Red Alert 2)
- Power plant (Red Alert 2) - Allied equivalent
- Bio reactor - Yuri equivalent
- Tech Civilian Power Plant - Tech building
