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 : " " ) " 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 - Omega s . ( 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 Lord s 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 TARDIS es and Time Scaphe s , with " raw " artron energy flowing from the Eye of Harmony . ( PROSE : " " ) 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 : " " ) 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 " ) As explained , at least one specific signature of artron radiation could be used as a key to open portals to time lock ed dimensions . ( COMIC : " Doorway to Hell " ) Sources . Living creatures . Artron energy could be found in some organisms . Humans . Artron energy was at low levels in human s but could be present at elevated levels in others . ( PROSE : " The Banquo Legacy " ) 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 " , " Doomsday " , " Invasion of the Bane " , " Reset , " COMIC : " Playing House " ) 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 Eleventh Doctor later keyed into Clyde ' s residual artron energy in order to make a biological swap . ( TV : " Death of the Doctor " ) A regenerating TARDIS caused a specific signature of harmless artron radiation to seep into its surroundings . This happened when the Doctor ' s TARDIS , which slowly regenerated in the Collins family ' s back garden , had artron radiation " fizz . . . around " in the bodies of the Collins family . ( COMIC : " Doorway to Hell " ) Time Lords . Time Lord minds had a supply of artron energy , harmlessly siphoned off and fed into the birthing bays of the TARDIS es . ( 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 : " " ) 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 : " " ) 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 " ) The artron energy that was leaking from a dying TARDIS attracted the Spyrillites . ( COMIC : " Playing House " )