Can you terminate a Terminator?

He’s part man, part machine. Yes, we are referring to the one and only Terminator. Over the course of three decades and five movies, Schwarzenegger’s big, robotic bad guy – the T-800 – has become one of the greatest villains and heroes of all time.

The terminator is a Cybernetic Organism, otherwise known as a Cyborg, which is an organism that has both artificial and natural systems.  So, the question poses: What is the machine half of the Terminator made of?  Here’s a hint: it’s an unearthly kind of hard steel.

The building of a terminator machine

The most obvious feature of the Terminator is the metallic armour, which is described in the film as hyperalloy, a durable metallic alloy of unidentified composition that makes up the combat chassis and endoskeleton of a few Terminator series, counting the T-800. Director, James Cameron, stated the vision for creating the terminator armour was based off the idea of wanting to create a “chrome-plated death”.

We get a further insight into the construction of the Terminator series in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, when Cameron Phillips states that one of the components of her hyper-alloy skeleton is Colton, which is the colloquial African name for columbite-tantalite. Colton is a metallic ore used to produce the elements niobium and tatalum. According to Terminator Wiki, Colton alloys have much higher melting points, making it a superior alloy for the advanced terminator series.

How to terminate a terminator

There have been many theories from fans over the years on how to terminate a terminator who’s made of hyper alloy. Being science fiction, hyper alloy doesn’t have to obey the law of physics, with many fans claiming the Terminator metal might be made of some sort of shape memory alloy, a real-life alloy which is commonly used in applications such as robotics, automotive, aerospace and biomedical industries. This theory seems to hold up for many fans, with the later development of shape shifting Terminators such as the T-1000 and T-X. So far, fans believe shot guns and 40mm HEDP grenades which can travel through 2 inches of hard steel might do the trick when defeating a terminator.

At ShapeCUT, you could say we’re half man, half machine too. We use a combination of modern oxy cutting, high definition plasma cutting and laser cutting machines and skilled team members to deliver metal processing services to the Australian market. Contact ShapeCUT on 1800 742 732 today to learn about what our innovative steel cutting machines can do for your next steel project.

Image Credit: T-850 Endoskeleton model from Terminator: The Redemption.