How Heavy Are Terminators?

I see questions about how much terminators weigh versus humans all over the terminator fanscape. People complain that so-and-so can’t be a terminator because so-and-so did this and it would crush whatever.

I’ve long been arguing that this obviously is not the case. For there to be any useful infiltration of resistance strongholds, terminators would have to be in the same general weight range as a human their size otherwise it would be incredibly easy to detect them. You wouldn’t have to rely on a dog’s keen sense of smell, for instance.

Again, this is sort of an illusion orchestrated by certain key visuals. An endoskeleton stepping down and crushing a post-JD skull into dust. A terminator foot crushing, say, a pair of sunglasses. Cromartie sinking like a rock. Well…a totally dessicated and tempered skull is going to be darned fragile. I can crush a pair of sunglasses with my foot. Cromartie doesn’t have a high enough buoyancy to make swimming practical.

A minute before I started writing this, I did a quick search to see if there was anything to corroborate my suspicions that terminators (at least the infiltration units) have to weigh in the same range as humans. Amazingly, I found this link: https://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=127803&start=0

I was much relieved to see that my suspicions were confirmed. I’m acquainted with the source quoted, and have no trouble with the veracity of the statements. I do think that the infiltrator units would have to be at the lower (10%) end of the overage scale because it would get to be noticeable at the upper end (20%). Let’s say you have a woman who is 5’6″ and 120lbs (167cm & 54.5kg). You add 10% and the weight goes up to 132. Most people wouldn’t notice. But if you go up 20% so that she weighs 144…that will be noticed, even if she isn’t bedding someone.

Still, even at the high end, terminators seem more difficult to jostle than would be expected given their mass. I suggest that it might be something similar to what some martial artists are able to do in order to avoid being knocked off-balance. They are able to immediately compensate and apply exactly the correct amount of force to counter. As a result, they retain their balance and appear to be more firmly rooted to the earth than they are.

It’s also important to consider that the Connors have been able to move Cameron and other terminators once they’ve been deactivated. This has not required feats of strength out of proportion to what it would take to move a similarly sized human. The evidence points to terminators not being outlandishly heavy.

How can this be if they have metal endoskeletons?

We’ve heard of titanium and coltan and other things being used that aren’t exactly feather light. It deals with fabrication. It would be an inefficient use of material if all the skeletal pieces were solid metal. This is a fact that manufacturers practice all the time: amount of material versus strength/ flexibility/ brittleness. I suspect a metallic foam that is clad with very resilient metal covering. Or, the larger pieces could have hollow spaces which are able to hold equipment (CPUs, memory) or materials (organic nutrients) that support cyber-organic functions. Whatever…the details aren’t import. What matters is that just because the “bones” of the endoskeleton look solid doesn’t mean they are.

So, can we move on to something else…like how much food or drink can Cameron eat and just what happens to it once it’s in her body?