how big is the inside of the tardis

[zebaroth]

how big is the inside of the tardis is there any limit
to big you could have it

[da professor]

So far as I am aware, the size of the Tardis has never been stated. I tend to assume it's the size of a small to medium sized town, but you could have it any size from Starship Enterprise to the Solar System or larger if you chose.

[zebaroth]

thanks for the info

[Rel Fexive]

I believe some sources state the interior volume is approximately that of a small city, as bunched up into one big lump or spread out over a vast area as you prefer. Arguably the idea of a fixed volume is unnecessary as it could reallocate volume from distant, unused areas indefinitely, so it appears to never run out of rooms...

[misterharry]

Is the inside created the same way as the exterior - by Block Transfer Computation? If so, then I'd suggest that it's theoretically infinite - after all, the inside exists in its own separate dimension. In Castrovalva, the Doctor had to jettison 25% of the TARDIS's interior - as 25% of infinity is still infinity, that would suggest that the interior is indeed finite. But it could be very large indeed - in one of the novels, the TARDIS materialised around the planet Earth.

But for practical reasons (e.g. internal navigation), it would be limited to a size suitable for its needs. My suggestion would be that there's no correct answer - internal dimensions can be reconfigured, increased or decreased as necessary.

[Marnal]

The short version is that before the “Castrovalva” deletion incident the interior of the TARDIS weighed around 68,000 metric tons, and had a volume between approximately 13,000,000 and 60,000,000 cubic meters.

The following information is from my TARDIS Technical Index. Actually this entry is from the unposted update so you guys are the first to see some of this info. You lucky people.

TARDIS PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE
The Pedestrian Infrastructure makes up the habitable interior of a TARDIS's internal quasi-dimensional continuum. The Infastructure is composed of a complex web of bio-mathematics and exitonics with a finite multi-dimensional mass, which usually totals about 68 thousand metric tons. This micro-universe is always organized according to a specific geometry, which can be followed if you understand the pattern. All TARDIS have a core know as a Time Sceptre . This central structure which is made up of the Control Room Sphere, Core Service Modules Artron Mainframe, Transpower System, and the Eye of Harmony Sphere. Each segment is an independent micro universe whose size dependent upon the requirements of the systems it contains.
The tower of the Time Sceptre is enclosed in a spherical chamber that is several miles in diameter. This chamber (or endo-shell) marks the limits of the quasi-dimensional continuum that is the TARDIS’s micro-universe. This spherical chamber is covered with numerous pods connected by rods. These are the extra store rooms and corridors.

The operator can exert direct control of the interior architecture, designing things as he sees fit. Despite the fact that all the rooms are physically organized into a Time Sceptre and pods on the outer chamber, dimensional junctures (aka space-time bridges) allow the operator to effectively lay out the pedestrian infrastructure as he sees fit.

Using Dimensional Junctures the rooms don't even have to be connected in any logical or mappable fashion. Multiple doorways can lead to the same room, and a single doorway can lead to two different places depending on which way you walk through it. Some frown on these sorts of configurations and believe that a properly stabilized Pedestrian Infrastructure should be able to be easily mapped in three dimensions. Temporal Locks are another way to customize the architecture. They can be used to separate part of the TARDIS interior, such as a Storage Room. Temporal Locks can even be used to connect that room to Normal Space via a Real World Interface. Once set up a Temporal Locks is activated or deactivated by pressing the three green light-up buttons, found inside the room in question.

The interior of the Pedestrian Infrastructure appear to be fairly standardized for even the most eccentric TARDIS and operator, such that any Time Lord will be able to find their way around with minimum difficulty. A fully functional TARDIS will guide lost crewmembers to their destination using glowing arrows on the walls. For a variety of reasons the interior layout of a TARDIS often changes slightly over time. For more information see Architectural Configuration Program (LINK). By the end of the Time War the Doctor’s TARDIS will reconfigure the architecture to make sure the room he needs comes to him.

Using Dimensional Junctures the interior is organized by level, sector, tunnel, and room number. corridors (aka service tunnels) are classified by a color and a number code (i.e. Blue Section 2-5). Rooms are cataloged with a number and a letter (i.e., 23A, 23B). The letter might indicate which level the room is on. There are at least 12 levels which can be reached with stairs or lifts. Rooms are classified as either Control Rooms, Power Rooms or Store Rooms. There are three main Control Rooms (LINK). The following Power Rooms are known:
1 Cloister Room
2 Transpower System
3 Dynamorphic Power Station
4 The Ancillary Power Station
5 Power Stacks Room
6 Protyon Unit
7 Life Support Systems
8 Internal Scanner
9 Fault Locator Room

Aside from these 15 power rooms and the 3 Control Rooms, all rooms are classified as Store Rooms and these make up the bulk of the Pedestrian Infrastructure. A Standard TARDIS includes bedrooms, bathrooms, maintenance bays, research labs. With exception of the Basic Crew Facilities, all storerooms are located in pods around the outer surface of the spherical micro-universe. A standard TARDIS has a million Store Rooms and at least 12 levels. On average there is a room for every 3 meters of corridor or service tunnel. The total volume of rooms and corridors of a complete Type 40 TARDIS has been described as being about the size of a small town. It's also been described at being at least twice the size of San Francisco's Chinatown at the beginning of the 21st century. This means that the volume of the Pedestrian Infrastructure is between 13,000,000 and 60,000,000 cubic meters. A fully guided tour of a Type 40 TARDIS could take a couple of years. Regardless of how the lifts and stairs are configured, as one gets closer to the Cloister Room, he will feel as if he is descending deeper and deep into the TARDIS. This is because the Cloister Room is located at the bottom of the Time Sceptre.

Matter used to create the rooms and service tunnels is created using Block-Transfer Mathematics and has enhanced temporal properties. This also makes it resistant to being retro-annulled and immune to the normal Vortex energies. During the Time War the matter used for the internal structure of a TARDIS was capable of withstanding a full-on thermonuclear blast. Aside from the Zero Room (which is balanced to zero energy), all rooms show up on the Architectural Configuration Indicators.

The default color for this matter is off-white; however individual rooms (and perhaps the entire interior) can be redecorated quite easily by changing the Desktop Theme. Coral (see illustration) and Leopard Skin are just two of the many options. Once the setting is changed it appears to take several months for the TARDIS to redecorate a room. During this time the TARDIS will place a sign on the door to that room that says "Closed for refurbishment".

Aside from the glowing roundels there are no obvious light sources in a TARDIS - nevertheless the interior will be quite well lit. The interior lights can be controlled by voice commands. Normally the interior of a TARDIS is quite sterile and its atmosphere is automatically-cleaned. Rooms in the TARDIS have air vents. Some have four bladed transparent ceiling fans to move the air. Using this Architectural Configuration Program the operator can lock or unlock any door in a TARDIS interior from the console (there is a white flash around the frame when a door locks or unlocks).

- Marnal Gate

"I was told by the producer that the
guiding principle was to make the
scripts complex enough to keep the
Kids interested and simple enough for
the Adults to understand!"
-Douglas Adams on writing Doctor Who

For Everything about the TARDIS check out
www.whoniverse.net/tardis/

For all things Gallifreyan check out
www.curufea.com/rassilon/
or
meshyfish.com/~roo/index.html

[zebaroth]

Apr 5, 2011 2:38:38 GMT Marnal said:

The short version is that before the “Castrovalva” deletion incident the interior of the TARDIS weighed around 68,000 metric tons, and had a volume between approximately 13,000,000 and 60,000,000 cubic meters.

The following information is from my TARDIS Technical Index. Actually this entry is from the unposted update so you guys are the first to see some of this info. You lucky people.

TARDIS PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE
The Pedestrian Infrastructure makes up the habitable interior of a TARDIS's internal quasi-dimensional continuum. The Infastructure is composed of a complex web of bio-mathematics and exitonics with a finite multi-dimensional mass, which usually totals about 68 thousand metric tons. This micro-universe is always organized according to a specific geometry, which can be followed if you understand the pattern. All TARDIS have a core know as a Time Sceptre . This central structure which is made up of the Control Room Sphere, Core Service Modules Artron Mainframe, Transpower System, and the Eye of Harmony Sphere. Each segment is an independent micro universe whose size dependent upon the requirements of the systems it contains.
The tower of the Time Sceptre is enclosed in a spherical chamber that is several miles in diameter. This chamber (or endo-shell) marks the limits of the quasi-dimensional continuum that is the TARDIS’s micro-universe. This spherical chamber is covered with numerous pods connected by rods. These are the extra store rooms and corridors.

The operator can exert direct control of the interior architecture, designing things as he sees fit. Despite the fact that all the rooms are physically organized into a Time Sceptre and pods on the outer chamber, dimensional junctures (aka space-time bridges) allow the operator to effectively lay out the pedestrian infrastructure as he sees fit.

Using Dimensional Junctures the rooms don't even have to be connected in any logical or mappable fashion. Multiple doorways can lead to the same room, and a single doorway can lead to two different places depending on which way you walk through it. Some frown on these sorts of configurations and believe that a properly stabilized Pedestrian Infrastructure should be able to be easily mapped in three dimensions. Temporal Locks are another way to customize the architecture. They can be used to separate part of the TARDIS interior, such as a Storage Room. Temporal Locks can even be used to connect that room to Normal Space via a Real World Interface. Once set up a Temporal Locks is activated or deactivated by pressing the three green light-up buttons, found inside the room in question.

The interior of the Pedestrian Infrastructure appear to be fairly standardized for even the most eccentric TARDIS and operator, such that any Time Lord will be able to find their way around with minimum difficulty. A fully functional TARDIS will guide lost crewmembers to their destination using glowing arrows on the walls. For a variety of reasons the interior layout of a TARDIS often changes slightly over time. For more information see Architectural Configuration Program (LINK). By the end of the Time War the Doctor’s TARDIS will reconfigure the architecture to make sure the room he needs comes to him.

Using Dimensional Junctures the interior is organized by level, sector, tunnel, and room number. corridors (aka service tunnels) are classified by a color and a number code (i.e. Blue Section 2-5). Rooms are cataloged with a number and a letter (i.e., 23A, 23B). The letter might indicate which level the room is on. There are at least 12 levels which can be reached with stairs or lifts. Rooms are classified as either Control Rooms, Power Rooms or Store Rooms. There are three main Control Rooms (LINK). The following Power Rooms are known:
1 Cloister Room
2 Transpower System
3 Dynamorphic Power Station
4 The Ancillary Power Station
5 Power Stacks Room
6 Protyon Unit
7 Life Support Systems
8 Internal Scanner
9 Fault Locator Room

Aside from these 15 power rooms and the 3 Control Rooms, all rooms are classified as Store Rooms and these make up the bulk of the Pedestrian Infrastructure. A Standard TARDIS includes bedrooms, bathrooms, maintenance bays, research labs. With exception of the Basic Crew Facilities, all storerooms are located in pods around the outer surface of the spherical micro-universe. A standard TARDIS has a million Store Rooms and at least 12 levels. On average there is a room for every 3 meters of corridor or service tunnel. The total volume of rooms and corridors of a complete Type 40 TARDIS has been described as being about the size of a small town. It's also been described at being at least twice the size of San Francisco's Chinatown at the beginning of the 21st century. This means that the volume of the Pedestrian Infrastructure is between 13,000,000 and 60,000,000 cubic meters. A fully guided tour of a Type 40 TARDIS could take a couple of years. Regardless of how the lifts and stairs are configured, as one gets closer to the Cloister Room, he will feel as if he is descending deeper and deep into the TARDIS. This is because the Cloister Room is located at the bottom of the Time Sceptre.

Matter used to create the rooms and service tunnels is created using Block-Transfer Mathematics and has enhanced temporal properties. This also makes it resistant to being retro-annulled and immune to the normal Vortex energies. During the Time War the matter used for the internal structure of a TARDIS was capable of withstanding a full-on thermonuclear blast. Aside from the Zero Room (which is balanced to zero energy), all rooms show up on the Architectural Configuration Indicators.

The default color for this matter is off-white; however individual rooms (and perhaps the entire interior) can be redecorated quite easily by changing the Desktop Theme. Coral (see illustration) and Leopard Skin are just two of the many options. Once the setting is changed it appears to take several months for the TARDIS to redecorate a room. During this time the TARDIS will place a sign on the door to that room that says "Closed for refurbishment".

Aside from the glowing roundels there are no obvious light sources in a TARDIS - nevertheless the interior will be quite well lit. The interior lights can be controlled by voice commands. Normally the interior of a TARDIS is quite sterile and its atmosphere is automatically-cleaned. Rooms in the TARDIS have air vents. Some have four bladed transparent ceiling fans to move the air. Using this Architectural Configuration Program the operator can lock or unlock any door in a TARDIS interior from the console (there is a white flash around the frame when a door locks or unlocks).

- Marnal Gate

"I was told by the producer that the
guiding principle was to make the
scripts complex enough to keep the
Kids interested and simple enough for
the Adults to understand!"
-Douglas Adams on writing Doctor Who

For Everything about the TARDIS check out
www.whoniverse.net/tardis/

For all things Gallifreyan check out
www.curufea.com/rassilon/
or
meshyfish.com/~roo/index.html

that is good to know

[chickenpaddy]

There's always my favorite option, which is to kick convention and make it up as you go along. Not that I don't appreciate Marna's data accumulation.

[Marnal]

My rule of thumb for Dr Who continuity: "Let the writers worry about telling the best story they can. And let the fans worry about how to fit it all together."

It works for the TV series, there's no reason why it can't work with the RPG!

-Marnal Gate

[da professor]

Apr 13, 2011 14:57:55 GMT Marnal said:

My rule of thumb for Dr Who continuity: "Let the writers worry about telling the best story they can. And let the fans worry about how to fit it all together."

It works for the TV series, there's no reason why it can't work with the RPG!

-Marnal Gate

Plus, in an RPG, if your players let you overhear, or, indeed, directly tell you their theories, you can use them as a source of evil schemes adventure ideas. I know from other games that the players I've got can get themselves in plenty of hot water with very little help from the GM.