Fission battery

A fission battery is a miscellaneous item in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

Characteristics
The term "fission battery" seems to imply that the device's functionality is somehow linked to the process of Nuclear fission, probably some form of alpha//betavoltaic cell or direct charging generator, which is used to generate electrical energy. Even though the exact workings of this item are never undergone, it demonstrates the obsession of the pre-War American society of the Fallout universe with nuclear technologies replacing normal tech, as a means of evolution (see also: Divergence). As the batteries can often be found in robots, they seem to be their primary energy source, along with powering cars alongside Fusion cores. After more than 200 years of inaction, some of the robots can be reactivated, demonstrating that the batteries are a very reliable form of energy storage. Nuclear energy has the potential to maintain a form for excessive amounts of time.

In post-war society, the fission battery has taken on the role of an on-hand generator. Throughout the Mojave Wasteland, fission batteries can be found in New Vegas streets, remote shacks in the wastes, and reoccupied suburban homes. They are used for powering a wide range of devices like street lamps, electronic signs, light-bulbs, and other household appliances, while being easily scavenged from the common Robot or appliance store, making it invaluable to the common wastelander in the absence of a reliable power grid, if any.

Fallout 3

 * Reilly's Rangers
 * A fission battery is required for fixing an access elevator during Reilly's Rangers, at the top of the Statesman Hotel. One can be found inside the hotel, but it is much easier to keep one extra in inventory and bring it along for the quest.
 * A fission battery is used in the construction of the railway rifle.
 * A Spoonful of Whiskey
 * 6 Fission batteries are required for the Point Lookout repeatable quest, A Spoonful of Whiskey.

Fallout: New Vegas

 * Cass' moonshine
 * A Fission battery is required to make Cass' moonshine.
 * Not Worth a Hill of Corn and Beans
 * Four fission batteries, along with many other supplies, are needed to repair a food processor.
 * My Kind of Town
 * Three fission batteries and 4 conductors can be used to reprogram Primm Slim to be the sheriff of Primm
 * A fission battery, along with two pieces of scrap metal, are used to make Sierra Madre chips with the Coin Operator perk in the first add-on for Fallout: New Vegas, Dead Money.
 * Can be converted to 25 energy cells in Honest Hearts.

Fallout 3
Fission Batteries are located throughout the Capital Wasteland, The Pitt, Point Lookout and Adams Air Force Base, usually in toolboxes or destroyed robots.
 * 9 are located in Horace Pinkerton's lab in the broken bow of Rivet City. (Counts as stealing.)
 * 2 are located next to a first aid box on a table, directly to the right of Vault 92's vault door.
 * 2 can be found on a shelf near protectron's desk.
 * 3 can usually be found in the Mechanist's Forge in the Robot Repair Center.
 * 5 are located in Hubris Comics Printing on the lower level, 1st room on your right at the bottom of the southeast corner stairs.
 * 2 can be found in a crate by Dr. Lesko's desk in the Marigold ant queen's chamber
 * 2 can be found Next to the VAPL-84 Power Station in the truck guarded by 1 or 2 yao guai
 * 1 can be found in the kitchen in Zane house in the Minefield.
 * 1 can be found in the yao guai tunnels, behind you on a shelf near where the scripted yao guai runs past.
 * 3 can be found on a table in Smith Casey's Garage.
 * A great number of fission batteries can be found in the Point Lookout expansion. They will often be found in places you might not expect, such as in suitcases or wardrobes.
 * Sold by Fallout 3 merchants as a miscellaneous item.

Fallout: New Vegas

 * In the basement of the REPCONN Test Site
 * REPCONN headquarters
 * Vault 11
 * Hidden Valley Bunker
 * HELIOS One
 * Victor's shack
 * Raul's shack
 * Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters
 * 8 found and for sale in Miguel's Pawn Shop
 * 2 can be found in the The Gourmand kitchen where the bathrooms are; just past the bathrooms, there is a small supply cabinet. They are on the third shelf down, underneath a toolbox containing Wonderglue and a wrench.
 * 1 can be found in Michael Angelo's workshop in the machinery shop where the lathe is, across from the fire hose box, on a metal shelf next to the toolbox.
 * Inside the Goodsprings gas station on a shelf at the north-western corner (from the door).
 * Can be bought from Old Lady Gibson at the Gibson Scrapyard.
 * A good amount (around 13) can be found in the Securitron De-Construction Plant in the Big MT in Old World Blues.
 * Inside Vault 22 in a storage room, along with various other items, such as scrap metal and wonder glue.
 * Around 4-5 can be found behind the counter in Dino Bite gift shop in Novac.

Bugs

 * In Fallout: New Vegas, several locations have fission batteries that use normal-scale models of the oversized static form of a fission battery that was intended to power street lights. These static batteries cannot be interacted with. Known locations include:
 * Nipton house with hostile Prototype Mister Gutsy robot.
 * Open dumpster in Gibson scrap yard.
 * Storage room atop Black Mountain.
 * Mick & Ralph's.
 * At the gift shop in Novac.
 * In the command tent at Camp Forlorn Hope.