Tesseract

The Tesseract

The Tesseract is an artifact of alien origin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In appearance, it is a glowing translucent cube.

With the right technology, power can be drawn from the cube in vast amounts. Swiss inventor Arnim Zola was able to use its energy to power everything from directed-energy handguns to strategic bombers.

The cube can also be used to open wormholes to distant locations, such as a rift between Earth and Chitauri space.

The cube can apparently also broadcast power to some devices, such as the staff/sceptre that Loki wielded during his attempt to rule the Earth.