Super Battery!

[iprice]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8297934.stm

Nuclear batteries are an attractive proposition for many applications because the isotopes that power them can provide a useful amount of current for phenomenally long times - up to hundreds of years or more.

 

[Mr B]

Great, for powering a swatch, or something else with a very low, but very long power usage.

Somehow doubt that we will see any of these in a device of the size of the Panda any time soon. More likely to see a DMFC, then a nuclear reactor.
B!

 

[iprice]

I don't expect to see one in anything anytime soon tbh, but it could be possible to use them in parallel maybe for higher powered goods like laptops etc. Disposal could well be a problem though.

I'm pretty sure the cost will be prohibitively expensive and outweigh the benefits for the forseeable future though. Despite that, it's still an interesting (if short) article.

 

[craigix]

It's an interesting proposal though isn't it, lets say £1000 for a battery which will last almost forever.

 

[BackAssward]

I'm pretty sure they've been using these in satellites for years. The ones that we send out away from the sun far enough that solar panels aren't feasible.

 

[atomicthumbs]

Betavoltaics aren't that new. They provide very small amounts of energy for a very long time - good for trickle charging a cell phone battery so when you pick it up after a while, it's discharged. However, most stuff like this uses tritium, which has a half-life of about 13 years; after 13 years, your battery recharger will only produce half the energy it once did.

I'm pretty sure they've been using these in satellites for years.  The ones that we send out away from the sun far enough that solar panels aren't feasible.

Those are nuclear batteries, but they're different; they're called radioisotope thermoelectric generators and use the heat generated by the decay of an element (usually plutonium). They produce more power and are suitable for use on long-distance space probes. Most stuff that they expect to stay in the Solar System or orbit a planet uses solar panels.

 

[Jourdy288]

That wouldn't help me, I'd drain the thing in a week

 

[Tag5]

Would be nice if they were available at a reasonable price.

 

[OrR]

Sounds interesting. Battery technology really needs new ideas like that. I wonder if these would be practical for handheld devices. How much watts can they put out? If this could power my handheld devices for ten years or more, paying a few hundred €uros doesn't sound unreasonable.

 

[dflemstr]

That wouldn't help me, I'd drain the thing in a week

Most technologies like this cannot be "drained". They produce a steady flow of energy, and it's up to you if youi want to use it or not, but you can't use more than what's available.

Anyways, until they manage to create a fusion reactor that operates at room temperature the size of an AA battery, using normal H[sub]2[/sub]O as the reactant and outputting something like helium + manganese as the product, and producing at least 230V 16A current, I will not be impressed.

 

[Jourdy288]

That wouldn't help me, I'd drain the thing in a week

Most technologies like this cannot be "drained". They produce a steady flow of energy, and it's up to you if youi want to use it or not, but you can't use more than what's available.

Anyways, until they manage to create a fusion reactor that operates at room temperature the size of an AA battery, using normal H[sub]2[/sub]O as the reactant and outputting something like helium + manganese as the product, and producing at least 230V 16A current, I will not be impressed.

LOL, I know, just messing with you