Nuclear batteries are a well-established technology, Nino told Live Science. First developed in the early 1950s, these devices harness the energy released when radioactive isotopes decay into other elements. As long as the radioactive element is decaying, the battery will continue generating power.
Ayers et al. proposed an improved design of a nuclear battery to increase the battery power from 100 mW to 1 W while reducing the radiation-induced damage to the semiconductor material. In this design, radioactive material was filled in the thin-walled Ti tube and the β particles emitted into the vacuum through the tube.
The battery also provides a safe way of dealing with nuclear waste. Carbon-14 is generated in graphite blocks in some nuclear fission powerplants. The UK holds almost 95,000 tonnes of graphite blocks and, by extracting carbon-14 from them, their radioactivity decreases, reducing the cost and challenge of safely storing the waste.
Chinese scientists have built a nuclear battery that can produce power for up to 50 years without being recharged. The technology, which contains a radioactive isotope, or version of nickel, as its power source, will be the first of its kind available for general purchase, Betavolt representatives said on Jan. 8 in a translated statement.
R esearchers have developed a groundbreaking battery using radioactive diamond technology that can generate electricity for thousands of years. By repurposing radioactive waste, this innovative energy source offers consistent power over millennia with minimal environmental impact.
The performance of a nuclear battery depends on several factors contributing to energy losses such as radiation losses (back scattering, self-absorption), nuclear losses and electronic energy losses (electrode barrier, recombination, and collection loss).