Photo: The First Nuclear-Powered Battery

A radioactive isotope embedded in a diamond has the potential to power devices for thousands of years.

Scientists and engineers from the University of Bristol in the U.K. have announced the successful development of the world's first nuclear-powered battery. It uses a radioactive isotope embedded in a diamond. This battery has the potential to power devices for thousands of years.

Diamond batteries can be used in medical devices such as ocular implants, hearing aids, and pacemakers—and also in extreme environments, including outer space.

Comments

[Adans smith]

So a crystal power source . Someone's a Stargate fan.

[SQRLSY]

Crystal meth is also an energizing power source. I wonder how long an Easter Bunny drummer-toy could run on a radioactive crystal meth battery?

[Mother's Lament (Here's your attention, Sarc. Enjoy)]

Crystal meth is also an energizing power source

That explains your posts.

[rbike]

Why not my phone? Because this technology is limited to microwatts. Otherwise they would be stating 100W portable power source. This likely not it.

[Overt]

It is a tiny device. Multiple units put together in a series would provide more power. The initial article on this suggests a AA-sized battery could theoretically give the same average voltage as a regular battery but over thousands of years instead of weeks. But the typical chemical battery can put out much higher peak voltage than the diamond battery.

This makes sense- chemical batteries rely on the electromagnetic force while the diamond battery relies on the weak force, which has much more potential energy per unit of mass.

[Eeyore]

First huh?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

[Overt]

Yes first- this is not a thermo-electric generator. As a rule of thumb generators convert one form of energy (i.e. heat) into free electrons, while a battery just stores free electrons (usually chemically). Thermoelectric Radioactive generators take a very radioactive material and convert the movement of alpha radiation (basically helium atoms flung off the larger atom) to make heat that is converted to energy.

Reading the description, this battery stores free electrons atomically- in radioactive graphene (this is usually a shielding material for nuclear reactors). In the process of "charging" graphene you are bombarding it with neutrons until some stick to the atom to make Carbon-14 (the atoms we look for in Carbon Dating). Carbon-14 isn't terribly radioactive, so when it decays it just emits beta radiation- a proton that converts to a free electron and neutrino.

This is novel because 1) it uses Carbon 14 to directly access the weak force of atoms (thermo-electric generators operate off of the momentum/heat caused by the strong force) 2) the low radioactivity of this effect means that a spent Diamond Battery can be thrown away, while a nuclear thermo-electric generator must be stored safely for long, long after its operating life has ended.

[Quicktown Brix]

Shouldn't that be "Carbon-14...emits beta radiation- a [neutron] that converts to a [proton], free electron and an [anti-]neutrino "?

[Sympatica]

Thank You !!!!

[Don't look at me! (No longer muted!)]

Sounds safe.

[docduracoat]

writer Bekah Congdon cannot be bothered to do a google search on her topic?
As others have said there are several variations on nuclear batteries in use for many years.
The one on the Voyager space probe is generating some energy after decades in interstellar space.
People were sickened when they stole ex soviet nuclear batteries.
And I can remember we placed nuclear powered pacemakers in patients.
That did not last long as after death disposal of the body was a problem

[Mickey Rat]

That is nice, but were not plutonium decay powered fuel cells used on space probes like Galileo, if memory serves, not also nuclear powered batteries?

This may be the first microsized sort for practical applications on Earth, I suppose.

[Vernon Depner]

Diamonds? Did we run out of dilithium?

[Don't look at me! (No longer muted!)]

They used diamonds to keep the costs down.

[mad.casual]

Produces energy ceaselessly and is made of diamond? I'd say that if it's also warm and vibrates, men may be finished except, being made of diamond, somebody would actually have to work to pay for it.

[Jerry B.]

But it's nuclear!!!

[Incunabulum]

>A radioactive isotope embedded in a diamond has the potential to power devices for thousands of years.

Oh my fucking god, Reason.

'Diamond batteries' are not new - they're beta-emitter sources and they're only suitable for *microwatt* applications.

Bekah up there has been watching old, shitty, 'science communicator' Youtube videos, didn't even do the basic work to check things out, and you *paid* her to do it.

[Overt]

The novel thing is that these batteries are so small that they could realistically be packaged in a series that is comparable to modern low-power batteries.

Reading further, you are talking about 300 Joules per day which is still small compared to a standard battery that is more like 14,000 joules per day. But that is still very useful, especially in devices that might need to only operate a couple times a day, as you could charge up capacitors with it.

[Incunabulum]

Which has been the same state that beta batteries have been on for decades.

There's nothing new here. Just that same YT 'science communicator' garbage.

The issue is that if you want AA power levels you need one of these these size of a brick. They just don't scale up beyond micro devices and they still don't.

[Incunabulum]

Also this isn't the first 'nuclear battery'. We've had thermo-electric power sources for near a century.

Its also not even the first example of a diamond battery.

[Overt]

Thermo electric devices are better described as generators, as they convert momentum to heat.

[Rick James]

Is this closer or further away than Thorium reactors? Asking for several million friends...

[Use the Schwartz]

Too bad you can't use neckbeard ackshually posts as a power source, they sure are plentiful.