Nature: China develops miniature nuclear battery
A group of physicists and engineers from several institutes in China have developed a new miniature nuclear battery that is 8,000 times more efficient than its analogues. The results of the work, published In the journal Nature, they propose a new solution to the problem of creating compact energy sources based on nuclear material.
The new device contains the radioactive metal americium to generate energy. Americium, by emitting alpha particles, initiates a glow in the crystal, which is then converted into electricity by a photovoltaic cell. To prevent radiation leakage, the device was placed in a quartz cell, which provided additional safety.
Tests have shown that the battery can retain its charge for a long time (possibly decades) due to americium’s 7,380-year half-life. However, radiation will eventually break down the materials, limiting the life of the device before the nuclear material completely decays.
Despite their high efficiency, the amount of energy produced remains low. It would take about 40 billion of these batteries to light a typical 60-watt light bulb, which limits their use.
However, the researchers believe that their development could be used in miniature power supplies in space probes sent to the far reaches of space.
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