Tiny Nuclear Batteries can provide energy for atleast 10 years

By Talha Chaudhry | October 9th, 2009



nuclear_battery

Today researchers at Missouri University demonstrated tiny nuclear battery, as small as the size of a penny. The battery produces energy from the process of decaying of the radioisotopes. According to a research team at the University of Missouri: “nuclear batteries hold a million times as much charge as standard batteries“.

These batteries are distinguished by their long life; they are capable of providing energy for 10 years up to 100 years or even more.

This is whopping as it can provide non-stop electric energy  as long as 10 years which means that you may keep your laptop or PDA switched-on for 10 years non-stop. Contrary to fears associated with conventional batteries, nuclear cells offer reliable energy, without any drop in the yield or potential during its entire operational period.

However, the largest concern about the nuclear batteries is that these batteries include the use of radioactive isotopes. Which mean that throughout these years these batteries would emit radiations as the radioisotopes would decay, so certain standards should be met regarding the disposal of these radiations.

Dr. Jae Wan who is leading the team of researchers at Missouri University said:

People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pacemakers, space satellites and underwater systems.

Certainly, this research will lead us to a new uninterrupted source of energy. The team is further expecting to make the battery size even smaller. The future of laptop batteries (which is a big issue) is bright, and I wrote about it back in January. For more information and to know how it will help laptops, visit Longest Battery Life for Laptops.

Via bbc

Manufactured in 1973

The picture below is of a nuclear battery that was manufactured in 1973 which proves that research work is quite old. However most of the products were for military and space use till now.

radioactive_battery

radiation_battery

Images via Periodic Table



  • rwphillips
    Just what we need, plutonium floating around. Bad idea on so many levels.
  • rwphillips
    Just what we need, plutonium floating around. Bad idea on so many levels.
  • Hmm....I'm not sure how much radiation these things will produce...but since they're so small & thin, couldn't they just encase them in a layer of lead which should effectively block any radiation given off. Of course lead is toxic, but they can then put another layer of something else over the lead. It should be perfectly safe then.
  • Wow, that's awesome about the 1973 date. And great points about using them as cell phone batteries. That would be excellent.
  • Steve Uzzell
    Now if only a nuclear battery could be built to power a car for 200,000 miles.
  • web
    while true. You encounter enough daily just from background radiation that a 3 cu battery isnt going to take even minutes off your life.
  • web
    while true. You encounter enough daily just from background radiation that a 3 cu battery isnt going to take even minutes off your life.
  • BMac
    We're running out of the right isotope of Plutonium, which is human-made, because of the shutdown of key nuclear research facilities. NASA predicts that in 10 years they will not have the requisite amount needed for missions to the outer planets where solar power is not practical.
  • lmaobbq
    You need an editor. Are you a native speaker of English?
  • chjawadm
    no, not a Native speaker.
  • bribri
    I am a graduate student in nuclear engineering and have had some classroom instruction on nuclear batteries. While very useful and reliable, they are really expensive and obviously radioactive so don't expect them in any device you would own. They are used in places (such as the pacemaker) where a battery can not be easily changed, and need a significant reason to be used. Cars, ipods, laptops, etc... will never be powered by nuclear batteries. The Federal Government would never allow mass production and distribution of radioactive batteries to the general public. You're just going to have to live with lithium for now.
  • RoboStorm
    I agree with you and thanks for the useful information. Nuclear batteries should not be designed for the mass production because it could pose a very imporant threat: imagine a terrorist faction buying 10 thousand batteries and using the plutonium for other reasons such as a... you guessed right:)) a nuclear bomb.
  • Greasy
    nice information you got there pal
  • matthewdbenson
    This reminds me of Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' series ...
  • Name
    Ditto, cellphone battery!
  • Greasy
    i would like to have one of these for my cellphone :)
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