Betavoltaic batteries offer 30 years of functioning without recharging
Posted October 2nd, 2007 by Mihnea Boiangiu
All the electronic devices are based on electricity. And when you run out of battery that’s a big problem. I mean, it happens when you need the device mostly. However, this problem seems to be eradicated once the Betavoltaic batteries will enter the scene.
The scientists form U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory have discovered the miracle of producing energy for 30 years without recharging. The secret - the Betavoltaic batteries that are constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source.
The batteries are not nuclear as you may think so. The energy is produced when an electron strikes a particular interface between two layers of material. The scientists assure us that no radioactive or chemical reactions are produced during the process. That’s why these batteries won’t be an environmental problem. After their life cycle the Betavoltaic batteries are totally inert and non-toxic.
Probably in a few years we could use them without problems. So, think a little about the great advantage of non-charging your laptop around 30 years. First you won’t need regular energy power. And secondly, you will need a cool laptop because in so many years it will be outdated.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Betavoltaic Batteries are radioactive, though. The metals used in making these batteries radiate beta particles instead of the gamma particles which do the most damage found in most radioactive sources. The beta particle is an electron released during nuclear decay.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
IT WILL BE 20 PLUS YRS. TO MARKET
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:21 am
Smells like snake oil to me. A radioactive source powerful enough for all but the most frugal laptop would be literally too hot to handle. Even with enough shielding to contain the ionizing radiation, the thermal output would make it unsuitable for use around solid-state electronics.
BTW, I remember ads for “Betacel” batteries from the late sixties. They were sold for low-current, install-and-forget applications, but they quietly went away.
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:05 am
http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/07/10/02/1231202.shtml
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:07 am
Yes, but will we ever see them? What will the battery companies have to say when we don’t constantly need new ones?
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:47 am
I heard this was not true… that it is impossible even. What is the proof to back this story up?
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:24 am
Um…English. learn it.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:42 am
Wikipedia on Betavoltaic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betavoltaics
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:24 am
To Steve. When the article mentions a “cool” computer they are using colloquial speech. In case that rhetorical strategy is unknown to you, it means using slang in a literary piece. When the article says you will need a “cool” computer it means that you will need a computer that will still be appealing to the generations for 30 years to come.
October 8th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
This is fantastic. I wonder how much they’ll cost. But when you factor in how many batteries they would potentially replace… wow.