Nuclear Batteries
Posted October 15th, 2009 by simon
How would you like a battery that lasts forever? Well researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a tiny nuclear battery which holds a million times the charge of a normal battery. The charge is created from the decay of a radioactive substance and usually over time this damages the semiconductor which collects the charge. This has meant that these batteries have had to be larger but by using a liquid semiconductor the researchers have managed to solve the problem and create a tiny nuclear battery.
They insist that the device is completely safe “under normal operating conditions”. That statement right there is enough to put me off. What happens when the battery is not under normal operating conditions? As long as there is some risk of exposure people are unlikely to want to use these. They have been used on space satellites, under water devices and even in pacemakers but would you want one in your iPod? What if it meant you’d never need to charge it again?
