Nuclear Batteries

[Scupperer]

I ran across this article where a team has created a method of converting radiation directly into electricity, similar to thermoelectric materials.

They claim it can produce up to 20 times more electric power from radioactive decay than current thermoelectric materials, but there's no real baseline given for what that means. Radioisotope Thermoeletric Generators vary considerably in output vs. fuel. I'm guessing that if an RTG can put out about 50 w/kg of Pu238, then this new process could generate 1 kw / kg. (based on Wiki's list of RTG's)

Devices based on the material could be small enough to power anything from interplanetary probes to aircraft and land vehicles, he adds.

While it would be an amazing boon to spacecraft to have so much energy for the same weight vs. existing RTG's - I don't see these producing enough concentrated power to be of much help Earthside in aircraft or transportation, except as really long lasting batteries that might weigh less than existing batteries if the shielding isn't too heavy (factor of 10?). Plus, I doubt they'd ever be released to the general population simply because of the radioactive material, regardless of how safe they actually are.

Am I missing a (rational) reason why they would make this claim?

Still, imagine what they could have done with Cassini with 20 times more power available - or if the Mars Landers had these, instead of solar.

[drmike]

Interesting choice of materials:

Tests of layered tiles of carbon nanotubes packed with gold and surrounded by lithium hydride are under way. Radioactive particles that slam into the gold push out a shower of high-energy electrons. They pass through carbon nanotubes and pass into the lithium hydride from where they move into electrodes, allowing current to flow.

Lithium deuteride is used to build H bombs. It's not usually used for batteries. So at least you know these guys are sticking to what they are familiar with, and leads me to think they have a good idea worth watching.

[rcain]

Interesting choice of materials:

Tests of layered tiles of carbon nanotubes packed with gold and surrounded by lithium hydride are under way. Radioactive particles that slam into the gold push out a shower of high-energy electrons. They pass through carbon nanotubes and pass into the lithium hydride from where they move into electrodes, allowing current to flow.

Lithium deuteride is used to build H bombs. It's not usually used for batteries. So at least you know these guys are sticking to what they are familiar with, and leads me to think they have a good idea worth watching.

I wondered what role the carbon nanotubes played, then came across this quote on another forum ( http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/in ... 25606.html ):

...
The nanotubes are said to be robust, because even if the ionizing radiation damages them, electromigration from the current they're carrying will tend to repair the nanotubes and re-form them back. So the material is less likely to degrade over time.

Here, take a look at this:

long ieee url

Silicon Carbide was also considered promising for the N-battery thing. But the radiation quickly causes the material to degrade. The current-carrying nanotubes are more resilient to this
...

any similar applications to Polywell I wonder?

[drmike]

Sure - outer wall alpha impact. Diamond coating with nanotube layer underneath. GigaWatt battery anyone?

[rcain]

Sure - outer wall alpha impact. Diamond coating with nanotube layer underneath. GigaWatt battery anyone?

I'm wondering whether a diamond + graphine + gold coating might have the desired properties (else a 2m buckyball )