Devices generating electricity from radioisotope decay
For the generation of radioactive isotopes, see radionuclide generator.
An atomic battery, nuclear battery, radioisotope battery or radioisotope generator is a device which uses energy from the decay of a radioactive isotope to generate electricity. Like nuclear reactors, they generate electricity from nuclear energy, but differ in that they do not use a chain reaction. Although commonly called batteries, they are technically not electrochemical and cannot be charged or recharged. They are very costly, but have an extremely long life and high energy density, and so they are typically used as power sources for equipment that must operate unattended for long periods of time, such as spacecraft, pacemakers, underwater systems and automated scientific stations in remote parts of the world.[1][2][3]
Nuclear battery technology began in 1913, when Henry Moseley first demonstrated a current generated by charged particle radiation. The field received considerable in-depth research attention for applications requiring long-life power sources for space needs during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954 RCA researched a small atomic battery for small radio receivers and hearing aids.[4] Since RCA's initial research and development in the early 1950s, many types and methods have been designed to extract electrical energy from nuclear sources. The scientific principles are well known, but modern nano-scale technology and new wide-bandgap semiconductors have created new devices and interesting material properties not previously available.
Nuclear batteries can be classified by energy conversion technology into two main groups: thermal converters and non-thermal converters. The thermal types convert some of the heat generated by the nuclear decay into electricity. The most notable example is the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), often used in spacecraft. The non-thermal converters extract energy directly from the emitted radiation, before it is degraded into heat. They are easier to miniaturize and do not require a thermal gradient to operate, so they are suitable for use in small-scale applications. The most notable example is the betavoltaic cell.
Atomic batteries usually have an efficiency of 0.1–5%. High-efficiency betavoltaic devices can reach 6–8% efficiency.[5]
^"A nuclear battery the size and thickness of a penny". Gizmag, 9 October 2009.
^"Tiny 'nuclear batteries' unveiled". BBC News, Thursday, 8 October 2009.
^"NanoTritium™ Battery Technology". City Labs. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
^"Atomic Battery Converts Radioactivity Directly Into Electricity". Popular Mechanics, April 1954, p. 87.
^"Thermoelectric Generators". electronicbus.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
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