BATTERIES can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller yet even more powerful, it turns out that problems can arise when such batteries are larger and heavier than the devices they power.
However, American researchers at the University of Missouri have what could be a very powerful, lightweight solution – the “nuclear” battery, which is based on radioisotopes.
Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU, has been working on building a small nuclear battery, currently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS).
Although the idea of nuclear batteries appears to worry some people, Kwon reckons they are safe.
He says: “People hear the word, nuclear, and think of something very dangerous. But nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pacemakers, space satellites and underwater systems.”
His innovation is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor – his device uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.
“The critical part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure of the solid semiconductor. By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimise that problem,” Kwon said.
His hope like any new battery inventor, is to be able to increase its power output, shrink its size and try it with various other materials. Eventually, he thinks the nuclear battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.
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