Re: Batteries

["Tosh Ushino" <tushino@icnpharm.com>]

Joel,

Back when I was a kid (that's more years than I care to admit), I read
about a battery developed for NASA that uses alpha emission as charge
carrier. It had a plate with a coating of alpha emitter, and an another
plate as collector. It was intended to provide trickle current just to keep
a circuit 'alive.'  I don't think they used beta though.

That's all from this side of the peanut gallery... (hey, where are the
peanuts?)

Tosh Ushino
ICN Dosimetry





Joel Baumbaugh <baumbaug@nosc.mil> on 02/01/99 11:00:23 AM

Please respond to radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu

To:   Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
cc:    (bcc: Tosh Ushino/HQ/ICN)
Subject:  Batteries




     RADSAFERS,

     I received a call today from a researcher who was interested in the
practicality of utilizing radioactive material (initially he was interested
in Po-210) for generating electricity - i.e. a battery.  After some lively
discussion and quick and dirty calculations, we decided that 0.5 Ci (for a
watch-type battery - converting the alphas directly into electricity) was a
little too much for "casual discards" into the Von's parking lot (I'm being
facetious here).

     I am "quite" familiar with RTG's, but other types of nuclear batteries
are
"Greek" to me.  To get the most "bang for the buck", I suggested maybe
developing a battery which would utilize alphas AND betas - the alphas
would give up their positive charge on the inner surface and the betas
impart a negative charge within the inner matrix.  Even this is not
something which (in my humble opinion) would have practical applications in
everyday society.

     Any thoughts here from the peanut gallery???


     Thanks,


     Joel Baumbaugh (baumbaug@nosc.mil)
     SSC-SD
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