RADSAFE: Re: Batteries

[Donivan Porterfield <dporterfield@lanl.gov>]

I've also heard of the approach of mixing a scintillating material with an
appropriate isotope and using solar cell type material to generate a
battery type device.  The appropriate isotope typicallly being a low
energy beta emitter or an alpha emiter without significant gamma
emissions.

I understand the concept of a nuclear battery is several decades old
with interest having faded out due to the practical issues you raise.
However, with the increasing availability of low power integrated 
circuits and rechargeable batteries a low power nuclear battery has
some application for maintaining a trickle current to a rechargeable
battery.

An interested customer for such a nuclear battery being the Dept of
Defense for electronic devices maintained in theatres of potential
conflict.

>	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.


Donivan Porterfield              (505) 667-4710
Los Alamos National Laboratory   (505) 667-2601 fax
MS E531, NMT-1 (Analytical Chemistry)
Los Alamos, NM  87545             dporterfield@lanl.gov  
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