Nuclear Battery Technology

                 Many people may think about nuclear power car or plane, but do you ever think about the uclear power laptop, watch or iphone. Well, the nuclear reactor may be fitted in for large application like car(although still not possible nowdays..), how about the small device??

                The answer is the nuclear battery.  Nuclear attery or atomic battery is defined as a device which use the emissions of radioactive isopote to generate electricity. While the nuclear reactor require the chain reaction to produce the energy, the nuclear battery works diffently. Conversion techniques can be grouped into two types: thermal and non-thermal. The thermal converters (whose output power is a function of a temperature differential) include thermoelectric and thermionic generators. The non-thermal converters (whose output power is not a function of a temperature difference) extract a fraction of the incident energy as it is being degraded into heat rather than using thermal energy to run electrons in a cycle.

 

Researchers create penny-sized nuclear battery.

                This technology have began in early 1913, when Henry Mosely firsr demonstrated the beta cell.  The field received considerable in-depth research attention for applications requiring long-life power sources for space needs during the 50s and 60s. Over the years many types and methods have been developed. The batery is costlly compare to other battery, thus they are mainly used as power sources for equipment that must operate unattended for long periods of time, such as spacecraft and automated scientific stations.

                The latest news about this nuclear battery are they are been used to power-up the NASA new rover thet will been send to the Mars.

            “The rover isn’t powered by a nuclear reactor but the insulated Pu-238 generates so much heat that it actually glows a dull red in the dark. This excess warmth will be put to good use, generating approximately 110 watts of electricity through thermoelectric lead tellurite –- a material that creates electricity when there is a temperature gradient. This power can keep the rover chugging along for years if needed, though MSL’s current mission is only scheduled to last 23 months.”  - http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/nuclear-mars-rover/

 

NASA new rover

                While most people hear the word 'nuclear' and think of something very dangerous,but it already prove itself that nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pacemakers, space satellites and underwater systems.