Radioactive Gadget Battery on the Way

Mon Oct 1, 2007 11:25PM EDT

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Have a seat before digesting this one. Following years of rumor and conjecture, a battery that has the capability of running for 30 years might be on the horizon. The energy source isn't chemical but rather "radioisotopes" which decay, emitting beta particles that cause electrons to bounce into the circuit, producing electricity. Just don't call it a "nuclear" battery.

The battery is called a betavoltaic and we are assured that it does not produce hazardous waste after it runs out. Powered by protons decaying, the reaction produces no heat and, because it's converting matter directly into energy, lets it last nearly forever. The batteries would be small enough to power cell phones or laptops and, essentially, never die. Read this full post at Next Energy News to get the full details.

Impressed or scared... or both? While I'm a big fan of nuclear power, I'm not sure I'm ready for a decaying proton to power my laptop. My problem isn't the batteries during normal use, but rather what happens if one ruptures. The material may be perfectly inert when the material is spent after 30 years, but what about the laptop that cracks open on the floor of an office building on year one? Will a biohazard crew have to come clean up? Like the alpha particles that poisoned Alexander Litvinenko last year, beta particles can also be deadly if inhaled or ingested.

There's also the issue that 30 years might be a bit excessive. Most people replace laptops and phones within two or three years, and not because of dead batteries but because technology has moved on. Would you be willing to use a 1977 cell phone today? The lifespan of the battery is a product of the radioactive emissions, not the size of the cell, so making it smaller wouldn't be an easy fix. What happens to the battery for the 27 years after you get rid of your computer?

Still, this is exciting stuff, and I'm hopeful that any problems could be worked out. Just don't say it's nuclear!

Oh... and Rupert Goodwins has a lengthy expose on why this is all bunk. 

LINK: Scientists Invent 30 Year Continuous Power Laptop Battery

Comments on Radioactive Gadget Battery on the Way

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  • 1 Posted by rogueist on Tue Oct 2, 2007 1:35AM EDT Report Abuse

    If I remember right the Ball watches use some type of radioactive material in them.

  • 2 Posted by agustin2489 on Tue Oct 2, 2007 5:45AM EDT Report Abuse

    Nuclear! Haha anyway, you bring up a good point. Even though these batteries could be used on cell phones or laptops wouldn't mean they would be used on them. The reasons are that of what you said above. Rather, I would probably see the betavoltaic batteries could be used in other areas such as water heaters and environment regulation systems. These are terrible examples really but that's what I get off the top of my head; devices that operate for an extended period of time without user interaction and or timekeeping devices. Another viewpoint is that when you go to replace your laptop or cell phone, you could take out the betavoltaic battery in your old device and use it on the new one. There would still be the problem of ruptures but this is still an idea. Wow, I spew intellectual property but I hopefully won't need the money.

  • 3 Posted by navynewk on Thu Oct 4, 2007 6:20PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm all for this. I work in nuclear power for the Navy, so I understand radiation and it's effects. These batteries are powered by beta particles which for the most part are fairly harmless. I mean they can be blocked by something as thin as a piece of paper, so for the most part if one ruptures just wrap it in paper and you don't have to worry about exposure to yourself, just find a disposal site and drop it off there.

  • 4 Posted by armedcitizen1 on Tue Oct 9, 2007 8:28AM EDT Report Abuse

    just say yes......heck what could be worse hmmmmmmm let's see like hulling 6 nuclear cruise missiles across the U.S. come on get the stuff.

  • 5 Posted by michealoangelo on Tue Oct 9, 2007 11:22AM EDT Report Abuse

    We were afraid of the telephone and we bought it, and we were afraid of the car, and we bought it. We were afraid of the TV and we bought it. So, less losen up living in fear, creates, a parionia. and Prejudices us from expanding our horizons. Get over it. You should everday learn something. Give up living in small circes. End the burying of standard batteries in our soil and oceans. Causing overt pollution. If the battery could be made universal and never changed in it's design it would fit in practically any appliance. Everyday learn something new is invented. Some good and Some bad. This will reduce the use of building neucular power plants. And solve a lot of power problems. Let's get on with the telephone. S, if your into ening the building of new power plants. The Battery up. Get portable.

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