this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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I'm curious how safe it is. Like, obviously it's not powerful enough for a phone, but if it were, would you want to put it in your pocket right next to your balls?
Since it is only decaying through Beta minus decay (a neutron decaying into a proton that stays in the nucleus, an electron that can be ejected and an antineutrino that can pass through the Earth without interacting with anything) it probably depends on how well it can capture the electrons, ie. it kinda depends on how efficient it is.
I'm also curious about the power curve. I guess the power falls with time, following the half life of the element (100 years for Ni63, meaning about 70% left after 50 years), but it would be nice if the article talked more about it, like if the diamond semiconductor can last that long. It should also be interesting how future batteries could use many elements with many decay routes that could keep the power output closer to constant for very long.
The isotope of nickel used here decays to a stable product, so there are no secondary radioactivities, and produces only "soft" (low-energy), non-penetrating beta radiation.