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?
this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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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.
Fuck me that is so cool. How long till China's EV industry makes cars that don't need charging?
That'd be the coolest thing ever.
Holy shit. I kept reading through the article going like, there's a catch right, there's a clear tradeoff here right, and it just seems overall better in every way; in safety, sustainability, cost. The only real drawback being not having high enough energy strength for some things yet.
Nuclear energy was always going to be the future. This was clear as far back as the 50s. The math on nuclear energy is just so much more favorable than for any other energy source. It's only surprising really that it took this long to get safe, portable nuclear batteries. Especially since this is a concept that has been a staple of science fiction for probably longer than any of us have been alive. Perhaps a consequence of the power of the fossil fuel lobby suppressing investment into nuclear research and development?
Perhaps a consequence of the power of the fossil fuel lobby suppressing investment into nuclear research and development?
I could definitely believe it. I don't know how far their reach is, but I know those fucks have kept the US in the car age for decades, when high speed trains as an alternative are staring them in the face.
This is why my Pip-Boy never runs out of juice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_nickel
Nickel-63 […] It is proposed to be used for miniature betavoltaic generators for pacemakers.