Nuclear battery for new technology gadgets

 12 Oct 2009 - By Omar Mariño+
 omar@myddnetwork.com

Are you tired of your short laptop battery life with only a few hours? Would you like the charge of your mobile phone to last a couple of months? Well, the answer to your “prayers” might be the nuclear batteries, which are been developed at the University of Missouri. They are designed especially for providing a lasting source of energy. And some people think these batteries could replace the current ones, including those used by the electrical cars. According to the creators, a nuclear battery has a very enormous capacity to generate electricity when compared to a regular one.

The batteries have always been the Achilles’ Tendon of the mobile devices. Usually, the designers of electronic devices for mass consumption (like laptops or media players) use small displays or screens that are not very bright in order to save the scarce energy resources that are provided from the regular batteries. But the new nuclear battery would bring a solution based on a liquid semiconductor (rather than a solid semiconductor) that will produce a much longer lifetime for the battery. The reason is the solid semiconductors are attacked constantly by some radioactive elements used by other types of batteries, while the liquid semiconductor is quite resistant  to these attacks. Although the term “nuclear” can be a little perturbing, the fact is that these batteries are not very different from those batteries used in, for example, medical pacemakers.

Nuclear battery for new technology gadgets

The new radioisotope battery has the size of a penny and provides much more power than the traditional ones because, according to the researches, its capacity is very superior. Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Missouri, said that the radioisotope battery “can provide power density that is six orders of magnitude higher than chemical batteries”. That is to say, it provides no less than a million times more charge than any “normal” battery.

Kwon and his research team have spent enough time working to solve many problems that they have encountered when developing this type of battery. One important thing is the batteries need to be small and thin in order to be practical and useful; this way, they could be used to power watches and small electronic devices. As mentioned before, the prototype (which you can see in the picture below) has the size and thickness of a penny, but the researchers think they can achieve a thinner battery. In order to do this, Kwon has required the collaboration of another professor: J. David Robertson (chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor). Together, they hope to maximize the power of the nuclear batteries as well as reduce the size and test other materials to make additional improvements. Kwon thinks that the final battery, which would be used in commercial gadgets, could be thinner than a human hair. For the moment, the research team have required a provisional patent in order to protect the exclusive right to use this invention.

nuclear-penny-sized-battery




41 Responses to “Nuclear battery for new technology gadgets”
hoda ghaddar says:
January 11th, 2010 at 3:30 am

i liked the idea so much ..i would like to provide me with such information about nuclear battery if possible ..thx in advance..

ash says:
January 13th, 2010 at 8:19 pm

amazing!! i hope i can have it as soon as possible..i cant stand with my gadget and laptop which is always suddenly died!! im tired of this..please..release it asap

Rob Brouwer says:
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:16 am

Now, lets get real – tying it up with a patent potentially makes it a target for greed motivated corporations to buy it and bury it.

Why don’t you guys do the one truly humane thing with it – make it open source, make it free, give it to the world and this may change “everything”!!

ORJI DORIS ADA says:
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:24 am

THIS IS MORE THAN BEEN JUST WONDERFUL, ITS MIND-BLOWING. I WANT TO BE AN EXPORTER OF THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY (DEVICE). REACH ME ON MY E-MAIL LET US DISCUSS FURTHER. OR CALL ME ON 234-8037197371.
LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU.

AXXO MAZUKI says:
January 25th, 2010 at 11:54 pm

is it dangerous to humans health? but its ideal for all electonic devices.

Fail says:
January 27th, 2010 at 10:10 am

theres a government chip in there that tracks u and sees wat ur doing 24/7

Fail says:
January 27th, 2010 at 10:20 am

in ur dreams smaller than human hair

jacinda says:
January 28th, 2010 at 2:10 pm

this is really ghetto and doesnt give information!! wthhhh!

omarinho says:
January 28th, 2010 at 8:09 pm

AXXO MAZUKI,

According to the researchers, these batteries are not very different from those batteries used in medical pacemakers. So, apparently, they are not dangerous to humans health.

rappy says:
February 1st, 2010 at 9:21 am

due ur goin 2 b rich if you sell this but what about old mp3 players can we convert them 2 the new battery too?

omarinho says:
February 1st, 2010 at 3:58 pm

rappy,

Of course, we guess these batteries could power an MP3 player too. We’ll see.

fail says:
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:37 am

this is a govement spy people cant u see they r tricking u!!!
listen to me people i know wats going on out there
its the 666!

gabe says:
February 3rd, 2010 at 5:53 pm

this is pretty cool haha but i wouldnt think it would come out soon. The idea is genius though

Aamer says:
February 4th, 2010 at 1:26 pm

I really liked this idea. But I think this technology is used before in the car’s battery. As we know the car’s battery contain a semiconductor liquid.

but I’m waiting the hair size version ;)

Youssef says:
February 9th, 2010 at 10:42 pm

Are this tech available for all regions ‘lebanon’ for examble, and what price is it?

Epindonta says:
February 11th, 2010 at 1:41 am

its cool right but how you deal with the radiation of the reaction inside?
maybe its really danger to our health!
but the idea was really brilliant..
congratulation..

omarinho says:
February 12th, 2010 at 8:12 am

Epidonta,

According to the researchers, these batteries are not very different from those batteries used in medical pacemakers. So, apparently, they are not dangerous to humans health.

omarinho says:
February 12th, 2010 at 8:13 am

Youssef,

At this time, this battery has not been launched for commercial use.

thatonguy says:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:12 am

hey just noticed a typo, it should be Achilles’ Tendon not heel. just wanted to say that. but other than that, grat article!

jonah says:
February 17th, 2010 at 2:07 pm

this is nice lol omg

omarinho says:
February 19th, 2010 at 10:43 am

thatonguy,

Thanks! We have fixed the typo.

Peter Pee says:
February 19th, 2010 at 3:18 pm

And where will this radiactive material be disposed of after battery life
and how Are we going to stop our curious six year old kid to crack them open to see how it’s made. doh!! Look Dad my arm just grew into some sort of tree

omarinho says:
February 20th, 2010 at 12:10 am

Peter Pee,

We understand your point. We will try to contact the researchers to ask them those questions.

Mea says:
February 22nd, 2010 at 6:17 pm

I was just wondering if they have done any testing on the effects on human health? Can these batteries be recycled? How much waste is involved when making them? Nuclear and otherwise?

Michael says:
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:20 pm

I dont think a six year old is going to have a real good time trying to crack something opened that is the size of a hair lol, but good point otherwise, i guess there wouldnt be much waste, but to the guy who pointed out the typo in the article… you spelled “great” wrong :p jk

Stew says:
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:01 pm

I want a tree to grow out of my arm what now!

andy says:
March 5th, 2010 at 12:43 am

To the person who wrote that Achilles’ heal was a typo here are some facts.
The phrase achilles’ heal come from the myth of achilles who was dipped into the the river flowing through the underworld. his mother held on to his heal (it became his one weak spot). when achilles was killed it was through a wound to his …you guessed it …his heal. Sooo saying something is the achilles’ heal of something else means that something is the downfall to something else. in this case bad battery life is the downfall to most gadgets and gizmos. Now in the original article its saying that the battery is a tendon in the back of the foot to mobile objects.

mr nipple says:
March 16th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

thats as big as my nipple!!

Moi says:
April 1st, 2010 at 1:10 pm

It should be Achille’s HEEL, not Achille’s Tendon, it’s not the same thing.

J Mak says:
April 16th, 2010 at 1:58 am

put that on your tounge

jebus says:
April 27th, 2010 at 1:24 pm

Yo thats not a penny, thats a DIME

Vladimir says:
April 27th, 2010 at 1:42 pm

andy Says:

March 5th, 2010 at 12:43 am
To the person who wrote that Achilles’ heal was a typo here are some facts.
The phrase achilles’ heal come from the myth of achilles who was dipped into the the river flowing through the underworld. his mother held on to his heal (it became his one weak spot). when achilles was killed it was through a wound to his …you guessed it …his heal. Sooo saying something is the achilles’ heal of something else means that something is the downfall to something else. in this case bad battery life is the downfall to most gadgets and gizmos. Now in the original article its saying that the battery is a tendon in the back of the foot to mobile objects.

Andy is right, that is where it comes from (the Trojan War myth). So, Omarinho, fix that fixed typo!

koontz says:
April 28th, 2010 at 4:07 pm

if this thing is nucluear made then wouldnt people get sick by the radiation given off and how is the thing even made? If you want to persuade more people with your i dead i would sugest adding some more information i n this article. oher than that con grats on makeing a nuclear battery :-)

Joe Giallanza says:
May 3rd, 2010 at 12:15 pm

Regarding safety at all levels; Because of longevity, replacement should be limited to taking the item to an authorized repair/replacement center – which would also minimize any abuses that cause concerns. Anyone who objects to taking the time out for such a minimal obligation can stay with the conventional type. Coordinating a numbered battery with owner’s name would also be beneficial for retrieving stolen or lost items.

For all who think the government wants to know where you are and what you’re doing – I will guarantee they already know! Just don’t record or write down anything that you have in your head for safekeeping.

Joe G

pradeep says:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:09 pm

what about if the bateery corrodes then there is a chance of hazard which may lead to loss of life or the property itself.

roger blume says:
May 30th, 2010 at 1:54 pm

When you are looking for investors kindly let me know.

matthew says:
June 10th, 2010 at 11:51 pm

bigdeal i made a nuclear battery about a hundred times cheaper than theres 83 times to be exact and mine is the size of a toothpick. just using Am-241

Sarah says:
August 4th, 2010 at 12:45 pm

I think this is wonderful idea.

Tony says:
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:39 am

I see how many people don’t read! It’s not literally Nuclear! Have a little logic people stop jumping the gun!

meli says:
December 11th, 2010 at 10:27 am

what is the author of this artcle

art anchetz says:
December 31st, 2010 at 12:44 am

are u an idiot??
the author is written there!!



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