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"Researchers at Korea's Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology have created a nuclear battery that could turn radiation directly into electricity for decades – but without all the scary stuff associated with nuclear radiation.
Called a dye-sensitized betavoltaic cell, this battery uses beta particles, which are just high-energy electrons. The magic in this battery is the material carbon-14, a radioactive isotope that emits beta particles. These particles strike a titanium dioxide semiconductor coated with a ruthenium-based dye, which knocks electrons loose in the dye, generating an electrical current. ...
The first radioisotope battery was developed in 1954 by the Atomic Energy Commission in the US. It used strontium-90 as the radioactive source and converted energy from beta particles into electricity, similar to today's betavoltaic cells.
Shortly thereafter, in the 1960s, Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG) were being used in space missions, converting energy from alpha-emitting isotopes like plutonium-238 – which is more potent but still relatively safe when properly shielded. The very first space mission being a US Navy satellite called Transit 4A – part of the world's first satellite navigation system and precursor to modern GPS.
More recently, Betavolt announced its 3-volt diamond nuclear battery that uses nickel-63 and a diamond semiconductor using the same beta particle principle that can power a device for 50 years.
Arkenlight is another company that's been developing carbon-14 diamonds to produce atomic battery power for several years. ..."
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