Category: diamond battery

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Radioactive Diamond Battery Can Practically Run Forever

I’m being a little bit hyperbolic with the title of this article, because the diamond-powered battery in question can only run for around 28,000 years, not forever forever, but when we’re talking about the framework of a human lifespan, well…forgive me.

Basically, if it started powering something today and humanity went extinct, there would still be evidence that humans existed far, far into the future.

The offering comes from U.S. startup NDB (Nano Diamond Battery), and is a “high-power diamond-based alpha, beta, and neutron voltaic battery” that gives devices “life-long and green energy.”

Also? They say it could become a reality in homes everywhere within the next couple of years.

They built the nano diamond battery by combining radioactive isotopes from nuclear waste with layers of paneled nano diamonds. Diamonds have a good heat conductance that moves heat away from the radioactive isotope materials quickly enough to generate electricity.

Image Credit: NBD

Basically the layers and layers of diamond and radioactive waste panels equal higher total amounts of energy.

It uses less energy, uses nuclear waste, lasts for years, and only requires the smallest of diamonds…is there a catch, though?

If there is one, it’s to do with logistics. It will require a huge number of batteries in order to power even regular-sized devices, for one, and the other revolves around the safety of utilizing a battery that runs on nuclear waste.

NBD, though, thinks they have the answers we need, right on their website.

Image Credit: NBD

“The DNV stacks along with the source are coated with a layer of poly-crystalline diamond, which is known for being the most thermally conductive material also has the ability to contain the radiation within the device and is the hardest material, 12 times tougher than stainless steel. This makes our product extremely tough and tamperproof.”

NBD believes these batteries will soon power huge things like spacecraft and satellites, as well as regular things like our many, mane LED displays, and be able to be passed down through generations with no loss in efficiency.

Expect to see a working prototype by 2023, people.

And prepare to be amazed.

The post Radioactive Diamond Battery Can Practically Run Forever appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Radioactive Diamond Battery Can Practically Run Forever

I’m being a little bit hyperbolic with the title of this article, because the diamond-powered battery in question can only run for around 28,000 years, not forever forever, but when we’re talking about the framework of a human lifespan, well…forgive me.

Basically, if it started powering something today and humanity went extinct, there would still be evidence that humans existed far, far into the future.

The offering comes from U.S. startup NDB (Nano Diamond Battery), and is a “high-power diamond-based alpha, beta, and neutron voltaic battery” that gives devices “life-long and green energy.”

Also? They say it could become a reality in homes everywhere within the next couple of years.

They built the nano diamond battery by combining radioactive isotopes from nuclear waste with layers of paneled nano diamonds. Diamonds have a good heat conductance that moves heat away from the radioactive isotope materials quickly enough to generate electricity.

Image Credit: NBD

Basically the layers and layers of diamond and radioactive waste panels equal higher total amounts of energy.

It uses less energy, uses nuclear waste, lasts for years, and only requires the smallest of diamonds…is there a catch, though?

If there is one, it’s to do with logistics. It will require a huge number of batteries in order to power even regular-sized devices, for one, and the other revolves around the safety of utilizing a battery that runs on nuclear waste.

NBD, though, thinks they have the answers we need, right on their website.

Image Credit: NBD

“The DNV stacks along with the source are coated with a layer of poly-crystalline diamond, which is known for being the most thermally conductive material also has the ability to contain the radiation within the device and is the hardest material, 12 times tougher than stainless steel. This makes our product extremely tough and tamperproof.”

NBD believes these batteries will soon power huge things like spacecraft and satellites, as well as regular things like our many, mane LED displays, and be able to be passed down through generations with no loss in efficiency.

Expect to see a working prototype by 2023, people.

And prepare to be amazed.

The post Radioactive Diamond Battery Can Practically Run Forever appeared first on UberFacts.

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Could Radioactive Diamond Batteries Be the Answer to Nuclear Waste?

Scientists and technology companies everywhere are looking for the answer to the problem of nuclear waste – nuclear is a viable alternative to fossil fuel energy in the future, but only if we can devise a way to handle the waste, too.

The idea for this radioactive diamond battery began in 2018, when a hobby drone dropped a small package near the lip of an extremely active Sicilian volcano called Stromboli. It’s one of the most active volcanoes on the planet and has long fascinated geologists, but with the constant eruptions, collecting data near the vent has been a challenge.

Image Credit: Arkenlight

A team of researchers from the University of Bristol had the idea of building a robot volcanologist, then used a drone to ferry it to the top. It sat, passively monitoring the quakes and quivers until it was destroyed.

RIP.

The sensor pod was the side of a softball, and was powered by nuclear energy from a small, radioactive battery. They dubbed it a “dragon egg.”

Materials scientist Tom Scott and a small group of collaborators saw something more in the dragon eggs, though, and they’ve been developing a souped-up version of the egg’s nuclear battery that can last thousands of years without needing to be replaced.

Image Credit: Arkenlight

Instead of generating its energy from chemical reactions, like a typical battery, this new battery uses particles shed by radioactive diamonds that can be made from nuclear waste.

Now, the team behind this revolutionary idea is ready to commercialize this nuclear diamond battery. It’s still in a prototyping phase, but they expect to be able to mass produce them soon – in fact, the first nuclear batteries could hit the market as early as 2024.

That said, they won’t replace the batteries in your computer or laptop, most likely. Instead of generating a lot of power for a short amount of time – like traditional or lithium-ion batteries – these nuclear batteries produce smaller amounts of power over a longer time.

Image Credit: Arkenlight

They won’t create enough energy to power a cell phone, but they could provide a steady – small – drip of electricity literally forever, says Morgan Boardman, the company’s CEO.

“Can we power an electric vehicle? The answer is no. The mass of the battery would be significantly greater than the mass of the vehicle.”

That said, in something like a fire alarm, say, he expects a world where the device would need to be replaced before the battery.

As anyone who has be woken up at 3am by a chirping smoke alarm battery can tell you, that would be a welcome world indeed.

If you’re concerned about the health risks of being in close proximity to a radioactive battery, the scientists involved – and those who aren’t, like materials scientist Lance Hubbard – say there’s no reason to worry.

Image Credit: Arkenlight

“Usually just the wall of the battery is sufficient to stop any emissions. The inside is hardly radioactive at all, and that makes them very safe for people.”

There you go, folks – a safe way to recycle nuclear waste and a way to power the device in your life with low energy requirements literally forever.

Good news all the way around, if you ask me.

The post Could Radioactive Diamond Batteries Be the Answer to Nuclear Waste? appeared first on UberFacts.