Powers to be
US researchers attempt to perfect nuclear microbattery technology that could be used in devices to monitor the condition of structures or check air quality. Siobhan Wagner reports.
No matter how long-lasting a battery company says its product is, it's unlikely any will ever claim their devices could last 200 years or more — unless nuclear microbatteries one day become commercially available.
Unlike traditional batteries that rely on chemical reactions to produce energy, nuclear microbatteries transform the heat created by the decay of radioactive isotopes into electricity.
They are unlikely to be used to power your TV remote control in the near future, but the rice grain-sized devices might be used to run a variety of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) soon.
Nuclear microbatteries' size and endurance makes them ideal for use in situations where MEMS are embedded in the concrete foundations of roads and bridges to monitor condition, or stationed high in the air to check the atmosphere for pollutants or hazardous biological terror agents.
Funded by a three-year, $300,000
grant,
researchers are attempting to perfect a prototype so that it is able to generate all of its potential electricity.
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