 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Radioisotope battery under development
Columbia, Mo. (UPI) Oct 8, 2009 U.S. electrical engineers say they are developing a smaller, lighter and more efficient battery that uses a nuclear energy source. Much attention has been given to making batteries smaller and more powerful, but scientists say problems can arise when such batteries become heavier than the devices they power. "To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density," said University of Missouri Assistant Professor Jae Kwon, who is leading the research. "The radioisotope battery can provide power density that is six orders of magnitude higher than chemical batteries." Kwon and his research team are developing a small nuclear battery, currently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro-nanoelectromechanical systems. The innovation is not only in the battery's size, but also in its semiconductor. Kwon said his battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor. "The critical part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure of the solid semiconductor," Kwon said. "By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem." Kwon's research has been published in the Journal of Applied Physics Letters and the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Batteries Built In Roswell, Bound For OrbitRoswell GA (SPX) Sep 29, 2009 Lithium ion battery packs assembled in Roswell will soon power cargo ships carrying supplies to the International Space Station. GS Yuasa Lithium Power has leased a 40,000-square-foot building at the Northmeadow Office Park to fulfill a contract with a NASA subcontractor, said company president William Moll. The contract is still being negotiated, but Moll expects assembly to start in ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook