A team at University of Bristol, England, have built a diamond battery that keeps going for thousands of years. This could be just what we were waiting for, for pacemakers, drones, and even satellites some day.
But no worries apparently about the cost, because the team grew the diamond in their laboratory. Then they located their artificial jewel near a radioactive field, and watched it generate small amounts of current.
No Moving Parts Required For This Diamond Battery Generator
Tom Scott is Professor in Materials at the University’s Interface Analysis Center, and a member of the Cabot Institute. “There are no moving parts involved,” he announces proudly, “No emissions generated and no maintenance required, just direct electricity generation.
“By encapsulating radioactive material inside diamonds, we turn a long-term problem of nuclear waste into a nuclear-powered battery, and a long-term supply of clean energy.” What a contrast compared to a conventional generator moving a magnet through a coil of wire!
The team used Nickel 63 as its radioactive source for their prototype diamond battery. However, they are now developing a Carbon-14 alternative. They plan on sourcing this from carbon blocks that moderate nuclear power generation, because radioactivity concentrates on the block surface.
Why Use Carbon-14 for The Radioactive Source?
“Carbon-14 was chosen as a source material,” explains Neil Fox from the University’s School of Chemistry. “Because it emits a short-range radiation, which is quickly absorbed by any solid material.
“This would make it dangerous to ingest or touch with your naked skin, but safely held within a diamond, no short-range radiation can escape. In fact, diamond is the hardest substance known to man. There is literally nothing we could use that could offer more protection.”
Their diamond battery may be low power, but its estimated long life-span of 5,730 years to 50% power is impressive. “There are so many possible uses,” Neil Fox observes, “that we’re asking the public to come up with suggestions for using it at #diamondbattery.”
More Information
Tiny Diamond Batteries from Nuclear Waste
Bringing Nuclear Power Batteries To Market
