MU researchers develop nuclear battery
The battery could the size of a penny and thinner than a hair.
Published Oct. 20, 2009
Researchers in the MU electrical and computer engineering department are using nuclear power to develop a battery that is smaller and more efficient.
MU spokeswoman Kelsey Jackson said the research will provide power sources for new technology as smaller devices are developed.
“The importance of developing this battery is that sometimes in really small devices, the battery will be the largest and heaviest part of the device,” Jackson said.
As devices continually become smaller and more portable, the batteries that power them have to keep up, Jackson said.
To do this, Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and the leader of the study, uses nuclear energy to generate more power from a smaller source.
“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density,” Kwon said in an MU news release. “The radioisotope battery can provide power density that is six orders of magnitude higher than chemical batteries.”
Despite the high energy output, the use of nuclear power allows the size of the battery to stay small. Kwon and his colleagues are constructing a nuclear battery the size of a penny, but he said it could potentially be thinner than a human hair.
Kwon recognizes the uneasiness surrounding the term, “nuclear,” but said nuclear power sources such as his battery are safe.
“People hear the word, nuclear, and think of something very dangerous,” he said. “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”
According to the news release, not only is the size of the battery ground-breaking, but also the use of a new type of semiconductor. Rather than a tradition solid semiconductor, Kwon’s battery uses a liquid-based one.
“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.”
According to the news release, Kwon has had his research published in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry and the Journal of Applied Physics Letters. Kwon also received an outstanding paper award for his research on nuclear batteries at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Conference in June.
Kwon teamed up with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, and is working to build and test the new battery there soon.
Comments (3)
midnight, Oct. 21, 2009
Matt said:
Curtis, a few things. First, I don't think they would let this battery into main stream use unless it was safe and tested. Second, cell phones and ipods release radiation every day and repeated exposure over 25-35 years would be detrimental to your health. But who holds a cell phone to their head for 25-35 years straight?
1:44 p.m., Jan. 24, 2011
TearsTheWingsOffAngels said:
They use these nuclear batteries for implants, where they last for the rest of the patient's life. They're safe enough, even for intimate contact. This technology is 50 years old. What's new is using liquid semiconductor as the betavoltaics collector.
3:20 p.m., Oct. 20, 2009
Curtis Steinlage said:
I doubt these would be safe for cell phones, ipods, or any other day to day, close contact devices. Think about if a kid grew up having a nuclear battery in his cell phone and Ipod. Repeated exposure, over say the next 25-35 years of that same kid's life, could definitely pose a threat. I'm not saying that this is a bad idea by any means though. This is an enormous step forward in technological advances, and hopefully we will see a positive correlation between studies of nuclear batteries and the general safety of the public in the future.