spasmodicus wrote:Sorcery wrote:spasmodicus wrote:
I struggle to see what's new about this. Maybe the use of a P-N junction to trap the radiated energy particles/waves, rather than a thermocouple, as in a conventional radioactive thermal cell of this kind, raises the efficiency. Why not just say so? NASA have been using isotope power in spacecraft for years, e.g. the Viking probes. More recently, NASA have been working on a Stirling cycle motor/generator powered in this way. The Soviet Union used radioisotope batteries for years to power lighthouses along their Arctic Sea coast.
The video is very coy about what radioisotope(s) they are using for the power source. Is there a problem in disposing of these things? They also use terms like "magnetron" when I think they might mean "microwave oven". Magnetrons are gnerally used to generate high power microwaves. What is their role in the manufacturing process of these cells?
sceptically,
S
Watch the "video" under the about menu. The rays being trapped include gamma rays & X rays which would not work on normal P-N junctions. The radio isotope being used (at the moment) is Cobalt 90. More information in the telegraph article including that it was first developed in the 50s. The company hopes to scale up to gigawatt capacity with the offer of being amazingly cheap.
From the telegraph article :
Infinite Power is eyeing different segments of the market, convinced it can outcompete fossil-fuel plants for electricity on a gigawatt scale. The technology works in much the same way as a solar panel except that the energy does not come from the sun. It comes from the decaying isotope.
excitedly, Steve
Yes, I was trying to say that the P-N junction would maybe be configured to respond to the quite high energy gamma rays emitted by Cobalt 60 (Cobalt 90 has never been created as far as I know, but I did not hear them say in the video what isotope they are actually planning to use). Cobalt 60 is pretty nasty stuff.
Almost any radioactive source that emits enough energy to generate significant power presents plenty of problems for operational safety, disposal etc. Another problem, in applications where you have to stack lots of these batteries together in a big box, will be heat dissipation. Any radiated energy (gamma rays in the case of Cobalt 60) not converted into electric power will be disspated as heat within the battery structure and shielding. Whether you draw electric power from the battery or not, it will still be generating heat because you can't turn an isotope on and off at will.
I won't be investing, or putting a battery powered by cobalt 60 into my mobile phone any time soon.
S
Yes Cobalt 60, my typo rather than from the article. A short half life of 5.3 years. The video showed them assembling the boxes and proving it works with a light bulb. Assuming it's not a con, no hidden batteries or external power supply, and the output could be easily measured and is as advertised, it seems then it's possible it could solve all our energy needs. Ambrose (the author of the telegraph article) talks about it being useful as a battery which it really is not, it's more like a modular power station without all the containment problems and waste of a conventional nuclear power station. Best not to use it as backup for wind & solar, but a replacement.
The article stressed that the Cobalt 59 as normally dug up would have to be bombarded with neutrons in a conventional nuclear power plant,to convert it to Cobalt 60 but that it could be recycled back to Cobalt 60 once output fell enough to make it worthwhile. Not exactly sure how they seperate it from the Nickel which is a by product of Cobalt 60 decay.
Mr McLeod said the isotope can be recycled again and again by putting it back in a reactor every ten years. By then the isotopes have partly decayed into nickel. There are almost no operating costs once the system is up and running.
The heat problem could perhaps be solved by control rods and water as a coolant as per existing nuclear electricity stations.
Found an article or two that may be of interest,
RTG Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisot ... _generatorDirect conversion of gamma rays to electricity
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals ... 7E28DD10A7An oldish article, as I understand it the Infinite Power device would have to be more advanced and produce considerably more electricity.
I would like to know more before investing. I have emailed them to ask how I invest. Government according to Ambrose is interested in it.