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Nuclear Battery That Runs 10 Years
Jenny writes "A battery with a lifespan measured in decades is in development at the University of Rochester, as scientists demonstrate a new fabrication method that in its roughest form is already 10 times more efficient than current nuclear batteries -- and has the potential to be nearly 200 times more efficient. Similar to the way solar panels work by catching photons from the sun and turning them into current, the science of betavoltaics uses silicon to capture electrons emitted from a radioactive gas, such as tritium, to form a current. As the electrons strike a special pair of layers called a 'p-n junction,' a current results. I can imagine lots of applications for this new battery including my own laptop."
So now instead of just overheating... my laptop can have a total meltdown?
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
If you ever have an iPod with one of these things, don't send it through the washing machine, and then start stabbing it with a screwdriver...
Naw ... just kidding but think of the added benefits ...
happened to that kid if he tried to fix his ipod with one of these in it.
Think about terrorism, this technology is unamerican.
Betavoltaics? I'll wait until this radioactive battery is more... stable.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
I can imagine lots of applications for this new battery including my own laptop
That a calculated risk: will you end up sterile and impotent or the proud wielder of a 14 inch hammer...
Trolling is a art,
Its pronounced "nu-cu-lar"
"So ladies and gentlemen - here we have it; a high-tech battery that lasts many times longer than those made with current technology, a clean and efficient power source for the 21st century - ideal for all sorts of gadgets and items essential for the executive on the move! Just one small thing - how do we convince power laptop users to accept having a radioactive source approximately 2" away from their testicles? Anyone?"
AT&ROFLMAO
I can imagine lots of applications for this new battery including my own laptop.
I'm not sure I'd want a nuclear battery on my lap. Maybe that's just me.GETPKG - Package Management for Slackware
no, A huge freaking Apple cloud you silly cloth. \o>
Hivemind harvest in progress..
Okay, I've made some adjustments to a previous story to cope with this new technology. Just a few words.
Apple: iPod Dangerous When Wet
Posted by CowboyNeal on Friday May 13, @05:43AM
from the potential-hazards dept.
somefutureslashdotter writes "What do you do when your mom washes your iPod? Fix it, of course. A teenager in Australia found out the hard way that messing with the insides of his iPod is dangerous and needed to be pieced together from basic components after it exploded, leveling several city blocks."
Nevermind birth control... I would finally have the means to create superbabies!
I thought the letter O was what joined P and N
Parent is right: Don't worry about those old and busted boogey men.
Just try to imagine getting through airport security with a nuclear battery. Although maybe if you hid it under the gun in your carry on they wouldn't find it.
Are you...Are you some kind of genius?
No, ma'am, I'm just a regular Slashdot reader.
This will be awesome in iPods.
Until your mother launders it.
And you take a screwdriver to it.
And it flips you into orbit.
-- often wrong; never in doubt
Actually, you'd keep the battery and buy a new laptop for it every few years.
f u cn rd ths u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgmng
1) Use specific tritium charger only. Do not use a NiMH or NiCd charger - Failure to do so may a cause fire, which may result in personal injury and property damage, across a wide area. 2) Never charge batteries unattended. When charging H-3 batteries you should always remain in constant observation to monitor the charging process and react to potential problems that may occur, by running away, fast. 3) Some H-3 chargers on the market may have technical deficiencies that may cause it to charge the H-3 batteries incorrectly or at an improper rate. It is your responsibility solely to assure the charger you purchased works properly. Always monitor charging process to assure batteries are being charged properly. Failure to do so may result in meltdown. 4) If at any time you witness a battery starting to balloon or swell up, discontinue charging process immediately, disconnect the battery and observe it in a safe place, several miles away, for approximately 500 years. This may cause the battery to leak, and the reaction with air may cause the isotopes to chain-react, resulting in mushroom cloud. 5) Since delayed chain reaction can occur, it is best to observe the battery as a safety precaution. Battery observation should occur in a safe area outside of any building or vehicle and away from any fissile material. 6) Wire lead shorts can cause fire! If you accidentally short the wires, the battery must be placed in a safe area for observation for approximately 800 years. Additionally, if a short occurs and contact is made with metal (such as rings on your hand), severe injuries may occur due to the conductibility of electric current. 7) A battery can still fission even after 1000 years. 8) In the event of a crash, you must remove battery for observation and place in a safe open area away from any combustible material, and major cities, for approximately 5000 years. 9) If for any reason you need to cut the terminal wires, it will be necessary to cut each wire separately, ensuring the wires to not touch each other or a short may occur, potentially causing a chain-reaction. 10) To solder a connector: Remove insulating 8-inch lead shielding of Red wire and solder to positive terminal of a connector, then remove insulating 8-inch lead shielding of Black wire and solder to the negative terminal of connector. Be careful not to short the wire lead. If you accidentally cause the battery to short, place it in a safe open space and observe the battery for approximately 100,000 years. A battery may swell or even possibly induce fission after a geologically insignificant time. 11) Never store or charge battery pack inside your car in extreme temperatures, since extreme temperature could cause irreparable damage to you car, and blow away half the state.
With apologies to thunderpower-batteries.com
A nuclear battery in your laptop what an ingenious idea!
My sperm count is already decreasing directly proportionally to the amount of minutes I keep my LAPtop on my LAP due to heat being generated by my laptop. Now you want to go ahead and mutate the few soldiers I still have left on reserves??
No, the radiation would still not penetrate the skin, even if you slam the battery up your scrotum. Something else might though. No matter how much one might wish, there is nothing magical about male balls. They do not have automatical attractional powers for radiation (or females).
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
that's probably overkill. A thimble would work just as well...
"Nokia is not a country, it's the capital of Finland!" -Moderated "Informative". Yeesh.
Even as a former nuclear physicist, I do prefer to keep radioactive gases as far away from my lap, as possible.
Why? I think the human race needs to be more open to mutation.
You are missing the real danger! What if a focused nuclear blast hits you while using your laptop! The tritium could fuse, and KILL you!
while (sig==sig) sig=!sig;
I was with you up to the equating of nucular with nuclear. Regardless of your feelings about Bush, pro or con, you have to admit he's managed to sway a lot of people by his [irony acknowledged] scientific choice of words. So since, as you seem to implicitly suggest, we seem a nation more susceptible to words than truths, maybe this is just the shift that's needed to get it over the hump.
Then again, maybe it will later run afoul of something related to what I've heard cited about bicycles as the "40 pound rule", that is (if I'm recalling correctly): If you have a very light bike, it needs a 40 pound lock, if you have a 20 pound bike, it neeeds a 20 pound lock, and if you have a 40 pound bike, it needs no lock... so all bikes weigh the same. Maybe the same will be true with laptops, efficient batteries, and the weight of lead shielding to compensate for or protect from the so-called nucular option for efficient batteries...
Let's not let the quantum mechanical nature of this thing lead to too much spin control. The public deserves an immediate up or down volt...
Kent M Pitman
Philosopher, Technologist, Writer
Dude, about your analogy:
Then again, maybe it will later run afoul of something related to what I've heard cited about bicycles as the "40 pound rule", that is (if I'm recalling correctly): If you have a very light bike, it needs a 40 pound lock, if you have a 20 pound bike, it neeeds a 20 pound lock, and if you have a 40 pound bike, it needs no lock... so all bikes weigh the same.
Sure, if you're commuting. You don't buy expensive bikes to commute with. It doesn't make sense for more reasons than the lock.
Maybe the same will be true with laptops, efficient batteries, and the weight of lead shielding to compensate for or protect from the so-called nucular option for efficient batteries...
There's no shielding required for tritium. Your skin is sufficient.
Let's not let the quantum mechanical nature of this thing lead to too much spin control.
Don't make me slap you.