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China-developed photovoltaic nuclear battery could run for centuries: scientists

In-built energy converter works like a solar panel to capture alpha rays and convert them first into light and then electricity

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Chinese researchers say they have found a way to harness the energy from alpha rays released from decaying radioactive isotopes. Photo: Shutterstock
Zhang Tongin Beijing
Chinese scientists say they have developed a nuclear-powered battery with a photovoltaic cell that could generate electricity for hundreds of years, at an overall efficiency thousands of times higher than its closest rivals.

According to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, the researchers were looking for a way to harness alpha rays released by decaying radioactive isotopes, in a field where most advances have focused on beta radiation.

The increasing demand for clean energy solutions and small, long-lasting alternative power sources have sparked broad research interest in nuclear batteries but alpha-radioisotopes are considered the most likely contenders for a micronuclear battery.

This is because the high decay energy of alpha-radioisotopes – between four and six mega electron volts (MeV) – offers the potential to far outstrip beta-radioisotope devices, whose decay energies reach several tens of kiloelectron volts (keV) at best.

However, with their extremely short penetration in solids, alpha particles lose substantial energy through the self-absorption effect.

“This self-absorption significantly reduces the actual output power of tested alpha-radioisotope micronuclear batteries to levels far below theoretical expectations,” said the study’s lead author Wang Shuao from Soochow University.

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