At the University of Missouri, research scientists are developing a small, nuclear battery. The radioisotope battery is about the same size and thickness as a penny, and is said to hold 1 million times more charge than standard batteries. The energy is produced by the decay of radioisotopes, which release charged particles. This stream of charged particles can then be harnessed as an electric current.

Nuclear batteries have been in use for some time in military, space & aerospace and underwater systems. They have also been used in pacemakers, which demonstrates that they are relatively safe. These batteries have, however, always been much larger than the new ones being developed by the University of Missouri.

The capacity of nuclear batteries has made them very useful for space exploration because they can last for decades.

The biggest problem with nuclear batteries is that they use semiconductors to use the charged particles as they are emitted from the radioisotope. Because the particles have a very high level of energy, they tend to cause damage to the semiconductor, thus shortening its life. To overcome this, the semiconductors are made much larger so that they will last as long as the radioisotope.

The batteries made by the University of Missouri, on the other hand, use a liquid semiconductor that is more able to withstand the energy level of the particles without sustaining damage.

These batteries have been developed to power microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems in which a small, but long-lasting power supply is required.

The University is continuing development to reduce the size of the batteries even further.

Not surprisingly, the team has applied for a provisional patent on the battery.

Editor’s Comment:
So if they can get 1 million times the energy from a cell of the same size as a conventional battery, why aren’t they making nuclear batteries that will power a car?