NUCLEAR BATTERY COULD LAST A MILLION YEARS
Posted on October 9th, 2009 by Bob and Joy Schwabach
Researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a nuclear battery they say exceeds the energy density of a comparably sized chemical battery by “six orders of magnitude.” Going back to our high school math, six orders of magnitude comes to an increase of one million times!
Energy density isn’t the same as voltage, but is a figure made up of the usual voltage and amperage numbers delivered over time. So a battery made by their radioactive isotope technique could have the same voltage as a AA battery but last a million times longer. The battery can be made as small as a penny. The researchers say it gives off very little radioactivity and is harmless to the user, say in a cell phone for example.