Diamond battery

A diamond battery is one of slightly radioactive waste ¹⁴ C produced durable primary cell .

The development not yet ready for the market took place at the Cabot Institute at the University of Bristol and was presented in 2016 by physics professor Tom Scott.

The carbon - isotope ¹⁴ C is produced in graphite blocks used in nuclear reactors as a neutron moderator are used. With the release of beta radiation , it breaks down to the stable nitrogen isotope ¹⁴ N. Due to the radioactivity, the battery with diamond-shaped ¹⁴ C can be used as a beta-voltaic device . The half-life is several thousand years.

See also

• Radionuclide battery

Web links

• Caroline Delbert: How to turn nuclear waste into diamond batteries. In: Popular Mechanics , January 21, 2020.
• Lukas Feldhaus: Nuclear diamonds. In: Die Zeit , January 5, 2017.
• Jason Murdoch: Diamond batteries created with nuclear waste may soon provide source of "near infinite" power. In: Newsweek , January 22, 2020.