Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Have you heard of dragon eggs (radioactive diamonds)?
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Cyclopath
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Joined: 20 Mar 2012
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostTue Sep 01, 2020 1:32 pm 
Conventional batteries use chemical reactions to produce electricity. They're really good at delivering lots of juice for short amounts of time. "Betavoltaic" "batteries" work more like solar panels, which capture photons and turn them into an electric charge. Instead, they capture beta particles from decaying nuclear "leftovers." In either case, the protons or beta particles wind up in a superconducting material, knocking electrons out of their orbits, creating an electrical charge. They can only produce small amounts of power, but over very long time spans. Sounds like they'll turn up in consumer devices like GPS watches in the next decade. Never in laptops or smart phones because they need too much power. My last watch got 20 hours of GPS per charge when it was new. Next one could get 10,000 years on a "charge" which is really a battery replacement like in the old days when we'd buy alkaline batteries, and then buy new ones when they ran out. And then in navigation threads we can stop telling people the batteries in their GPS could die. Good read: https://www.wired.com/story/are-radioactive-diamond-batteries-a-cure-for-nuclear-waste/amp

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Schenk
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Joined: 16 Apr 2012
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Location: Traveling, with the bear, to the other side of the Mountain
Schenk
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PostTue Sep 01, 2020 4:54 pm 
Cool, thanks. I had no idea those have been around since the 70s.

Nature exists with a stark indifference to humans' situation.
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Malachai Constant
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Joined: 13 Jan 2002
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Malachai Constant
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PostTue Sep 01, 2020 7:49 pm 
They have been around since the 1960’s produce very high voltages but to currents until the radioisotope decays. Mostly used in spacecraft and satellites. Very specialized.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Schenk
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Joined: 16 Apr 2012
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Location: Traveling, with the bear, to the other side of the Mountain
Schenk
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PostThu Sep 03, 2020 2:55 pm 
I see an underlying conspiracy theory: The Evere@6y Bunny putting the hurt on these guys to keep 'em quiet. That's not a playful drum, its a warning! smile.gif

Nature exists with a stark indifference to humans' situation.
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Cyclopath
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Joined: 20 Mar 2012
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Location: Seattle
Cyclopath
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PostThu Sep 03, 2020 9:10 pm 
Electronics have been getting more and more power efficient over the last several years. They're saying these could power things like fitbits and Garmin watches.

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Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Have you heard of dragon eggs (radioactive diamonds)?
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