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Linas08
Any specks Voltage Mill amperage? I am not sure what KeV is I cannot find a ...
Les_Slater
Not sure I've done all the math right but figure the energy from the decay of ...
Tritium nanobattery lasts in smaller spaces
Nicolas Mokhoff
8/14/2012 8:04 AM EDT
MANHASSET, NY -- City Labs, Inc.(Miami) recebtly has been granted a product regulatory general license to manufacture, sell, and distribute its NanoTritium betavoltaic power sources which contain small amounts of tritium, a radioisotope commonly found in Exit signs and diver’s watches.
The general license provides the end-user with a safe, reliable and commercially available betavoltaic power source, and eliminates both the burden of regulatory paperwork and end-user radiological training. It also eliminates purchasers to have a prior radiation license.
City Labs' batteries fueled by the tritium radioisotope with a half life of 12.3 years are long-lasting. Only half of the battery's fuel will be used in the first 12 years. Yet, the battery continuously emits low powered electrons independently of temperature or any environmental conditions, a different result from conventional batteries that are dependent on short-lived chemical reactions to produce electrons in order to provide power. The company was founded in April 2005 by two Miami entrepreneurs, Peter Cabauy and Denset Serralta, who led a team of scientists and engineers from national laboratories and universities to create the first commercially available tritium battery. The NanoTritium battery was developed in 2008 for applications associated with memory backup power for enhancement of encryption security in defense systems.
The use of tritium betavoltaic batteries is expanding beyond defense, including homeland security, medical device technologies, and other industrial/engineering applications.
A tritium-based betavoltaic power source enables low-power microelectronic and sensor applications where battery replacement is difficult, impossible, or life-threatening. The Model P100a betavoltaic power source provides a source of continuous nanoWatt power for twenty years or more in microelectronic platforms.
City Labs requested defense contractor Lockheed Martin to test their batteries, which were confirmed to operate as specified and to be resistant to extreme temperatures (-50°C to +150°C), as well as extreme vibration and altitude.
In 2011, City Labs completed its first round of financing and was awarded a million-dollar contract by the United States Air Force.
A recent article in the Miami Herald has more details.
The general license provides the end-user with a safe, reliable and commercially available betavoltaic power source, and eliminates both the burden of regulatory paperwork and end-user radiological training. It also eliminates purchasers to have a prior radiation license.
City Labs' batteries fueled by the tritium radioisotope with a half life of 12.3 years are long-lasting. Only half of the battery's fuel will be used in the first 12 years. Yet, the battery continuously emits low powered electrons independently of temperature or any environmental conditions, a different result from conventional batteries that are dependent on short-lived chemical reactions to produce electrons in order to provide power. The company was founded in April 2005 by two Miami entrepreneurs, Peter Cabauy and Denset Serralta, who led a team of scientists and engineers from national laboratories and universities to create the first commercially available tritium battery. The NanoTritium battery was developed in 2008 for applications associated with memory backup power for enhancement of encryption security in defense systems.
The use of tritium betavoltaic batteries is expanding beyond defense, including homeland security, medical device technologies, and other industrial/engineering applications.
A tritium-based betavoltaic power source enables low-power microelectronic and sensor applications where battery replacement is difficult, impossible, or life-threatening. The Model P100a betavoltaic power source provides a source of continuous nanoWatt power for twenty years or more in microelectronic platforms.
City Labs requested defense contractor Lockheed Martin to test their batteries, which were confirmed to operate as specified and to be resistant to extreme temperatures (-50°C to +150°C), as well as extreme vibration and altitude.
In 2011, City Labs completed its first round of financing and was awarded a million-dollar contract by the United States Air Force.
A recent article in the Miami Herald has more details.
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Les_Slater
8/15/2012 5:42 PM EDT
Looks interesting. Seems to me that this battery type could eventually be produced quite cheaply, certainly under a dollar.
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Sanjib.Acharya
8/17/2012 2:36 PM EDT
Are these batteries not harmful for health as these are made out of radioactive material? Again I understand these "nanoWatt" batteries might be used for supplying power to the microelectronic devices installed in remote sites, those are not easily accessible and that's why higher battery life is what so important...correct?
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ArtB_#1
8/18/2012 12:46 PM EDT
Tritium is, to my knowledge, not radioactive. It is a component of so-called heavy water, which was at one time thought to be useful for a laser powered hydrogen fusion reaction. This novel battery design looks interesting, especially for newer devices which require less power than before.
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Les_Slater
8/19/2012 2:56 AM EDT
Tritium is radioactive since it is an unstable isotope of hydrogen whose nucleus is comprised of one proton and two neutrons.
Its decay involves the emission of an electron and an electron anti-neutrino and results in the rare but stable helium-3 whose nucleus is composed of two protons and one neutron.
The energy in the emitted electron is 5.7 KeV.
The half life of tritium is 12.32 years.
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Les_Slater
8/19/2012 3:03 AM EDT
This 'radioactivity' is technically considered ionizing but is quite benign since the electron is usually trapped or otherwise easily blocked.
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Les_Slater
8/19/2012 3:37 AM EDT
Not sure I've done all the math right but figure the energy from the decay of tritium in two kilograms of tritiated water would propel my VW Golf at 70 miles per hour for about twenty years.
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Linas08
10/23/2012 3:32 PM EDT
Any specks Voltage Mill amperage? I am not sure what KeV is I cannot find a converter?
I know the average life span was 20 years is there any way to extend or is it limited because of half-life of tritium
Could this same technology be used with other materials with a longer half-life?
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