What are Nuclear Cells and Batteries
What are Nuclear Cells and Batteries
What is a Battery?
A "battery" is a device that can convert and store chemical energy into electrical energy. Battery system is the production and storage of electrical energy through chemical reactions.
Electricity means the movement of electrons. Batteries work by entering into a chemical reaction with the substances in the battery's structure (zinc, silver, lithium, mercury, nickel, etc.) and the appropriate solution within the battery.
This reaction creates polarization between positive and negative charges in the system, and when the positive and negative ends of the battery are combined (with a substance that has some conductivity), electrons flow from the negative end to the positive end. In this way, we produce electricity.
There are two main types of batteries: disposable (primate) batteries and rechargeable (secondary) batteries.
Disposable (Primate) Batteries:
These batteries are usually thrown away after use and cannot be recharged.
Examples include alkaline batteries (e.g., AA, AAA), zinc-carbon batteries, and lithium disposable batteries.
They produce electricity through chemical reactions, but once discharged they are usually discarded.
These batteries can be recharged and reused after use.
Examples include nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.
Chemical reactions produce electricity, then when these batteries are charged the chemical reactions are reversed, making the stored energy available again.
Batteries; It is widely used as a power source in mobile phones, laptops, vehicles, remote control devices and a number of electronic devices. Battery technologies are constantly being developed and diversified to provide the needed energy.
What is a nuclear battery?
An atomic battery, nuclear battery, radioisotope battery or radioisotope generator uses energy obtained from the decay of a radioactive isotope to produce electricity. Like nuclear reactors, they produce electricity from nuclear energy, but they differ from them in that they do not use a chain reaction. Although they are commonly known as batteries, they are technically non-electrochemical and cannot be recharged. Until now, because their cost was so high, they were generally used as power sources for devices that needed to operate unattended for long periods of time, such as spacecraft, pacemakers, underwater systems, and automated scientific stations in remote parts of the world.
We can think of a nuclear battery as "a device that converts radioactive radiation into electrical energy." In this process, the chemical process in classical batteries is replaced by nuclear radiation. Nuclear radiation is converted into electrical energy through a thermoelectric generator (direct conversion of heat into electrical energy and vice versa). Now, in the nuclear battery, our fuel is a radioactive element and its derivatives. Therefore, if we consider the half-life of the elements we will use in our batteries, the lifespan of nuclear batteries will be years.
The term "nuclear cell or battery" generally refers to an energy source used for space exploration vehicles, deep-sea drilling devices, and to meet isolated power needs in remote areas. This type of battery has a thermoelectric generator powered by radioactive material.
These systems generally produce energy by converting heat into electricity through thermoelectric couples. Radioactive material is often used in these thermoelectric generators using isotopes such as plutonium-238. These isotopes have the capacity to provide long-term and reliable energy due to their long half-lives and high energy density.
Nuclear batteries are generally produced by using radioactive isotopes in thermoelectric generators. Here is a general nuclear battery manufacturing process:
Radioactive Isotope Selection: The first step is to select radioactive isotopes, which are generally preferred due to their long half-lives and high energy densities. In particular, isotopes such as plutonium-238 and strontium-90 can be used for such applications.
Radioactive Material Preparation: The radioactive isotope selected must be prepared appropriately. This means that the isotope is handled safely, stored and made available for use in the end use area.
Thermoelectric Generator Design and Manufacturing: Nuclear battery includes thermoelectric generators. These generators use thermoelectric couples to convert heat into electricity. These pairs generally consist of bimetals (BI-METAL; During its production, two completely different metals are combined in a single casting process, it is the process of fusion of steel and high alloy wear-resistant materials.). The heat produced by the radioactive isotope is converted into electrical energy through these pairs.
Battery Design and Assembly: The thermoelectric generator is the main component of the battery. Battery design should generally be durable, safe and minimize environmental impacts. At this stage, the general assembly of the battery, including other components, is carried out.
Testing and Certification: The produced nuclear battery must be subjected to various tests. These tests will concern the safety, durability and performance of the battery. It may also undergo a certification process to verify compliance with the standards set by regulatory bodies.
Adaptation by Area of Use: Since nuclear batteries are generally used in special applications such as space exploration or deep-sea drilling, they are preferred for a specific task or application.
The manufacturing processes of such batteries are usually strictly controlled by national and international regulators. Therefore, the production of Nuclear batteries is subject to special permits, safety standards and regulations.
Scientists at the National Research and Technology Institute in Moscow have developed a new generation system called nuclear battery to close this energy gap. The nuclear battery project, which we have heard about in previous years, was first put into use in the 1970s. The fact that its main substance is strontium and that it emits high amounts of radiation has received a lot of criticism from some circles and has been removed from use.
It is stated that the nuclear batteries developed by Russia are safer than older generations because they contain the nickel-63 isotope, unlike strontium. Of course, the mention of the word nuclear in an energy system will conjure up a sense of danger in people's eyes for years to come. Even though this is the case, the hunger for energy and the fact that nuclear batteries are suitable for use for at least 50 years seem to override the word trust.
Finally, nickel-63, the basic building material of nuclear batteries; Its rarity in the natural environment makes things difficult. Scientists can enrich the nickel-62 isotope in nuclear power plants and convert it into nickel-63 after chemical processing, which eliminates this problem.
What are the current studies on Nuclear Battery?
China has developed a nuclear battery with a lifespan of 50 years.
It is reported that the Betavolt BV100 nuclear battery, produced with the Nickel-63 isotope and diamond semiconductor material developed by China, has a lifespan of 50 years.
The Betavolt BV100 battery, produced by the Chinese company Betavolt, is expected to take its place in the markets as the company's first product produced using nickel-63 isotope and diamond semiconductor material. We can say that the Betavolt nuclear battery will target aviation, artificial intelligence devices, medical, Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, smart sensors, small drones and robots. Ultimately, this means that manufacturers can produce smartphones and cars that never need charging, and we will no longer have to worry about charging.
The idea of an electronic product that can go 50 years without recharging seems quite incredible. However, the BV100 battery, which is in the pilot production phase before mass production, does not offer much power for now. This 15 x 15 x 5mm battery provides 100 microwatts of power at 3 volts. The company also underlines that multiple BV100 batteries can be used together in series or parallel, depending on device requirements. Betavolt also says it plans to launch a 1-watt variant of its nuclear battery in 2025.
Betavolt BV100 is essentially a revolutionary and disruptive product in two aspects. First and foremost, this product offers safe, maintenance-free use for 50 years. Secondly, it uses diamond semiconductor material for the first time in the design. The company announced that it uses the 4th generation diamond semiconductor material here.
In fact, Betavolt company, in its press release for the nuclear battery (can also be called nuclear battery, atomic battery or radioisotope battery), states that the nuclear battery is very different from similar power cells developed by the USA and USSR in the 1960s. For example, some early technology atomic batteries used Plutonium as a radioactive power source. Betavolt claims that the BV100 is safe for consumers and that it will not leak radiation even if the battery is somehow punctured.
This security arises from the choice of material. Nickel-63 isotope is used as the energy source in Betavolt's battery, and this isotope turns into a stable copper isotope. According to the company, this and the diamond semiconductor material help the BV100 operate stably in environments ranging from -60 to 120 degrees Celsius. According to Betavolt, this battery technology is far ahead of the technology of academic and commercial institutions in Europe and America.
So how does Betavolt produce this battery? We've already mentioned the basic ingredients, but the diagram illustrates the process perfectly. It can be seen that the BV100 is made by placing a 2 micron thick nickel-63 sheet between two diamond semiconductor converters. This structure is based on Betavolt's unique single-crystal diamond semiconductor, which is only 10 microns thick.
This ultimately developed nuclear battery is not at an impressive level in terms of maximum power output, but the fact that this battery has been made is very promising for the future. Betavolt states that it is also researching isotopes such as strontium-90, promethium-147 and deuterium to develop nuclear energy batteries with more energy and longer service life up to 2030 years.
As for energy density… Currently, an average betavoltaic battery can achieve more than 400 times more energy density than an average lithium AA battery. Another advantage of nuclear batteries is their size. They take up thousands of times less space than solar cells and chemical batteries.
This incredible reduction in size means enormous lightness and almost infinite energy in electronics and vehicles.
Conclusion.
In terms of energy, the development and introduction of nuclear batteries means the production of endless vehicles that do not need charging.
Developments in this regard will bring about many changes in the world's understanding of economy, logistics, agriculture, space, aviation and production.
Developments in nuclear batteries will open the door to many innovations in space travel and work in space, as well as on Earth.
In addition, easier settlements can be established outside the world, such as the Moon and Mars, and rockets and ships that can carry more materials to far distances can be built. By solving the fuel and energy problems in these ships, the problems of finding water in space and heating can be easily solved.
