The tiny battery with a 50-year lifespan

The Chinese company Betavolt is mass-producing a nuclear battery
that is smaller than a coin, produces no external radiation and can
achieve stable power generation for 50 years without recharging

SIZE COMPARISON

U.S.
Quarter

EU
Euro

UK
Pound

Battery

Flipping battery over
and opening it lets us
see how it works

Battery
contacts

Battery
base

Diamond
semiconductors

Isotope
Nickel-63

Battery
case

Variety: Can be composed of any number
of modules, used in series or parallel to
offer different sizes and capacities

15mm
15mm

PHYSICS
Single-crystal diamond
semiconductor
absorbers
10 microns thick

Nickel-63 radioactive
emitter
2 microns thick

As emitter naturally decays,
high-speed electrons (beta
particles) strike absorbers,
generating small but stable
electric current

APPLICATIONS
Future could see
pacemakers that
last whole life and
mobile phones and
drones that never
need charging

Sources: Popular Mechanics, World Nuclear News, Cyclops Electronics, Elprocus
© GRAPHIC NEWS