Some batteries use tiny bits of power.
They can last a long time. They help tools in space work. They also help tools deep in the sea. These tools do not need help. They work all by themselves. Can you imagine a battery that lasts so long?
Some batteries use tiny bits of power.
They can last a long time. These batteries get energy from tiny pieces of matter. As the pieces break down, they make power. This power can make electricity.
These batteries are not like the ones in toys. You cannot charge them up again. They are very expensive to make. But they stay strong for many years.
People use them for special jobs. They help tools in space work. They also help tools deep in the sea. They can even help tools inside a person's body. These tools work all by themselves. Can you imagine a battery that lasts so long?
An atomic battery makes electricity from tiny bits of matter. These bits are called radioactive isotopes. As these isotopes decay, or break down, they give off power.
These are not like the batteries in your toys. You cannot charge them up again. They are very expensive to make. But they can last for a very long time. This makes them great for tools that work alone in far places. They power spacecraft and medical tools like pacemakers.
There are two main ways these batteries work. Thermal converters use heat to make power. One type is called an RTG. It uses heat from the decaying matter to make electricity. This is often used in space.
Other batteries are non-thermal converters. They do not use heat. Instead, they take energy directly from the tiny particles. One kind is called a betavoltaic cell. These can be very small. They are good for small machines. Some new tiny batteries may even last for 50 years!
An atomic battery is a special way to make electricity. It uses energy from the decay of a radioactive isotope. This is a tiny bit of matter that breaks down over time. Unlike the batteries in your toys, these are not electrochemical. This means you cannot charge them or use them again. They are very expensive to build, but they have a huge amount of energy. They can also last for a very long time without any help.
There are two main ways these batteries work. Thermal converters use heat to make power. One type is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or RTG. It uses a temperature difference to create electricity. This happens through the Seebeck effect using thermocouples. A thermocouple is made of two different metal wires. One end is heated by the decay, and the other end stays cool. This difference in heat creates a small voltage.
Other batteries are called non-thermal converters. They do not need heat to work. Instead, they take energy directly from the radiation particles. One type is a betavoltaic cell. These use a semiconductor junction to make electricity. They are much easier to make very small. Because they do not need a temperature difference, they work well in small machines. Some of these devices can reach 8% efficiency.
Scientists have studied this for a long time. Henri Becquerel found natural radioactivity in 1896. Marie Curie found radium and polonium in 1898. In 1913, Henry Moseley showed a current could come from radium. Later, RCA made a prototype in 1954 for hearing aids. In 1961, NASA used an RTG in space. It used Plutonium 238 as its fuel.
These batteries are used where humans cannot easily go. They power spacecraft that travel far from Earth. They also power medical devices like pacemakers inside people. Some are used in underwater systems or remote science stations. A company called Betavolt is testing a tiny device. It uses nickel-63 and could last for 50 years. It is only the size of a very small coin.
An atomic battery, also called a radioisotope generator, produces electricity from radioactive decay. This process involves a radioactive isotope, which is a type of unstable matter. As these isotopes decay, they release energy. Unlike a nuclear reactor, an atomic battery does not use a chain reaction to work. It is also different from common electrochemical batteries. You cannot charge or recharge an atomic battery. While they are very expensive, they have high energy density. This means they pack a lot of power into a small space. They also have extremely long lives.
Scientists classify these batteries by how they convert energy. The first group is thermal converters. These devices turn the heat from nuclear decay into electricity. One common example is the radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or RTG. Another thermal type is the thermionic converter, or TEC. A TEC uses a hot electrode to emit electrons across a barrier to a cooler electrode. Some researchers also study thermophotovoltaic cells. These convert infrared light from hot surfaces into power. There are also Stirling generators. These use a Stirling engine driven by temperature differences.
Thermal conversion relies heavily on temperature gradients. In an RTG, electricity is produced through the Seebeck effect. This process uses thermocouples, which are pairs of different metal wires. When one end of the wire is heated and the other is cooled, a voltage is created. To get more power, many thermocouples are connected in series or parallel. Scientists often use semiconductor materials like bismuth telluride for better efficiency. These materials have higher charge densities than simple metals. However, thermal conversion is often inefficient. Most atomic batteries have an efficiency between 0.1% and 5%.
Non-thermal converters work differently. They extract energy directly from radiation before it turns into heat. This makes them easier to miniaturize for small machines. One method is electrostatic conversion. This happens when charged particles build up in a conductor. This creates an electrostatic potential, or voltage. This voltage can be very high. It might reach several kilovolts for beta radiation. It can even reach megavolts for alpha radiation. One way to use this is a direct-charging generator. This uses a capacitor to collect the current from a radioactive layer.
Another non-thermal method is radiovoltaic conversion. These devices use a semiconductor junction to create electricity. This is similar to how a solar cell works. Depending on the radiation used, they have different names. Alphavoltaic devices use alpha particles. Betavoltaic devices use beta particles, which are electrons. Gammavoltaic devices use gamma particles, which are high-energy photons. Betavoltaics are very popular for research. This is because beta emitters cause less radiative damage. This allows the battery to last longer with less shielding. High-efficiency betavoltaic devices can reach 6% to 8% efficiency.
The history of atomic batteries began with early discoveries in radioactivity. Henri Becquerel discovered natural radioactivity in 1896. Marie Curie discovered the elements polonium and radium in 1898. Later, Ernest Rutherford identified alpha and beta particles. He and Frederick Soddy discovered radioactive decay between 1902 and 1903. In 1913, Henry Moseley demonstrated a current from radium decay. He showed a high voltage of 150kV with a tiny current of 0.01nA. In 1954, RCA created a prototype for hearing aids. In 1961, NASA used an RTG in space. That mission used the isotope Plutonium 238 as fuel.
Today, these batteries are vital for extreme environments. They power spacecraft that travel far into the solar system. They also power medical devices like pacemakers. They are used in underwater systems and remote scientific stations. A company called Betavolt is currently testing a miniature device. It uses the isotope nickel-63 inside a module the size of a small coin. It is designed to produce 100 microwatts of power at 3V. This device could potentially last for 50 years without maintenance. As the nickel-63 decays, it turns into stable copper. This makes it safe for the environment.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (1)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.