OK, so it behaves more like a photoelectric cell. I was under the impression that it was supposed to be highly efficient in converting the beta energy into electricity. If it is very inefficient then a lot of heat is going to have to be exhausted. That is a significant disadvantage when compared to a battery if I recall correctly.
I suppose that the fact that the energy is virtually free and long lasting is its main thrust. This makes me wonder what could be done with concentrated highly radioactive waste being allowed to just generate useful heat. The heat concentration would be far, far lower than that produced by a reactor, but perhaps some new applications could be found. Of course the best solution is for all of the hazardous nuclear reactors to be replaced by LENR devices. And, hide that nasty waste forever in someone else's back yard! I hate to say it, but it really looks like highly radioactive nuclear reactors need to go away along with all of the waste that is accumulating. It is not clear that a really good use for the spent fuel is going to justify its cost, etc. especially when LENR comes into wide usage. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Bob Higgins <[email protected]> To: vortex-l <[email protected]> Sent: Tue, Nov 29, 2016 3:17 pm Subject: Re: [Vo]:Article: Diamonds turn nuclear waste into nuclear batteries Actually, the output voltage is the voltage of the semiconductor junction. The beta particle stimulates multiple hole-electron pairs across this junction. This type of beta voltaic battery is extremely inefficient in converting the energy in the beta particles into output electrical energy. On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 12:13 PM, David Roberson <[email protected]> wrote: Much depends upon the terminal voltage that you must convert into a useful value. My suspicion is that the open circuited voltage is very high, making it difficult to use in simple applications. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Jed Rothwell <[email protected]> To: vortex-l <[email protected]> Sent: Tue, Nov 29, 2016 10:37 am Subject: Re: [Vo]:Article: Diamonds turn nuclear waste into nuclear batteries <[email protected]> wrote: The maximum power output of such a battery would be about 4 mW / gm of C14. (That's milli-watt, not Megawatt, which means you would be looking at a very low acceleration rate. A hearing aid battery produces less than 1 mW. A pacemaker produces about 10 mW. So ~4 mW power levels would be useful. You could use 3 g of diamonds in a pacemaker. - Jed
