• Home
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Sitemap
Home » Hardware, News

One Laptop Battery That Lasts 30 Years Without Recharge

2 October 2007 15 Comments


Betavolic batteryWhat would you say if I told you that thanks to the US Air Force Research Laboratory we could have laptop batteries that would last for 30 years without the need of a recharge? You would say I am crazy but this is exactly what we need to talk about now. They invented a special betavolic power cell that is built from semiconductors with the use of radioisotopes as energy sources. Radioactive material ends up decaying over time and as a result it emits beta particles. They transform into electric power that can power laptops for previously unimagined periods of time: years. To make it even more interesting, such batteries can be very small. We have a non-thermal reactions so there is also no risk of over-heating and when the battery runs out of power it is non-toxic. It was stated that such batteries might be available to the public in around 2 years. Well, in two years we might have a laptop revolution on our hands.

15 Comments »

  • dan said:

    what about powering our vehicals? save using up what we’ve already nearly dipleated

    # 5 October 2007 at 1:28 pm
  • Steve said:

    This is a very exciting innovation for the computer industry. These batteries could be used not only for laptops but for any number of things, not the least of witch would be to power Desktop computers and there corresponding monitor with no need for a wall outlet or a extremely heavy power source. Hats off to the US Air Force Research Laboratory on this breakthrough, I’ll be waiting eagerly to hear more about this.

    # 5 October 2007 at 2:56 pm
  • blueminies said:

    historical invention it seems. how abt using the same battery for house hold electronic items and stuff?

    # 5 October 2007 at 3:20 pm
  • Raalnan5 said:

    My first question is, what are the side effects? A year ago, we were all being told to switch to compact fluorescent bulbs. now, we know that they have a high level of mercury, and we can’t even throw them away like regular bulbs.

    # 5 October 2007 at 4:27 pm
  • Alby said:

    This would be amazing. Not just for my laptop but more for my mobile and iPOD!

    # 5 October 2007 at 5:13 pm
  • Sam said:

    I would like to see more technical details…Anyone have further links?

    # 5 October 2007 at 5:30 pm
  • Mhh said:

    And what about the X-Rays emitted by the radioactive material?

    I predict, that cancer will increase immensely with the release of this “invention”. Thank You US-AirForce for boosting the Pharma-Industry!

    # 5 October 2007 at 6:24 pm
  • dingdong said:

    I guess this is a hoax. Well it does work, in pacemakers, but betavoltaic batteries have some serious issues, e.g. the beta radiation will deteriorate most semiconductor materials. There are some compounds that will be able to withstand the high energy electrons, but even so betavoltaic batteries will output just some milliwatts due to the low energy conversion efficiency.

    # 5 October 2007 at 7:04 pm
  • JonLin said:

    Sounds like a great idea. The only problem I can think of is that beta radiation is a relatively dangerous ionising radiation, so I’d like to know how they’ll shield the user from radiation exposure?

    # 5 October 2007 at 7:27 pm
  • Steve said:

    Smells like snake oil to me. 80 watts (that’s what my laptop draws) of beta rays implies a *lot* of radioactive material. You’d need an NRC license to possess it. What keeps the semiconductor diodes from getting fried by the intense ionizing radiation? What happens to the terminal voltage under varying load? There were beta-powered batteries decades ago; they had very high internal resistance, so they worked only in very low-current applications, and quietly vanished from the market.

    # 5 October 2007 at 7:38 pm
  • ilia said:

    This is total bullshit. Think for one minute, using RADIOISOTOPES??!!?? If one of these things gets damaged, bye bye neighborhood. The fact is that once beta emitting radioisotopes are aerosolized (by damage or overheating or what have you), they get breathed in. Once that happens, it will be lung cancer with 2 years. no way is this going to be given to the public!

    # 5 October 2007 at 7:57 pm
  • brokholy said:

    This is a good idea and good technology. Hope it won’t be far too much expensive.

    # 5 October 2007 at 7:59 pm
  • Sam said:

    The catch is probably the cost for one. You could probably buy 10 separate normal yet rechargeable batteries for less than this.

    # 5 October 2007 at 8:00 pm
  • Chris said:

    So I would want to know a few things. 1: are they going to be cased so that we do not get poisoned by the Radioactive Material, 2: are they going to be interchangeable batteries because the average lifespan for a laptop computer is maybe 5 years, 2 on average unless you upgrade it continuously. They would have to be a pack that you plugged into the back of the computer, OR the computer manufactures would have to never change the battery plug-in in the bottom of the laptop. What is the use of a battery that you never have to recharge on a piece of equipment that is outdated buy 5 or more years? Think about the last time that you got a new laptop computer. Did anything from your old computer work in the new one? I can see many advantages to this, but I also see many disadvantages.

    # 5 October 2007 at 8:08 pm
  • Rupert said:

    It’s a shame, but it isn’t going to happen - at least, no time soon. The physics is against it…

    http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006069o-2000331777b,00.htm

    # 5 October 2007 at 9:28 pm

Leave your response!

You must be logged in to post a comment.



Categories

Recent Posts

  • BlackBerry Storm
  • Nintendo DSI
  • SlingCatcher Appears
  • MSI Wind Netbook Now Sold At Best Buy Stores
  • Review Nikon D90

Friends

  • Coolest Gadgets
  • Instructables
  • Wired Gadget Labs

RSS Feed

 Subscribe Me
Add to Technorati Favorites

Dodevice at Blogged

    Navigation

    • About
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap

    Blogroll

    • CNET

    Tags

    3G Apple Asus Blu-ray Bluetooth camera Concept Cool Laptop Concept Dell Design Device Digital Camera Energy Gadgets HD-DVD HP Intel iPhone iPod laptop Laptop Concept LED Light MacBook Medical Memory Microsoft Mouse Nvidia OLED PC research Robot Samsung science Solar Panel solar power Sony Storage tech technology toshiba UMPC USB WiFi

    Most Commented

    • Wibrain UMPC Is The Better Version Of Macbook Air
    • One Laptop Battery That Lasts 30 Years Without Recharge
    • 40Gbps Internet Connection Used For Drying The Laundry
    • Microsoft Unveils LucidTouch Prototype
    • Circuits In Contact Lenses Could Offer Superhuman Vision

    Recent Comments

    • 2009 corvette on 2010 Camaro Unveiled - 26 Miles MPG on Highway
    • daveylamp on Raytheon Introduces Killer Bee UAV To Compete With Boeing
    • notebook » Blog Archive » Toshiba A205 S5000 Notebook $398 At Walmart on July 20th on Toshiba A205 S5000 Notebook $398 At Walmart on July 20th
    • AveSuja2008 on New and Exciting Changes Coming To DoDevice.com
    • Sangman Hahn on Nanosolar Powersheets - reliable solar power
    Powered by Gadgets and Gizmos | Log in | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | Arthemia theme by Michael Jubel