Pioneering Energy Source: World's First Diamond Battery Claims to Provide Power for Millennia
Eternal frustration strikes when batteries conk out at the most inopportune moments, like when your calculator batteries falter ahead of a math exam, your remote control batteries malfunction during a fantastic movie, or your flashlight batteries die during a power outage. But what if we had batteries that could endure for more than a handful of crucial hours, but for generations?
Scientists from the University of Bristol and UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) have achieved the unprecedented, unveiling the world's first carbon-14 diamond battery with an astonishing longevity. According to a December 4 announcement by the University of Bristol, this groundbreaking battery could fuel devices for millennia by exploiting the decay of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope commonly used to date organic artifacts. This groundbreaking technology could offer more eco-friendly, long-term power to devices, from inside the human body to distant galaxies beyond our own.
"Diamond batteries represent a safe, sustainable method to deliver continuous micro-watt levels of power. They are an emerging technology that utilizes a manufactured diamond to safely house small amounts of carbon-14," Sarah Clark, UKAEA's Director of Tritium Fuel Cycle, stated in the announcement.
Radioactive isotopes such as carbon-14 are unstable elements that release energy as they decay into more stable components. Carbon-14 emits electrons as it decays, which the diamond battery captures to generate low levels of constant power, similar to how solar panels convert light into electricity.
"We're attempting to create a thin layer of this diamond under pressures below atmospheric pressure," Eseosa Ekanem, a Senior Process Engineer at UKAEA, explained in a UKAEA video. "These electrons, when they move through this diamond, which functions as a semiconductor material, facilitate the creation of electricity and power." Semiconductors can conduct electricity under specific conditions.
Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years, suggesting that after this period, only half of the original quantity of carbon-14 will have decayed, with the remaining half still available to generate energy. This should give you an idea of how long a carbon-14 diamond battery could last.
The applications of this battery design are "transformative," according to the announcement. The battery is biocompatible, making it suitable for use in medical devices such as ocular implants and hearing aids, and particularly practical for devices requiring surgical battery replacements, like pacemakers. While external exposure to carbon-14 poses minimal health risks, internal contamination can be hazardous, and the diamond casing ensures the radioactive decay remains securely contained.
Thanks to diamond's durability, the battery could also be employed in more severe environments, such as future long-haul space missions where changing traditional batteries would be challenging. They could also provide power to active radio frequency tags—small data-transmitting devices used for tracking—in long-term projects in remote terrestrial or even extraterrestrial regions.
"Our micropower technology can support a range of significant applications, from space technologies and safety devices through to medical implants," said Tom Scott of the University of Bristol. "We're thrilled to investigate these possibilities, collaborating with industry and research partners, over the next few years."
Beyond the medical and space sectors, the benefits of this technology reach far and wide. The researchers envision a future where "diamond batteries are used in almost everything," Sanni said, naming small satellites, computer chips, remote controls, and watches as potential daily examples. Diamond batteries could replace lithium-ion batteries, whose production is energy-intensive and releases toxic chemicals into the environment during improper disposal.
"Goodbye to all lithium-ion battery waste," Sanni added. "When we have a clean battery like the diamond battery, that mitigates climate change."
In the future, the diamond battery might revolutionize the battery industry. Let's hope we can utilize it in our fire alarms as well, putting an end to their annoying low-battery beeping sounds forever!
This groundbreaking carbon-14 diamond battery, with its ability to power devices for millennia, could significantly impact the field of physics and technology in the future. It could potentially revolutionize various sectors, such as physics research in distant galaxies, where traditional batteries might fail.
Furthermore, the long-lasting nature of carbon-14 diamond batteries could make them invaluable in technology-reliant fields, like space exploration, where changing traditional batteries can be challenging.
