UK scientists create world's first diamond battery, capable of giving thousands of years of power
The battery is made from lab grown synthetic diamonds, as ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew reports.
Scientists in the UK have created the world’s first diamond battery, capable of producing power for thousands of years.
It’s made from lab grown synthetic diamonds, which encase a radioactive element called Carbon-14.
As it decays, fast moving electrons are emitted. The battery uses those to create electricity in much the same way a solar panel uses light particles.
Compared to a normal lithium or alkaline battery which may last a few months, the half life of Carbon-14 is so long that in 5,000 years a diamond battery would still be at 50% power.
Stephen Wheeler from the UK Atomic Energy Authority told me there is huge potential for the future.
“This technology is particularly suitable for places you can’t access - if it’s in space, or sub-sea, or you don’t want to access it because it’s in a hazardous environment," he said.
That could include inside the human body, for devices like pacemakers, hearing aids and even implants in your eyes.
Mr Wheeler added: “This is one area that you feel you’re actually making a positive impacts.”
Fatimha Sanni, a Senior Process Engineer, is even more excited about the potential for helping the environment.
She said: “If you have to dispose of this battery, you send it back to the manufacturer.
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"They can incinerate it, take out the Carbon-14 back and reuse it, so it literally gives us no waste at all - one of the reasons it’s good for the planet."
Scientists at the University of Bristol are now experimenting with different radioactive elements to make the batteries more powerful.
The hope is to create something commercially scalable this century.
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