The first mobile phone was created over forty years ago. Science is progressing, of course. And who would have thought at that time that forty years later, an atomic battery for the telephone would be born? Yes, science is not striding by leaps and bounds, but still with significant breakthroughs in many areas, especially in recent times. And this article will be devoted specifically to the topic of using atomic batteries in modern devices.
Intro
Now the smartphone market is one of the most promising areas of electronics. This area is developing dynamically, without stopping for a minute. It would seem that the iPhone 3 has just gone on sale, and the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are already flaunting on the shelves of cellular communication stores. Needless to say, what path did the company's engineers go to please users with the latest hardware?
The same can be said about Android and Windows Phone. A couple moreyears ago, the whole school class gathered around a lucky man who had an Android phone. And when someone managed to personally play an application in which you could control the action by turning the screen (especially if this game was from the category of racing), he literally beamed with happiness.
No one is surprised by this nowadays. Even first-graders now quietly use Apple phones without much joy and delight, not realizing how lucky they really are. Still, they simply do not know that once there were phones that worked with the help of push-buttons, not touch controls. That there were only a couple of games on those phones. And that even the snake on the two-color screen of the Nokia 1100 was an occasion for endless delight for the children of that time, and they played it for almost days on end.
Of course, then the games were of much lower quality. It was possible to use such phones for several days without using recharging. Now the gaming industry in the field of smartphones has reached a higher level, and this requires more powerful phone batteries. How long do you think the latest, most powerful smartphone in terms of battery life can last?
Do we need an atomic battery?
We assure you that even with passive use, it (smarfton) is unlikely to last more than 3 days. Lithium-ion batteries are used as power sources in modern smartphones. Slightly less commonmodels that run on polymer batteries. In fact, these phones do not withstand very long work. You can play them during battery life, watch movies on them for a few hours, which usually does not exceed ten. Manufacturers of such devices compete in several directions at once. The most active fight for the first place is under the following criteria:
- Screen diagonal.
- Hardware and performance.
- Dimensions (to be more specific, the struggle is to reduce the thickness).
- Powerful autonomous power supply.
As we can see, the question of whether we need an atomic battery for the phone remains open. According to the calculations of scientists, phones in the future can be equipped with batteries that work on the principle of the reaction of a nuclear element called tritium. In this case, the phones will be able to work without recharging up to 20 years, according to the most conservative estimates. Impressive, isn't it?
How new is the idea of an atomic battery?
The idea of creating miniature nuclear reactors (we are talking about nuclear batteries) appeared in bright minds not so long ago. It was suggested that the use of such equipment in the relevant technical devices will help deal with the problem not only of the need for constant recharging, but also with others.
TASS: do-it-yourself atomic battery. Engineers talk
First statementabout the invention of a battery that will work based on atomic energy, was made by a division of a domestic concern called Rosatom. It was the Mining and Chemical Combine. Engineers said that the first power source, which is positioned as an atomic battery, can be created as early as 2017.
The principle of operation will be in the reactions that will occur with the help of the isotope “Nickel-63”. More specifically, we are talking about beta radiation. Interestingly, a battery built according to this principle will be able to work for about half a century. The dimensions will be very, very compact. For example: if you take an ordinary finger-type battery and squeeze it 30 times, you can clearly see what size an atomic battery will have.
Is a nuclear battery safe?
Engineers are absolutely sure that such a power source will not pose any danger to human he alth. The reason for this confidence was the design of the battery. Of course, direct beta radiation of any isotope will harm a living organism. But, firstly, in this battery it will be “soft”. Secondly, even this radiation will not go out, because it will be absorbed inside the power source itself.
Due to the fact that nuclear batteries "Russia A123" will absorb radiation inside themselves, without releasing it outside, experts are already building a strategic forecast for the use of nuclear batteries in various fields of medicine. For example, it can be introduced into the design of pacemakers. 2nd inpromising direction is the space industry. In third place, of course, is industry. Outside the top three there are many branches in which it will be possible to successfully use the atomic energy source. Perhaps the most important of these is transport.
Disadvantages of atomic power supply
What do we get instead of a nuclear battery? So to speak, what will we see if we look from the other side? Firstly, the production of such autonomous energy sources will cost a pretty penny. Engineers did not want to name the exact amounts. Perhaps they were afraid to draw incorrect early conclusions. However, a rough estimate was given not in numbers, but in words. That is, "everything is very expensive." Well, this was quite to be expected, having estimated the essence of the matter simply logically. It is perhaps too early to talk about serial production on an industrial scale. We can only hope that over time, alternative technologies will be found that will make it possible to create an atomic battery without compromising its reliability and practicality, but much cheaper.
By the way, TASS estimated 1 gram of the substance at 4 thousand dollars. Thus, in order to gain the necessary mass of atomic matter, which will ensure the long-term use of the battery, it is currently necessary to spend 4.5 million rubles. The problem lies in the isotope itself. In nature, it simply does not exist, they create an isotope using special reactors. There are only three of them in our country. As mentioned earlier, maybe in time it will be possibleuse other elements to reduce the production cost of the source.
Tomsk. Atomic battery
The invention of atomic batteries is not only done by professional engineers and designers. Recently, a postgraduate student at Tomsk Polytechnic University developed a model of a new nuclear-powered battery. This man's name is Dmitry Prokopiev. Its development is capable of functioning normally for 12 years. During this time, it will not need to be charged even once.
The center of the system was a radioactive isotope called “tritium”. With skillful use, it allows you to direct the energy released during the half-life in the right direction. In this case, energy is released in parts. You can say, dosed or portioned. Recall that the half-life of this nuclear element is about 12 years. That is why the use of the battery on this item is possible within the specified period.
Benefits of tritium
Compared to an atomic battery, which has a silicon detector, a tritium-based atomic battery does not change its characteristics over time. And this is its undoubted advantage, it should be noted. The invention was tested at the Novosibirsk Institute of Nuclear Physics, as well as at the Physics and Technology Institute of Tomsk University. An atomic battery, the principle of which is based on a nuclear reaction, has certain prospects. This is usually in the area of electronics. Along with it are military equipment, medicine andaerospace industry. We have already talked about this.
Conclusion
For all the high cost of production of atomic batteries, let's hope that we will still meet them in phones in the near future. Now a few words about the element that will form the basis of the battery. Tritium, of course, is nuclear in nature. However, the radiation of this element is weak. It cannot harm human he alth. Internal organs and skin will not suffer from skillful use. That is why it was chosen for use in batteries.
