wooooooo ..... SHINY!

[unixronin]

They're calling it a "nuclear battery" ... researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a prototype radioisotope thermoelectric generator the size of a postage stamp.  Imagine low-drain devices like, say, wireless remote strain sensors, with batteries that last for the life of the structure the sensor is monitoring.

Comments

[rain-manpnw.livejournal.com]

How 'bout a cell phone, PDA, or laptop that never needs recharging?

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Whether they're feasible for applications like that depends principally on probably three things: how much current they can source, whether they can be shielded enough to prevent damaging the electronics in the device without overheating, and probably most important of all, public acceptance.

But yeah, providing those issues can be solved ... cell phones, PDAs, netbooks, hearing aids, augmented-reality glasses, e-book readers, wristwatches, electronic calculators, probably any relatively-low-drain device.