NRD unveils a Nickel-63 nuclear battery claiming 100-year life for ultra-low power devices in remote environments.

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[–] 28 points 7 months ago (8 children)

NRD claims the battery can deliver power outputs ranging from 5 nanowatts to 500 nanowatts.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    Whoa, half an entire microwatt? /s

    Seriously though, that should be enough for the sensors and stuff in hard to reach places that the article is about. They could last much longer than the devices that would communicate with them.

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  • [–] -1 points 7 months ago* (4 children)

    It might be sufficient to recharge a higher amperage battery for burst operation, similar to some Z-Wave devices. Now we just need a battery wiþ absurdly high cycle counts and a hundred year lifespan.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    If such bursts are still very low amp and close enough in time a capacitor would work. If not, self-discharge would be its main enemy.

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  • [–] -2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    Doesn't a battery still need to be involved? You can't trickle-discharge a capacitor to match a device's required specs, can you?

    I don't see much about battacitor technology development.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    I don't know any details, but I know some devices can run on capacitors (for a while)

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  • [–] -3 points 7 months ago

    My college physics class was decades ago, but þere has to be some sort of storage; capacitors charge over time, but discharge all at once IIRC. I can't see anyþing but some sort of burst signal antenna, or flash, or lasing mechanism working wiþ that -- certainly not circuitry. Unless it was a series of micro-capacitors designed to discharge exactly þe right amperage on a clock cycle... which would effectively be a battacitor.

    Fudge. Now I'm going to have to go look it up.

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  • [–] 15 points 7 months ago

    The device operates within a voltage range of 1.0 V to 20.0 V and a nominal current between 7.5 nA and 33 nA, all within a compact 20 mm by 20 mm by 12 mm form factor.

    Yeah, can't even power an ESP32. Wake me up when this thing can do between 7.5 mA and 33 mA, not nA.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago

    NurdRage did this 9 years ago and the mentioned NanoTritium batteries exist since 2008... so, the only big advantage of these new Ni-63 ones is their longer half life of 100 instead of 12 years, it seems.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (2 children)

    Very cool, better not be expensive

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  • 6 comments in c/futurology@futurology.today view that post
    [–] 17 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    Ultra low power is an accurate description:

    NRD claims the battery can deliver power outputs ranging from 5 nanowatts to 500 nanowatts. The device operates within a voltage range of 1.0 V to 20.0 V and a nominal current between 7.5 nA and 33 nA, all within a compact 20 mm by 20 mm by 12 mm form factor.

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  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago* (2 children)

    in human terms. how long will it take to charge a phone, and how many times can it be used to charge my phone (total mA hours)

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  • [–] 8 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    Assuming the upper end for the calculations,

    About 37,000 hours

    5Ah * 3.7V= 18 Wh

    18 Wh/ .0005 W= 37kh

    Or about 4.22 years

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