Forget Lithium Batteries

[Rebotco]

This development looks like a credible game changer for energy supplies.

It converts the problem of nuclear waste into a resource for almost unlimited very cheap energy.

And the UK has the worlds biggest supply at Sellafield.

The technology is well advanced, and its commercial use is looking imminent..

Nuclear Batteries

 

 

[Puffling]

As always, the devil is in the detail. Cobalt-60 has a half-life of over 5000 years. Are they claiming that some miraculous secure containment material can be put around this radioactive isotope that will remain intact longer into the future than the civilisation of Egypt was in the past?

Quote

“It is the cheapest source of electricity on the planet,” says Robert McLeod, the chief executive.

 

Hmm, those with long memories will recall "electricity too cheap to meter" being claimed for the first nuclear power stations built in Britain.

[Tracy D'arth]

That is only the half life, it will produce energy for far longer than 5000 years.

[Hudds Lad]

how would you know if the lovely warm glow you felt was the happiness of being on your boat or the batteries going into meltdown?

[Mike Hurley]

9 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

That is only the half life, it will produce energy for far longer than 5000 years.

I wonder how long the warranty on them will be??

[Puffling]

I recommend the film "Into Eternity", which examines the Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository in Finland. To keep nuclear waste away from humans for geological time-spans needs another  way of thinking about materials and even the writing that appears on radioactive materials. "Danger, do not open" is likely to be as incomprehensible to future humans as the Egyptian hieroglyphic language is to us today.  

 

[Murflynn]

25 minutes ago, Rebotco said:

This development looks like a credible game changer for energy supplies.

It converts the problem of nuclear waste into a resource for almost unlimited very cheap energy.

And the UK has the worlds biggest supply at Sellafield.

The technology is well advanced, and its commercial use is looking imminent..

Nuclear Batteries

 

 

 

I'm not prepared to pay £30 to read this.

 

elsewhere I find many references to NNL developing nuclear batteries containing americium-241 for use in deep space probes, dating from 9 years ago and more recently, but nothing suggesting that batteries for earthbound use are being developed, except apparently an ongoing use in smoke alarms containing a very small amount of Am-241 .

 

can OP elucidate please?

[Slim]

19 minutes ago, Puffling said:

As always, the devil is in the detail. Cobalt-60 has a half-life of over 5000 years. Are they claiming that some miraculous secure containment material can be put around this radioactive isotope that will remain intact longer into the future than the civilisation of Egypt was in the past?

 

Hmm, those with long memories will recall "electricity too cheap to meter" being claimed for the first nuclear power stations built in Britain.

They said it about North Sea gas as well. They lie?

[Onewheeler]

27 minutes ago, Puffling said:

As always, the devil is in the detail. Cobalt-60 has a half-life of over 5000 years.

BX. 5.27 years.

[Murflynn]

23 minutes ago, Slim said:

They said it about North Sea gas as well. They lie?

they said what about N Sea gas?

[Tony Brooks]

49 minutes ago, Puffling said:

Snip

 

Hmm, those with long memories will recall "electricity too cheap to meter" being claimed for the first nuclear power stations built in Britain.

 

 That was only to allow them to build reactors no make fuel for bombs without civil unrest. As said, they lie.

[dmr]

If this is government funded research then this will just be the same rubbish that Universities speak.

Things might have changed since I had involvement with University research, but to get any research funding you had to produce an "impact statement" detailing how the research would benefit mankind/make lots of money. So, any bit of research, no matter how academic or impractical, has to say it will generate free energy or otherwise save the planet, its just a bit of form filling, but the newspapers do rather latch onto it.

How many of the amazing scientific ideas that you have read about in the press actually materialised?

 

...............Dave

[Murflynn]

or, to put it another way, there is a huge gap between academic research scientists and economists, and never the twain shall meet.

 

..................... unless your name is Musk, Dyson or Sinclair of course.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Murflynn

[Rebotco]

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

If this is government funded research then this will just be the same rubbish that Universities speak.

Things might have changed since I had involvement with University research, but to get any research funding you had to produce an "impact statement" detailing how the research would benefit mankind/make lots of money. So, any bit of research, no matter how academic or impractical, has to say it will generate free energy or otherwise save the planet, its just a bit of form filling, but the newspapers do rather latch onto it.

How many of the amazing scientific ideas that you have read about in the press actually materialised?

 

...............Dave

 

This is not just academic daydreaming I think.

These are mostly hard-nosed businesses becoming seriously involved because they see a mega pay-off potential.

And they're not just entrepreneurs either.  I do know EDF has set up a dedicated company to exploit this opportunity.

IMHO it would be foolish to write this off as snake oil. 

[Onewheeler]

I my days as a wage-slave I've looked at and turned down several proposals for "nuclear batteries". They have a very niche market (space etc) where money is no object. If you calculate how much energy as heat output is available in e.g. Sellafield, it's a problem to get rid of but rather miniscule if you want to divvy it up into batteries, before any practical problems are considered.

[Laurie Booth]

1 hour ago, Rebotco said:

This development looks like a credible game changer for energy supplies.

It converts the problem of nuclear waste into a resource for almost unlimited very cheap energy.

And the UK has the worlds biggest supply at Sellafield.

The technology is well advanced, and its commercial use is looking imminent..

Nuclear Batteries

 

 

I was at Sellafield (Windscale) when it blew up. My friend still can't get into his office.

[Murflynn]

37 minutes ago, Rebotco said:

 

This is not just academic daydreaming I think.

These are mostly hard-nosed businesses becoming seriously involved because they see a mega pay-off potential.

And they're not just entrepreneurs either.  I do know EDF has set up a dedicated company to exploit this opportunity.

IMHO it would be foolish to write this off as snake oil. 

pity you don't feel able to provide a precis of what the daily Telegraph article is about   ..............   or are you a DT salesperson hoping to collect £30 from any CWDF members who are seriously interested?

[Rebotco]

22 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

pity you don't feel able to provide a precis of what the daily Telegraph article is about   ..............   or are you a DT salesperson hoping to collect £30 from any CWDF members who are seriously interested?

 

Ah - sorry about that. I had not realised you could not access the page I quoted!!☹️

No I am not connected with the DT except as a subscriber.

I will see if I can find another way to access the article.

[TheBiscuits]

5 minutes ago, Rebotco said:

I will see if I can find another way to access the article.

 

It's the Telegraph - their paywall is crap.

 

Click the link then click "stop loading" (it's an X icon on Chrome) before it's finished loading the paywall.  If you time it correctly you can read the whole article.  If you see the paywall, hit reload and then stop to try it again ...

[TheBiscuits]

 

 

If that's too fiddly, just block Javascript for the whole Telegraph site.  In Chrome, click on the little padlock to the left of the address and choose "Site Settings" -> Javascript and change to "Block".

[Idle Days]

2 hours ago, Puffling said:

As always, the devil is in the detail. Cobalt-60 has a half-life of over 5000 years. Are they claiming that some miraculous secure containment material can be put around this radioactive isotope that will remain intact longer into the future than the civilisation of Egypt was in the past?

 

Hmm, those with long memories will recall "electricity too cheap to meter" being claimed for the first nuclear power stations built in Britain.

I remember that, what they didn't tell us was that the heat & electricity was a waste product because the government of the day only wanted the bomb making stuff. 

[Rebotco]

12 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

It's the Telegraph - their paywall is crap.

 

Click the link then click "stop loading" (it's an X icon on Chrome) before it's finished loading the paywall.  If you time it correctly you can read the whole article.  If you see the paywall, hit reload and then stop to try it again ...

 

7 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

 

If that's too fiddly, just block Javascript for the whole Telegraph site.  In Chrome, click on the little padlock to the left of the address and choose "Site Settings" -> Javascript and change to "Block".

 

Oooh - that's clever!

 

[robtheplod]

Don't the Voyager probes have these sort of batteries?

Edited February 8, 2021 by robtheplod

[Idle Days]

I thought they fitted Duracell? 

[Murflynn]

16 minutes ago, Idle Days said:

I thought they fitted Duracell? 

no.  they found a cheap Chinese alternative (that uses the EverReady logo)