The world’s first nuclear-powered battery, which uses a radioactive isotope embedded in a diamond, could power small devices for thousands of years, scientists say.

The nuclear battery uses the reaction of a diamond placed close to a radioactive source to spontaneously produce electricity, scientists at the University of Bristol in the U.K. explained in a Dec. 4 statement. No motion — neither linear nor rotational — is required. That means no energy is needed to move a magnet through a coil or to turn an armature within a magnetic field to produce electric current, as is required in conventional power sources.

The diamond battery harvests fast-moving electrons excited by radiation, similar to how solar power uses photovoltaic cells to convert photons into electricity, the scientists said.

  • GHiLA
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    1 day ago

    walk up to abandoned building in STALKER 2

    30+ years after Chernobyl

    the lights are on

    • TheOakTree@lemm.ee
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      13 hours ago

      enter dangerous bunker overridden by monsters in STALKER 2

      someone locked up the bunker to contain the monsters, been like that for 10 years

      find fresh sausage and bread in a locker

      • AnyOldName3@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        I can get a sausage from Lidl that claims it’s safe to eat for two years with no refrigeration, so by lowering my standards to the levels of someone who’d go into a bunker like that, I could probably make the claim out was fresh after a decade.

      • GHiLA
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        5 hours ago

        Fresh!? Blyat!

        These sausages have been seasoned by Chernobyl, blin!

        Best seasoning in the zone, Stalgar! Puts hair on your tumors!