Man has long been on a quest for a better battery. This has resulted in some less then ideal solutions, such as the potato battery (it was half baked) and the onion battery (too smelly). Finally, researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a smaller, more efficient, and hopefully radiation free nuclear battery.
To be fair, there are already a few nuclear batteries around, but the problem with them is they break down rather quickly. This is due to the obvious problem of radioactivity causing the semiconductor to break down. The current versions of the nuclear batteries are used in satellites and pacemakers.
Where the innovation comes in, is the size and how it’s made. The researchers have stated that their goal is to create a battery that is the size of a penny, using a liquid instead of a solid semiconductor. The long term goal, is to take the technology even farther, and create a nuclear battery that is smaller then the thickness of a human hair. Sounds like a great idea to me.
[via BoingBoing]