The document provides an overview of nuclear batteries, including their historical development, energy production mechanisms, fuels, advantages, drawbacks, and applications. Nuclear batteries harness energy from radioactive decay through thermoelectric generators or betavoltaics to provide a long-lasting compact power source. They have potential applications in space, medical devices, mobile electronics, transportation, military equipment, and underwater sensors due to their longevity, safety, and lack of emissions. However, their initial production costs are high and existing regulations may limit their usage and disposal.

2. WHAT WE WILL COVER…!!!
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 INTRODUCTION
 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
 ENERGY PRODUCTION MECHANISM
 FUEL CONSIDERATIONS
 MAIN FUELS
 ADVANTAGES
 DRAWBACKS
 APPLICATIONS
 CONCLUSION

3. INTRODUCTION
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 With the advancement in Technology, there exist a great need for small,
compact, reliable & light weight power supplies.
 For very high power applications such as RADAR, adv. Commn satellites &
for high Tech. weapons Nuclear Battery is used.
 Nuclear Battery: Thermo-Electric generator converts the radio active energy
released during decay of natural radio active element into electrical energy.
 A long-term energy source with life-span measured in decades & 200 times
efficient than ordinary battery.
 Provide clean, safe & endless energy. Does not rely on nuclear reaction &
does not produce radio active waste.
 Nuclear Accelerated Generator(NAG) –New form of nuclear power
conversion tech. MEMS lab is using adv. Tech. for the fabrication of NAG
devices.

4. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
 Nuclear Battery was introduced in the beginning of 1950 and was patented
on Mar 3, 1959 to TRACER Lab.
 Paul Brown first developed radioisotope electric power system.
 Brown’s discovery of a method to harness magnetic energy emitted by the
alpha & beta particles inherent in nuclear material was the key to Nuclear
battery.
 The amount of power generated from the electric charges & the kinetic
energy produced by successive collision of alpha & beta particles has been
very small.
 Brown invented an approach to “organize” these magnetic fields so that the
otherwise unobservable energy can be harnessed. Pediain.com

5. ENERGY PRODUCTION MECHANISM
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BETAVOLTAICS
 Betavoltaics are generators of electric current, which uses energy from a
radioactive source emitting beta particles.
 The functioning is similar to a solar panel which converts photons into electric
current.
 Uses a Si wafer to capture electrons emitted by radioactive material & is coated
with a diode material to create a potential barrier.
 The radiation absorbed in the vicinity of potential barrier will generate electron
–hole pairs which in turn flow in an electric circuit due to the VOLTAIC
EFFECT.

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8. SELF RECIPROCATING CANTILEVER
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 Consist of a cantilever which collects the charged particles emitted from the
radioisotope .
 The Electrostatic force between radioisotope & the cantilever attracts the
cantilever towards the source.
 When it reaches near the radioisotope, the charge gets neutralized &
electrostatic force is removed as a result cantilever retracts back to original
position..This cycle repeats.
 The cantilever acts as a charge integrator allowing energy to be stored&
convert it into mechanical & electrical forms.

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10. FUEL CONSIDERATIONS
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Major criteria considered in the selection of fuels are:
 Avoidance of gamma in the decay chain
The fuel which gives off gamma radiation requires shielding forsafety
that adds weight in mobile applications.
Eg:- Radium-226
 Half-Life
Period of time it takes for the amount of substance undergoing decay to
decrease by half..
 Particle Range
Charged particle ionize & lose energy in many steps until energyis
almost zero, the distance to this point I called Range of Particle.

11. MAIN FUELS
 Nickel-63 (Ni-63)
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 Strontium-90 (Sr-90)
 Promitium-147 (Pm-147)
 Uranium-238(U-238)
 Tin-121 (Sn-121)
 Uranium-235(U-235)
 Tantalum-180m

12. Proposed Model of NAG
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13. A prototype car model usingNAG
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14. ADVANTAGES
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 Fuel Source:
Radioactive isotopes which are being produced as a part of radioactive
waste are used as fuel. Can withstand more than 400 yrs. No meltdowns,no
danger of explosions & other catastrophic incidents.
 Oil Dependency:
A large percent of foreign dependence could be eliminated if use device
such as NAG more widely, which in turn will decrease the price of oil &
gas.
 Safety:
NAG needs no large scale containment or special shielding. No ext.
emissions & produces no contaminated steam that can leak. No nuclear
waste. Also Radioisotopes that power NAG do not need to be cooled. 1Gm
of Sr-90 can produce 10,000 watts of power & heat.

15.  Adaptability:
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NAG is Adaptable to widely differing applications, both in civilian & military.
Able to handle tasks for large metropolitan & rural areas alike. Tanks fitted with
NAG could run for years without any interruption. Civilian needs include disaster
relief activities.
 Cost/Efficiency:
Cost of fuel is considerably less as the radioactive isotopes are present
abundantly.
 Power Output:
NAG Technology could produce power 30-50 times more than conventional
nuclear technology.
 Radiological Damage:
It is very safe. Device is self contained with little or no X-rays. Beta particles are
never emitted outside the casing of device. Special shielding is added for the
Gamma rays.
 Repair & Maintenance:
Every NAG will have a life –span of min. 10 yrs then the source can be
replaced very easily. Maintenance, removal & reinsertion is very simple.

16. DRAWBACKS
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 The initial cost of production is very high. Price will drop as productgoes
operational.
 For certain specific applications, size of nuclear battery may cause problem.
 The existing laws may come as a blow for usage & disposal of radioactive
materials.
 Nuclear energy began to lose its status following a series of majoraccidents
occurred before which reduced its social acceptance.

17. APPLICATIONS
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 SpaceApplications:
when satellite pass through radiation belts such as Van-Allen belts
around the earth there is chance for the destruction of solar cells.Operations
on moon & mars require heavy batteries where long periods of darkness . In
opaque atmosphere such as venus lack of light.
 MedicalApplications:
Due to increased longevity n better reliability it is used in medical
devices such as pacemakers, implanted defibrillators etc. In cardiac
pacemakers.
 Mobile Devices:
Xcell-N nuclear powered laptop battery that provide 7-8 thousand
times the life of a normal battery. Xcell is in continous work for the last 8
months and has not been turned off.

18.  Automobiles:
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Initial stages of development. Hopefully soon the conventionalfuels
will be replaced from the automobiles by Nuclear battery. Fox Valley
Electric Auto Association already conducted seminars onits scope.
 MilitaryApplications:
Nuclear Battery is a very beneficial resource for Army as it is
much lighter compared to other chemical batteries and will last
longer. The source is well suited to active RF equipments, sensors n
ultra wide band commn chips.
 Under Water Sea Probes & Sea Sensors:
Use of sensors that works for a long time is used to detect any
natural calamities such as earthquakes n Tsunami. Thus the
underwater sea probes & sea sensors makes use of Nuclear Battery
for their functioning.

19. CONCLUSION
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As the Technology grows need for power also
grows. Also we don’t have much abundant fuels present in the
earth’s crust to meet this need. Thus the use of power as heat &
electricity from the radioisotopes can be used to meet this need
which has high longevity.

20. REFERENCE
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 “Power from Radioisotopes” USAEC, Division of Technical
Information.
 “Nuclear and Radiochemistry” , Gerhart Friedlandler, Joseph
.W. Kennedy.
 “The Half-life of a Nuclear Battery” , Philip. H. Talbert.
 “Particles and Nuclei, An Introduction to the Physical
Concepts” , B. Povh, K. Rith, C. Scholz and F. Zetche.

21. THANK YOU