Gizmodo is touting the story of a prototype battery that could power your laptop for 30 years, citing this report at NextEnergyNews.com. That report says the battery was developed through research funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, and the “betavoltaic power cells” are “constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source. As the radioactive material decays it emits beta particles that transform into electric power capable of fueling an electrical device like a laptop for years.”
Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it’s not true. DailyTech.com lays out the technical problems with “betavoltaic” batteries, which are numerous.
It’s worth noting that the report at NextEnergyNews.com doesn’t say who developed the battery or link to a news release or other source for their information. And my search of the website of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory found no mention of betavoltaic batteries.
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See http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=5582186