4 ms·
So is this essentially an RTG powered by Americium instead of Strontium or Plutonium? Or is this pioneering a new method of operation compared to a traditional
by mrkstu 7y ago
So is this essentially an RTG powered by Americium instead of Strontium or Plutonium? Or is this pioneering a new method of operation compared to a traditional RTG?
- sandworm101 7y ago>>> used the heat generated from this highly radioactive material to generate enough electric current to light up a small lightbulb ... Sounds like an americium-powered RTG to me, albeit not a particularly powerful one.
- imglorp 7y agoPowering a lightbulb for 432 years? Sign me up.
- okket 7y ago> So is this essentially an RTG powered by Americium instead of Strontium or Plutonium? That is the idea. Plutonium RTGs are very hard to get by. As in only the U.S. have a few such RTGs in stock and I am not sure they are producing new ones.
- gnode 7y agoI don't think the power generation part of this is a breakthrough at all, just a "proof of the pudding is in the eating" demonstration. As I understand it, the practical refinement of a significant amount of Americium from waste is the breakthrough. But that doesn't win hearts and minds like a 432 year space lightbulb.