3 ms·
Heh. I got confused by the article: > ESA’s heater units will not only be a first for Europe, but the first anywhere to use americium-241, a by-product of plut
by foobarian 2y ago
Heh. I got confused by the article:
> ESA’s heater units will not only be a first for Europe, but the first anywhere to use americium-241, a by-product of plutonium decay that packs less power per gram than its predecessor
... except that decay occurs from Pu-241, a different isotope which is not what seems to be commonly used for RTGs, and has a half-life of only about 14 years.