3 ms·
The longer the half life, the lower the power output, no free lunches. But by putting the same suitable radioactive lump in a stirling engine you can extract 4
by gruturo 2y ago
The longer the half life, the lower the power output, no free lunches. But by putting the same suitable radioactive lump in a stirling engine you can extract 4 times as much electricity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_radioisotope_generator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_radioisotope_generato...
So yes maybe with Americium-241 we could have something which lasts 4 times a much _and_ gives us the same amount of power thanks to a SRG.
- gray_-_wolf 2y agoBut it seems to involve moving parts, so I am not sure the reliability trade-off is worth it for decades/centuries long missions.
- gruturo 2y agoYes, it's being tested (NASA ran one for ~15 years continuously, which seems promising, I don't know if the test is still running), but I don't know if any were actually launched and are used in space.
- gray_-_wolf 2y agoThat seems actually quite impressive.
- rightbyte 2y agoUsing a sterling motor would give you mechanical wear.