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May 13, 2005
Long Lasting Batteries
When checking the morning news over on Engadget [engadget.com] I saw a new blurb about tritium-powered batteries [eurekalert.org]. Very cool stuff. It seems like these could be used for many different applications, but they probably won't. Why, you ask? Technically they're nuclear (I think). Either way, in it's natural form the batterie's power source gives off radiation. But with a little shielding and a hermetically sealed case it can be contained.
This is great, except what happens if the casing cracks? I'm all for nuclear power in both my home and batteries, so I think that the benefits outweigh the consequences, but I know that a lot of other people and more importantly the Energizer lobbyists don't see it that way.
Also, consider the security risks somehing like this would entail. If this tech were ever consumer-grade stuff and made it's way into laptops/portable electronics then you would see all electronics being banned from flights. That's just the way it is. What happens if someone's battery cracks either accidentally or, even worse, on purpose? You have 90+ people being exposed to radiation in an un-escapable, enclosed area for an indeterminate amount of time.
So, alas, this will probably never see the light of a consumer's day. Unfortunate, but true.
Posted by Guy at May 13, 2005 08:41 AM