Several Chinese research institutions led by Soochow University are collaborating to work on americium, a radioactive element that does not occur naturally. Americium is derived from the waste of nuclear reactors and is already used as a source of ionising radiation in fluorescence spectroscopy, ionisation smoke detectors, and can be used in futuristic nuclear batteries.  The study was published in the journal Nature. To generate energy from these batteries, researchers embed a small amount of americium in a polymer crystal that converts the element’s alpha radiation into green light, which falls on solar cells, generating electricity for decades. Unlike radioactive … Continue reading Tiny Nuclear Battery with 8,000x Efficiency and Several Decades of Power Could Transform Remote Technology Use