[D_Gui]

What are your thoughts on nuclear batteries on non-Samsung devices (read: devices that are not prone to catch fire or burn), by nuclear I mean battery that makes use of radioactive isotopes to generate energy...

Imagine if your Z30 could last a year on a charge...

[kevets]

I don't think I want something like that, in my pocket. I am all for getting the most battery possible though...

[BergerKing]

I don't think I want something like that, in my pocket. I am all for getting the most battery possible though...

You do realize they make radioactive isotope batteries for implanted heart pacemakers and other medical devices, right?

Me, I'd love to have a battery that could stand up to my pace of usage. And OP, there have been mobile phones from all makers that have spontaneously gone up in a puff of smoke, flames, or pieces.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-sets-bed.html

[MikeLip]

Nuclear power is essentially thermal power. So lets look at it. I'm going to assume a power plant something like that used in Voyager. Note that you cannot throttle the heat provided by a plant of that type. It's a very simple arrangement. So. your power source will be dumping heat constantly. Maximum output power of the device is 2W. Add some power for other radios, which are typically pretty low powered. Screen. Processor. So, to be safe lets double that - the phone eats, call it 4W at maximum. And you have to design for the maximum. Then there is conversion efficiency. For a thermoelectric converter of that type, as I recall thermocouples were used.

These systems have a practical efficiency of maximum 7%. Ouch. So to generate 4W of electrical power, we need 57watts continuously - almost all of that being waste heat. So, imagine if you will carrying around a 60watt light bulb, lit, in your pocket. Thats going to get uncomfortable really fast. I also wouldn't want to touch that to my face.

We won't go into the radiation problems, and the shielding needed to overcome them. But I suspect you'd be able to use that phone in place of a moderate barbell set.

[kevets]

You do realize they make radioactive isotope batteries for implanted heart pacemakers and other medical devices, right?

No I hadn't thought of that. I always thought pacemakers and similar stuff had external power sources.

I imagine the batteries for those devices are quite costly, right?

[sleepngbear]

You do realize they make radioactive isotope batteries for implanted heart pacemakers and other medical devices, right?

Me, I'd love to have a battery that could stand up to my pace of usage. And OP, there have been mobile phones from all makers that have spontaneously gone up in a puff of smoke, flames, or pieces.

Boy burned as BlackBerry phone 'bursts into flames' and sets fire to his bed | Mail Online

I can't help but laugh when I think of a phone with one of these batteries -- instead of going up in a puff of smoke, going up in a little mushroom cloud and taking half a city block with it. Wouldn't that just stir up some isht in the forums.

[bobshine]

Assuming they can bring the size and the heat down... sure. I would love a battery that can last the lifetime of the device

Posted via CB10

[jdcfinisher]

I'm always amused when people hear something, come to a conclusion about it and give their opinion about it, when they haven't a clue about the actual subject . Several people I work with do it on a daily bases. Nothing like a self confessed luddite giving reasons why something is bad or wrong . Using the small n word "nuclear" rally stirs them up.

Posted via CB10

[Iggy City]

Weapons of mass destruction! Invade BlackBerry! Sanctions!

But in all seriousness, there needs be a breakthrough in battery technology. Everyone is about "specs" but smartphone battery innovation has gone nowhere.

[TGR1]

I can't help but laugh when I think of a phone with one of these batteries -- instead of going up in a puff of smoke, going up in a little mushroom cloud and taking half a city block with it. Wouldn't that just stir up some isht in the forums.

Radioactive isotope =/= nuclear fission

Pacemakers etc don't have high power draw IIRC. Low, steady, reliable for a long time. That just isn't a use case for a cell phone. And you think battery disposal NOW is a pain. Oy.

[Whyareallthegoodnamestaken]

Sounds amazing. I want it.

Posted via CB10

[byex]

So far so good. No complaints. Overheats a little but then I just drop in the cooling rods and it's good to go.

Posted via CB10

[Playbookjoe]

I can't help but laugh when I think of a phone with one of these batteries -- instead of going up in a puff of smoke, going up in a little mushroom cloud and taking half a city block with it. Wouldn't that just stir up some isht in the forums.

Lol. Newscast:
"IPhone8 spontaneous explodes taking out small city block. Accident traced to aftermarket headphones. Apple offers replacement program of 'turn you headphones in + $50 for oem' as a good corporate citizen.

In other news:
Sony USA took a beating in the stock market as its headphones have been linked to exploding phones. A class action suit has been started against the Japanese headphone maker..."

Posted via CB10

[propeller10]

I want a nuclear reactor in my phone.

[Mangelhaft]

Most people hear the word nuclear and get scared. This is usually prompted by images of Hiroshima, or Chernobyl Reactor #4 in 1986. The basic fact is that nuclear power is safer and cleaner than fossil fuel derived power and that there needs to be at least c. 16.5% purity to achieve the critical mass for a fission reaction (Atomic bomb). Nuclear power plants fuel pellets are a maximum of c. 2.5% pure. This means that a nuclear power plant can never become an atomic bomb, unless it happens to use breeder reactors, but I will not cover breeder reactors here.

But there is still the danger of creating a dirty bomb. Failure can happen anywhere. It does not matter how good the engineering is, there is no way to design for every contingent. Maintenance is also an issue. Parts will always wear out. This is what happened at Chernobyl. Parts needed to be replaced, but the Soviet Command Economy delayed the order fulfillment. That, combined with routine stress tests, let to the catastrophic failure (meltdown): A giant dirty bomb.

Though nuclear fuel cells, such as those used on the Voyager space probes, numerous satellites, etc., are great for long-term power in environments where routine service is impractical or impossible, their very design, cost of manufacture, and danger of abuse (terrorism) makes them impractical for portable devices. The toxicity and radioactivity of the isotopes, the required shielding, efficiency, and intolerance to surge demands further illustrate their impracticality.

It would be better to bank on micro turbine, hydrogen electric cell, or bioelectric power generation for future, compact power sources, than nuclear fuel cells.

[Dave Bourque]

People are so misinformed about nuclear power and radiation. Lol.

Z10STL100-3/10.2.1.2141

[crackbrry fan]

It's time for Solar. We already have the Technology to store the suns power over extended time.

Posted via CB10

[stlabrat]

Op, is it market brand or you are talking about the real isotope that make you glow in the dark so your better half can find you?

Posted via CB10

[nomloj]

I read this and all I can think about is the T-1000 terminator dropping his damaged power unit out the window of a moving vehicle. I wouldn't mind being able to just discard a small payload such as that when running scared... useful til the end. Anyway, I don't think isotope batteries are going to be a viable option to powering a cell phone.

I'm all for alternative power like solar power, but I'm inside most of the time. Wind power is good, too, but my skin will get chapped. I don't want one foot standing on a volcano while the other foot is standing on a glacier. Every source has its limitations/issues. A miniature ZPM, though, that'd be nice.

[kevets]

could you use a Geiger counter to locate your phone? brings a whole new meaning to "find my iphone" lol

Posted via CB10

[Jerale]

You do realize they make radioactive isotope batteries for implanted heart pacemakers and other medical devices, right?

Me, I'd love to have a battery that could stand up to my pace of usage. And OP, there have been mobile phones from all makers that have spontaneously gone up in a puff of smoke, flames, or pieces.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-sets-bed.html

Any news about BB10 phones blowing up?

Powered by my BlackBerry (Z10). Join my #BBM Channels C001227CF, C00476C37, C003829C9, C002454C9,C002190AC, C00120CE3

[D_Gui]

If it's safe, enviroment friendly and good, bring it on! I also think this concept could be pretty cool.
Solar Panel Other Half Prototype | Jolla Users Blog

I feel the problem with solar power is excessive heat, ever tried touching a solar panel? I know there are several new technologies that cancel out the heat, but I suspect its quite costly...

[gg bb]

I think nuclear pacemakers are old tech now. Possibly because of required shielding they were bigger and heavier than modern lithium battery pacemakers which might last up to 10 years which is longer than most patients receiving them will live.
Silver-zinc or possibly Graphine is the future for moile phones and (probably) pacemakers.

Interesting turn on the nuclear theme. Imagine if you could not afford a new mobile phone on account of the decommissioning costs of the old one?

[D_Gui]

I don't know but someone commented in the article mentioning the heat is kind of trapped in the panel and not transmitted to the internals of the phone. I hope they test it.

Then I would be scared of the heat building up inside the device, then theoretically your lithium-ion battery could go poof..

And by the way, thanks for all your effort creating concepts. Good work!

Thanks, I aim to please