Photovoltaic panels with tritium tubes

What is a tritium nuclear battery?

A tritium nuclear battery, also known as a Betaphotovoltaic battery, is a nuclear battery that harnesses light from a tube containing phosphor that is excited by tritium decay to produce 50-100 nanowatts of energy.

Should I add more calculator solar cells around a tritium tube?

Adding more calculator solar cells around the tritium tube should allow you to recover more of the energy being emitted with minimum extra effort and cost.

What is tritium used for in a nuclear battery?

Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen containing 2 neutrons that is used to charge capacitors in a nuclear battery. It is unstable and decays with a halflife of 12 years, emitting a 5.7 (average) keV electron (beta particle) and a ~10 keV neutrino.

What is a commercial tritium battery?

Commercial tritium batteries — like those produced by City Labs — cut out the middleman by using betavoltaic (as opposed to photovoltaic) cells in direct contact with tritium gas. Those commercial devices are more rugged and efficient, but come with a very large price tag (thousands of USD per unit).

What is a radioisotope photovoltaic generator?

These devices are actually known as " Radioisotope Photovoltaic Generators " or " Photobetavoltaic Generators ," and they're a pretty clever design: glowing glass pills filled with tritium gas and coated in a phosphorescent material are sandwiched between two photovoltaic cells.

Does tritium emit a neutrino?

Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen containing 2 neutrons. It is unstable and emits a 5.7 (average) keV electron (beta particle) and a neutrino during decay. The neutrino is essentially lost energy as it cannot be harvested with this device.