Nuclear Battery

In the elective Energy harvesting systems I will study the conversion of ambient energy present in the environment into electrical energy. I will learn about the wide range of applications that Energy harvesting system has, including energy efficiency enhancement for a system, embedded power source for wireless sensor networks, embedded power for biomedical devices. The course will introduce the design of energy conversion and storage systems from mechanical energy, including mechanical vibrations, thermal energy, and other energy sources. The prerequisites for this class

New revolutionary technologies are emerging fast to address this issue of increased electrical power generation and storage needs. An example is teams of MIT scientists that have created a synthetic, self-assembling chloroplast that can be break and reassemble repeatedly, a self-restoring solar cell. (Dillow, 2010). Another example is a company called Bloom Energy, which is producing tiny fuel cell boxes called “Bloom Boxes.” Two of these can power an average U.S. home. Each device is about the size of a standard brick. Although they need to be surrounded by a larger unit that takes in an energy source, they are still about the size of a refrigerator. This alternative is already being tested by companies such as Google and eBay (Siegler, 2010).

The use of nano-materials and extreme precision micro-engineering has the potential for great improvement in the world of electronics and information technology by providing smaller, faster, and more powerful computers and this has been at the forefront of the nanotechnology commercialization . Great examples of how nanotechnology is currently being used in these fields are products such as processors, data storage, and memory components made with nano-materials, TVs, monitors and even smartphone screens that use organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), and waterproof electronics such as smartphones due to the application of nano-coatings

Gaidos begins by using statements made by material scientist George Crabtree of the Argonne national laboratory to acknowledge the accomplishments of the more traditional lithium-ion battery, and explain how new batteries could improve upon them. Lithium-ion batteries did alter individual electronics in an enormous way but they are limited in larger

The possibilities offered by this new type of battery would indeed be considerable. From the smartphone to the tablet, via laptop, GPS or car, all energy consuming mobile power products and requiring regular refills could benefit from the advantages of this new combination. Moreover, these batteries could also be used at much larger scale than the charging alone phones or computers and storing electricity produced by renewable sources such as wind turbines or solar and tidal power.

As explained by IDTech Ex report that the flexible electronics market will reach over $76 billion by 2023[1],while the market for flexible, thin, stretchable and bendable batteries will grow to become about $471 million industry by 2026[2]. Additionally, the product is considered the most promising energy storage device with low carbon dioxide emission. The energy density of the lithium ion battery range between 120-170 Wh Kg-1 and 250-380 Wh l-1 more higher than Ni-Cd and Lead-acid[3]. LIB has three major electronically active components namely anode, electrolyte, and cathode. The anode is the negative electrode that releases electrons into an external circuit during a discharge process that involves the oxidation of chemical reactions. On the other hand, the cathode is the positive electrode that is reduced during a reaction. Notably, the lithium ions are stored within the cathode after a cell is discharged. Both cathode and anode stores energy while on charge, and releases it on discharge[4]. Cathode materials have relatively high electrochemical potentials while anode materials have low potentials. This design approach helps maximize the battery’s output voltage. The final active component of the LIB is the electrolyte. It is a mixture of a set of organic solvents containing disassociated lithium salts that enables Li+ transportation between the anode and the cathode. Besides, other complementary components, such as current collectors attached to the

Percival Zhang and Zhiguang Zhu, researchers at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, designed an incipient biobattery with a more preponderant output per weight than the typical lithium-ion batteries utilized in most electronics. They described the research online last month in the journal Nature

Due to the rapidly growing role of electronics, electronic components, such as diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits are now omnipresent, impacting today’s society. Therefore, it is important to analyze projects and/or experiments related to diodes, transistors, and other components, to determine whether these projects and/or experiments bring us closer to a sustainable society, which is a society that satisfies current needs without compromising posterity’s future needs and fosters consonance between humans and their surroundings[1].

Richard Jansen-Parkes (Parkes, 2014) states that, thanks to his invention, an estimated 80% of the dry cell batteries in the world are based on Urry’s work.

Rechargeable battery evolution accelerated as the world transitioned to instruments enabled by silicon microchip technology from those of bulky electrical components. Mobile devices were designed to be powered by lightweight energy storage systems. The development of batteries for this rapidly evolving market was challenging:

There are different kinds of batteries in the market currently, such as coin cells, cylinder cell, prismatic cell and pouch cell. They all have different geometries, but in this chapter we will only focus on pouch battery. The following Fig.5-1 shows the structure of the pouch battery that we used in this study.

In the present generation, almost every devices run through batteries. Batteries are a collection of cells where their chemical reactions create a flow of electricity in a circuit. Every battery consists of three essential components, which are an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte that chemically reacts with the other two components. In the 17th and 18th century, electricity was just a curiosity, but as time passed by, it became one of the most important and required tools. For instance, any kind of remotes in order to have an access to any kind of devices requires batteries. Alessandro Volta was the one to make the crucial invention that caused the transformation in our lives. Our lives wouldn’t be like now, with no laptops, phones, and

This material has a half-life of 88 years; which for all human purposes, has a near limitless supply of energy. Nevertheless, the material itself is short in supply and a limited earthly resource, unlike the sun. This energy may not be as high quantity or as constant as solar energy, however, nuclear power provides continuous power to spacecraft systems. “The advantages of nuclear energy include its ability to provide power for long-duration missions without reliance on solar illumination, high system reliability, and high power output versus low mass.” Regardless of the position of the spacecraft in conjunction with the sun or how deep into space the spacecraft may travel, the systems will constantly have a supply of energy. Size also plays a role differentiating solar versus nuclear power. Like previously stated, solar panels must be a large mass in order to produce adequate electricity, and the further from the sun or the more frequently the spacecraft is not in line with light from the sun, the larger the panels will have to be. In addition, solar powered systems require batteries for back-up power. This is opposite for nuclear power which would require a nuclear generator or several generators based on the necessary power output. However, some spacecraft, such as the Nimbus III required a small radioisotope thermoelectric generator for each subsystem, such as the photography devices and the communications relay. Even

As each year passes, more and more electricity will be made as a result of increased nuclear power plants around the world. The economic benefits of nuclear energy are equally advantageous as the environmental aspects.

More efficient and durable batteries are needed to satisfy the requirements of new technology developments.