Ever wished your laptop battery would never run out? Well that could be a very real possibility in the near future with a new betavoltaic power cell battery which could last for up to 30 years on a single charge. Betavoltaics actually generate power when an electron strikes a particular interface between two layers of material, using beta electron emissions that occur when a neutron decays into a proton which causes a forward bias in the semiconductor. This will make the betavoltaic cell a forward bias diode of sorts, similar in some respects to a photovoltaic (solar) cell where electrons scatter out of their normal orbits in the semiconductor and into the circuit creating a usable electric current. These cells are fully inert and non-toxic when they run out of juice, so no worries about any environmental fallouts. I’d take this piece of news with a pinch of salt – after all, such a battery will probably be obsolete before its shelf life runs out.
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