hankteford@beehaw.orgtoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•Is there a way to convert radiation from atomic decay into energy directly, the same way we do sunlight with a solar cell?
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1 year agoYup, RTGs exist, but they’re impractical for most terrestrial use cases. The problem is that any isotope that’s energetic enough to generate meaningful amounts of energy is also going to be somewhere between quite dangerous and insanely dangerous if the container is breached. And unless there are very strong protocols in place for handling the RTG, on a long enough timeline, there’s basically guaranteed to be a nuclear accident.
Youtuber who runs the Technology Connections channel, where he goes on wild deep dives into home appliances, and will often spend 45 minutes talking about dishwashers or sensor cooking in microwaves.