What is Betavoltaics?
Betavoltaics is a way of getting ordinary, portable electricity out of the organic process of radioactive decay. Radioactive elements out in the world are always decaying and releasing electrons. Since electricity is just a stream of electrons traveling in the same direction, experts in energy technology have long looked to these elements to provide an efficient, safe, long-lasting, environmentally friendly, and tiny alternative to other battery systems that provide power. We all understand the stable model of an atom, with the nucleus surrounded by a cloud of electrons that may come or go. But certain kinds of elements, called radioactive isotopes, behave quite differently over time. These isotopes, such as “heavy” hydrogen or molybdenum-100, go through a continuous process called decaying. The nucleus “decays,” resulting in one less neutron and one more proton, thus releasing a single electron at a time. These electrons have a medium amount of energy, so they are called beta particle
