Tag Archives: half-life

Ununseptium 117: The beginning or the end

Impact: Nuclear Physics    April 8, 2010
Does the periodic table ever end? That becomes a real question after the discovery (manufacture, really) of a new element, temporarily called ununseptium (Latin for 117) with an atomic weight of 117. This element was especially difficult. Elements 116 and 118 were already produced. Physicists knew the gap element existed but to produce it required [...]
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Carborundum + tritium = 25 year battery

News: Energy Storage    November 19, 2009
The idea of using radioactive materials to generate energy in batteries is not a new idea. In fact, it’s about fifty years old. In practice, betavoltaics, batteries that use beta particles to generate electricity, were used in the first heart pacemakers; but eventually lost out to less expensive lithium-ion batteries. Although betavoltaic batteries can have [...]
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