Topic: Space News

[oohhboy]

No it doesn't. The radiation ionizes the gas inside allowing electricity to conduct from the from the cathode to the anode. Note in your picture the 500 volt power source. The radiation only usually ionizes one atom, but the applied voltage differential causes a electron avalanche which allows the gap to be bridged which sets off the counter. The electron avalanche is caused by the radiation, but it is not powered by it, the battery does that.

If you want to capture energy from radiation, you simply place enough matter in front of it so it will interact with it, converting it to heat. What you do with that heat is up to you.

[ThePerm]

well its not exactly how it works, but principles from it can be used to capture electricity. There are non-thermal atomic batteries, but they haven't been employed much because of....issues.

[ThePerm]

To clarify, a RTG doesn't directly use the radioactive decay to generate electricity, it uses the resultant heat differential to generate power. Any source of heat will do as long as there is a heat sink large enough to cause a significant differential. Space is "Cold" but there is nothing to conduct or convect the heat, so everything has to radiate away which can take a long time depending on surface area and "fins don't work in space!. RTGs are very inefficient for the equivalent amount of fuel used and energy extracted compared to normal nuclear reactor.

You can't directly convert radioactivity into electricity. There is no radioactive equivalent to what solar panels do with light. Even if there was such a device, the radiation will quickly destroy it. There is a very good reason why nuclear power plants only run for about 50 or so years. The radiation bombarding every bit of the reactor severely weakens it by literally blowing atom size holes in the structure and transmuting the metal into other weaker substances some of which are also radioactive.

At the end of the day most sources of power generation are very similar. You need a source of heat, usually the hotter the better and large heat sink to match. That is why virtually all thermal power plants are built near convenient water supplies like major rivers and coastlines. You cause/find a differential and you extract the difference.

https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-novel-material-turns-space-radiation-into-electr/

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mrs-online-proceedings-library-archive/article/direct-energy-conversion-from-gamma-ray-to-electricity-using-silicon-semiconductor-cells/AD86142E057DC2D41E77AD7E28DD10A7

in other news

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz4XjPoUgoA

[ThePerm]

[nickmitch]

Love a good "life imitates art".

[MASB]

I hope the "A Giant Calculating Brain Decides To Rule The World!" part doesn't happen.

[NWR_insanolord]

I hope the "A Giant Calculating Brain Decides To Rule The World!" part doesn't happen.

I mean, if you look at how the world's being run right now, maybe it's worth a shot.

[ThePerm]

I mean... it might be an improvement?

[ThePerm]

[ThePerm]

Height comparison

[RABicle]

Every time I massively fail I'm going to tell people I collected so much data from it.

[Khushrenada]

Every time I massively fail I'm going to tell people I collected so much data from it.

LOL! I love this strategy! Definitely going to use it now too. That gets a honk!

[MASB]

Best to use the Parrot Sketch excuse: That rocket didn't crash! It's resting!"

[ThePerm]

From the 1950 movie Rocket X-M

[ThePerm]

Google maps got really close to the Starship

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.9859788,-97.1895844,3a,75y,332.89h,106.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1slemQ1cq0Iri7ttskrUjRDA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.9978027,-97.1552702,3a,49.5y,224.14h,90.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4BNjXZBLc8ZjQ_KsSXbNCw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en