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(11) | EP 0 243 149 A3 |
(12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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(54) | Apparatus for direct conversion of radioactive decay energy to electrical energy |
(57) A nuclear battery in which the energy imparted to radioactive decay products during
the spontaneous disintegrations of radioactive material is utilized to sustain and
amplify the oscillations in a high-Q LC tank circuit is provided. The circuit inductance
comprises a coil wound on a core composed of radioactive nuclides connected in series
with the primary winding of a power transformer. The core is fabricated from a mixture
of three radioactive materials which decay primarily by alpha emission and provides
a greater flux of radioactive decay products than the equivalent amount of a single
radioactive nuclide. |