It is known that gamma rays emitted by nuclear isomers, naturally occurring or m

Question

It is known that gamma rays emitted by nuclear isomers, naturally occurring or manufactured, carry huge amounts of energy. Co-60 for example decays into the isomeric state of Ni-60 by ?? emission (plus the neutrino). Ni-60 then emits two ??photons of energy E?1=1.333 MeV and E?2=1.173 MeV, a total of about 2.5 MeV, and attains its ground state. This amount of energy from a single decay event, is about 106 times the energy in a single event in a conventional battery!

The question is: Can we utilise this amount of energy, by combining appropriate scintillators and photovoltaic cells in order to convert that energy into electrical power? Arguments for and against will be appreciated.

Explanation / Answer

Yes nuclear batteries are reasonably common, it's generally easier to just use the heat given off to drive either a stirling cycle motor or a thermo-electric generator rather than use the energy of the emitted particle directly.

They are very useful when you need power for many years without being able to recharge or replace the batteries eg. in space probes or remote monitoring sites. But they do involve large lumps of highly radioactive materials so aren't for everyone!

ps. I'm not sure what you mean by the energy of a "single event in a battery"

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