Scientists turn nuclear waste into diamond batteries that last forever

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By Matthew Griffin Earth and Energy 30th November 2016

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Nuclear waste is normally buried beneath ground and left forever, this new breakthrough gives nuclear processing companies a new option and a new revenue stream.

Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a method to turn radioactive graphite blocks, a waste product of nuclear reactors, into artificial diamonds that generate electricity. The diamonds produce a small current that could last for thousands of years and such long-lived diamond batteries could be used to power spacecraft, implants such as pacemakers, and in other areas where long battery life is crucial.

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Nuclear reactors generate heat from highly radioactive uranium rods which are placed in blocks of graphite to control the heat flow and nuclear reactions and after years of absorbing nuclear radiation, the graphite blocks become highly radioactive as well. So, when nuclear power plants are decommissioned, they have to dispose of the graphite blocks as well.

The researchers realized they could heat the carbon blocks, which causes the radioactive carbon to turn into a gas, this gas is then collected and compressed to form a diamond and it turned out that is had some cool properties. Because of its radioactive nature, it can generate a small electric current and no moving parts means no maintenance and, even better they can last for thousands of years without needing to be replaced.

While the current is too small to power your smartphone it could be used for small applications where it is difficult or impossible to replace a battery and with so many nuclear reactors out in the world there’d be a guaranteed supply for generations to come.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.