On Friday 25th November, at the Cabot Institute Annual
Lecture, a new energy technology was unveiled that uses diamonds to generate
electricity from nuclear waste. Researchers at the University of Bristol, led
by Prof. Tom Scott, have created a prototype battery that incorporates radioactive
Nickel-63 into a diamond, which is then able to generate a small electrical current.
Details of this technology can be found in our official press
release here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2016/november/diamond-power.html.
Despite the low power of the batteries (relative to current
technologies), they could have an exceptionally long lifespan, taking 5730
years to reach 50% battery power. Because of this, Professor Tom Scott explains:
“We envision these batteries to be used in situations where
it is not feasible to charge or replace conventional batteries. Obvious
applications would be in low-power electrical devices where long life of the
energy source is needed, such as pacemakers, satellites, high-altitude drones
or even spacecraft.
“There are so many possible uses that we’re asking the
public to come up with suggestions of how they would utilise this technology by
using #diamondbattery.”
Since making the invitation, we have been overwhelmed by the
number of amazing ideas you’ve been sharing on Facebook, Twitter and by email.
In this blog, we take a brief look at some of the top suggestions to date, and
offer some further information on what may and may not be possible.
10 of our favourite ideas (in no particular order!)
Medical devices
From ocular implants to pacemakers, and from insulin pumps
to nanobots, it’s clear that there is a great deal of potential to make a
difference to people’s lives in the medical field. Many devices must be
implanted within the body, meaning long battery life is essential to minimise
the need for replacements and distress to patients.
@rongonzalezlobo suggests that the #diamondbattery could
power nanorobots which can be injected into a person or animal to sense and
transmit information about the health of the individual to an external device.
This could be particularly helpful to diabetes patients, for example.
Thanks @BristolUni for #diamondbattery, could be used to power Nano Injectables to transmit bodymetrics https://t.co/7ZiA9DbXAq— Ron González Lobo (@rongonzalezlobo) November 28, 2016
@TealSkys also suggests they could be used to monitor vital
signs in individuals in high-risk jobs such as explorers, military
professionals or miners.
Military/divers/police/miners/explorers suits/uniforms with vitals monitoring; powered by the Db. #diamondbattery— TealSkys (@TealSkys) November 28, 2016
@JulianSpahr suggests we also investigate ICDs (Implantable
Cardioverter Defibrillators- small devices which can treat people with
dangerously abnormal heart rhythms) and DBS (deep brain stimulation - a
surgical procedure used to treat a variety of disabling neurological symptom
most commonly the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease).
#diamondbattery What if the coating makes it safe for direct human contact: pacemakers, hearing aids, ICDs, DBS, etc.— Julian (@JulianSpahr) November 28, 2016
The opportunities for implantable #diamondbattery powered
devices appear to be significant.
GPS trackers or Geo-markers
GPS trackers are rating highly so far, and could offer an
opportunity for us to keep tabs on pets or valuable items without worrying
about device batteries running out of charge. Implantable devices using a
#diamondbattery would not need to be replaced, minimising discomfort to tracked
animals. Indeed, @Boomersaurus suggests we could also use these for tagging
animals in wildlife studies.
Since they seem to be pretty safe, how about #diamondbattery for tagging animals for wildlife studies?— Boomersaurus (@Boomersaurus) November 29, 2016
In addition to Geo-tagging/ tracking, some of you have
suggested that the #diamondbattery could be used to power permanent geomarkers.
The #diamondbattery could be used to make permanent electronic time capsules or geomarkers.— Josh Hanke (@xX5UN5H1N3Xx) November 29, 2016
The Internet of Things
A major concern surrounding the new wave of ‘Internet of
Things’ (IoT) technologies is the amount of power they might consume. IoT
devices require a constant stream of power to transmit over wireless
frequencies which could cause issues as these proliferate.
@CIMCloudOne suggests the #diamondbattery could become the
new default for IoT devices in the future.
#diamondbattery Make this the default power source of each and every IoT device. Built-in to the IoT core chip or soldered on the board.— CIMCloudOne (@CIMCloudOne) November 29, 2016
Safety and security
A number of you suggested that the #diamondbattery could be
extremely useful in smoke detectors.
The US National Fire Protection Association states that 21%
of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no working smoke alarms,
where around 46% of the alarms had missing or disconnected batteries. Dead
batteries caused one-quarter (24%) of the smoke alarm failures.
If feasible, this suggestion from @StarhopperGames could
therefore not only prevent annoying late-night battery beeps, but may also help
avoid preventable death.
Stop smoke detectors from losing battery power at ungodly hours of the night #diamondbattery— StarHopper Games (@StarhopperGames) November 29, 2016
However, a question remains as to whether the battery would
be sufficient to power the alarm (and not just the detector).
@idbacchus suggested we use the #diamondbattery to power
Black Box transmitters in aeroplanes to ensure it is possible to track and
record planes for safety reasons.
Black boxes for planes that never stop transmitting their position #diamondbattery— Ian Bacchus (@idbacchus) November 28, 2016
Remote sensing
Many corners of our planet are far from civilisation and are
inaccessible, complex environments. If we are to study the seas, or mountains
(or indeed, space) effectively over long periods, low-powered devices with
long-life batteries are required.
Many of you called for the use of these batteries in sea and
remote location studies:
I would use the #diamondbattery for deep-sea equipment to constantly monitor the environment #innovation @BristolUni— Leah Robertson (@robertsonleah10) November 28, 2016
Imagine exploring the deep ocean for thousands of years with the #diamondbattery to fuel your subsea drones! https://t.co/UrWXrelKOQ— Maritime Murph (@GregMurphy_SD) November 29, 2016
Seismology and building resilience
Seismic sensors that are located underground could help us
to detect early warnings for earthquake risk.
Why not use #diamondbattery for seismic sensors?— RealNameSure (@RestlessDraugr) November 29, 2016
Additionally, small sensors housed within the foundations of
buildings/ within building walls may also prove helpful for indoor environment
sensing, structural resilience, heat etc.
Mechanical bees
Whilst this is possibly the most futuristic of all the
suggestions, we felt that it warranted a mention for innovation! @TheSteveKoch
suggests a low-power #diamond battery might be able to power mechanical bees in
the future.
Mechanical bees might be a good use case for #diamondbattery— Steve Koch (@TheSteveKoch) November 29, 2016
Watches
It’s often impossible to know when a watch battery is about
to run out, and when it does, it can feel disastrous to the owner. Perhaps a
#diamondbattery watch could help people around the world avoid those missed
appoints and trains in the future.
#diamondbattery Is there the potential to power watches as a fair amount of waste is generated from depleted watch batteries each year.— Richard Merrett (@Merrett72) November 28, 2016
Space exploration
Of course, when we send devices out into space we need to
know that they have sufficient battery life and sufficient levels of resilience
to maintain operations for long periods. @johnconroy and others noted the
opportunities for space probes and radio transmitters on the moon:
#diamondbattery sounds great. Could be used for deep space probes like Voyager to keep transmitting when in deep space— johnconroy (@johnconroy) November 29, 2016
Bringing the internet to new areas
Finally, whilst it’s currently unclear what the power
requirements would be for this idea, deployment of low power UAVs in remote
areas to deliver free internet sounds like a highly worthwhile cause.
Simply wow! #DiamondBattery can be highly efficient in powering low altitude network UAV to beam out free Internet in remote areas 🙌 https://t.co/ttSml5Zh8Y— Rizwan Siddiquee (@BinaryGru) November 29, 2016
If you are inspired by these ideas and think you might have
a suggestion for future diamond battery uses, send us a tweet at
@cabotinstitute or @UoBrisIAC with the hashtag ‘#diamondbattery’.