this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
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A tiny radioactive battery could keep your future phone running for 50 years::A glowing horizon for phones

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[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 22 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ya know we keep these things in our pants right?

[–] GoodEye8@lemm.ee 47 points 9 months ago (2 children)

No offense but it's a "I wasn't paying attention in high school physics" comment. It being beta decay with a half-life of 100 years should already indicate it's relatively safe. In fact someone else in this thread already already added the references showing how safe it is. If it's safe enough to power a pacemaker it's safe enough to sit in your phone that sits your pocket.

Personally I think that battery would have much bigger issues than safety, such as power requirements which are much harder to control with nuclear decay. Also obviously the device itself deprecating before the battery because tech will definitely advance a lot in 50 years, I imagine after a decade the phone will be useless. And finally the pricing considering Ni-63 doesn't occur in nature which means you need a specific process to create the materials necessary for the batter.

[–] Isoprenoid@programming.dev 21 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I imagine after a decade the phone will be useless.

[–] GoodEye8@lemm.ee 10 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I'll concede, useless was a bit harsh. Let's say "no longer fit for the average user" considering the average lifespan of a mobile phone is 2-4 years and a company doing software and security updates for a decade is very rare.

You are very much the exception here.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works -5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

That's a silly comparison. You're not dropping your pacemaker down escalators or throwing it the trash when the screen breaks, and middle schoolers aren't dissambling them with butter knives. You're not throwing them out every few years. Please teach me more about high school physics though you smug sob.

[–] GoodEye8@lemm.ee 11 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Most current phones use lithium ion batteries that can combust or explode in your pocket if tampered or damaged, but you don't seem to be worried about that. You only seem to be worried about the battery in the article because the only thing you remember about radiation from your high school physics is "radiation bad". Had you paid more attention in school you wouldn't need my smug ass correcting you.

[–] DrRatso@lemmy.ml 5 points 9 months ago

You are just moving goalposts here. None of these scenarios are particularly relevant anyway. Even if the phone shell cracked, the battery casing would be enough to shield from the radiation. And what does throwing the phone in the trash have to do with keeping it in your pocket.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

You're just not trying hard enough.