Experimental Atomic Diode: Direct Energy Conversion
| Scientific Paper | |
|---|---|
| Title | Experimental Atomic Diode: Direct Energy Conversion |
| Author(s) | Timothy E Raney |
| Keywords | americium, energy conversion |
| Published | 2002 |
| Journal | Electric Spacecraft Journal |
| Number | 35 |
| Pages | 9-12 |
Abstract
This article describes some experiments that demonstrated direct energy conversion from an NRC-exempt americium-241 alpha-particle source that produced a measurable potential of about 0.3 volts. The principle is sound, but a large and perhaps impractical quantity of americium-241 would be required for observing any significant electrical output above the noise level. These experiments were very instructive regarding the ionization process, direct energy conversion and low-level current measurements.