YouTuber builds nuclear battery, uses Tritium’s power to play video games

This special battery can last many, many years.

Ian Charnas, a DIY YouTuber, recently created a “micro-nuclear reactor” and used it to power an electronic puzzle machine, the kind you were so familiar with in childhood. . Of course, this reactor does not use isotopes of uranium or plutonium as in nuclear weapons or reactors in nuclear power plants, because the half-life, radioactive particles and rays cannot be controlled. gamma generated. Instead, Charnas uses tritium, an isotope of hydrogen with the ability to glow, and then uses the nuclear power of tritium to power the solar panel to generate electricity for the electronic machine to operate.

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Tritium itself is not too strange a radioactive isotope if you play with watches. Besides the super luminova, tritium is sometimes kept in sealed tubes coated with phosphorus to emit light, allowing the numerals and time to be seen in the dark, such as some Ball brands. This solution is basically no different from the old TV light bulb, which is also an electron tube shining on the phosphor surface to emit light and create an image.

In the case of Charnas, a tritium “reactor”, even using a solar panel that produces the most power with the least amount of light, produces only 1.5 µW of electricity, while Nintendo’s GameBoy requires a lot of work. 1W power capacity is enough to operate the machine. And China’s “fake” electronic puzzle machine only needs about 1000 µW. The electrical energy from the “reactor” must then be stored in the battery for a month-long period to avoid wastage and generate enough electrical power to run the machine that should have used only two AA batteries. Ian’s solution is a thin film solid-state battery, a very rarely used solution.

This solution is generally cumbersome and is only fun to make YouTube videos, but when it comes to creativity, it’s clear that this clip is fun to watch. This machine will be drawn by Ian Charnas to give to those who donate to a charity that supports children living near the area affected by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

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