Controllable Direct Electrical Conversion of Isotopic Radiation

Radioisotopes and nuclear isomers are of special interest as energy storage devices because they have the potential to store energy with higher energy density and longer life than chemical and most other devices. If their energy can be released by excitation (triggering) by an external source, they can provide on-demand high power. Both nuclear isomers and radioactive isotopes release their energy at a specific rate by emission of gamma rays and/or charged particles. To use radioactive materials as high energy density devices for remote applications depends on having a means to capture and convert the energy to useful form such as direct voltaic, thermal voltaic, chemical or mechanical. Whether or not isomers can be triggered, it is useful to examine how isotope and isomer decay energy can be captured and converted to one of these forms. This research examines means to capture and convert decay energy from triggered isomers and ordinary radioisotope sources.