[dear]

If we can miniaturize nuclear reactors to the point that they can be drop-in replacements for batteries, then we can potentially run our electronics, appliances, machinery, vehicles standalone for decades without refuel/recharge.

[acidburnNSA]

Nuclear reactors can't generally be scaled down too far. The shielding requirements are about 4 ft of concrete on all sides, basically as a minimum. You can use pure-alpha decay radioactive isotopes as long lasting heat sources with a thermionic to make a 100W battery that last ~100 years. These are used in space probes like Voyager 1/2, Cassini, and Mars rovers like Curiosity and (soon) Perseverance. It used to also be used in pacemakers and soviet arctic light-houses.

The material is expensive (though it could be made much cheaper if a big market showed up), but more seriously it's a radiological hazard. Someone could disassemble such a thing and blow it up on a busy street with conventional explosives and cause a massive radiophobia-induced panic. You don't want to inhale a strong alpha-emitter.

[LaMarseillaise]

> soviet arctic light-houses

I had heard these used Strontium(/Yttrium)-90 (β), but I might have been misinformed. Do you know where I can find more information about this subject?

[wmf]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_ge...

[bigiain]

One of them kinda played a starring role in a film called "How I Ended This Summer"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Ended_This_Summer

It's a beautiful and grim piece of Russian film making...

[wmf]

RTGs and betavoltaic cells scale down to that size but the powers that be don't want nuclear material so widely distributed.

[fsh]

Betavoltaic cells get outperformed by coin cells and RTGs by solar panels in most applications. There are some niche space applications, but not much else.

[cryptonector]

RTGs powered by plutonium, widely available? No thanks.

[muzika]

If that happens, our power needs will raise accordingly.