United States Patent [19] [11] Patent Number: 4,835,433Brown [45] Date of Patent: May 30, 1989

[54] APPARATUS FOR DIRECT CONVERSIONOF RADIOACTIVE DECAY ENERGY TOELECTRICAL ENERGY

[75] Inventor: Paul M. Brown, Boise, Id.

[73] Assignee: Nucell, Inc., Portland, Oreg.

[21] Appl. No.: 153,070[22] Filed: Feb. 8, 1988

Related U.S. Application Data[63] Continuation of Ser. No. 855,607, Apr. 23, 1986, aban-

doned.

[51] Int. C1.4................................................ G21H 1/00[52] U.S. Cl ......................................310/305; 136/202;

376/320[58] Field of Search................ 376/320, 321; 310/301,

310/304, 305; 136/202

[56] References CitedU.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

2,548,225 4/1951 Linder................................. 310/3042,712,097 6/1955 Auwarter ........................... 310/3052,739,283 3/1956 Roehrig ...............................310/3013,290,522 12/1966 Ginell...................................310/305

3,409,820 11/1968 Burke ................................. 310/3053,530,316 9/1970 Burke ................................. 310/3013,562,613 2/1971 Adler ................................ 310/3043,939,366 2/1976 Ato et al ............................. 310/3013,944,438 3/1976 Hursen et al ........................ 136/2024,489,269 12/1984 Edling et al ........................ 376/320

Primary Examiner - Deborah L. KyleAssistant Examiner - Daniel Wasil Attorney,Agent, or Firm - Leslie G. Murray

[57] ABSTRACTA nuclear battery in which the energy imparted toradioactive decay products during the spontaneousdisintegrations of radioactive material is utilized to sus-tain and amplify the oscillations in a high-Q LC tankcircuit is provided. The circuit inductance comprises acoil wound on a core composed of radioactive nuclidesconnected in series with the primary winding of apower transformer. The core is fabricated from a mix-ture of three radioactive materials which decay primar-ily by alpha emission and provides a greater flux ofradioactive decay products than the equivalent amountof a single radioactive nuclide.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets

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1

APPARATUS FOR DIRECT CONVERSION OFRADIOACTIVE DECAY ENERGY TO

ELECTRICAL ENERGY

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 06/855,607,filed Apr. 23, 1986, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to apparatus for thedirect conversion of the energy of radioactive decayproducts to electrical energy and, more particu-larly, to theutilization of an alpha source to sustain and amplifyoscillations in an LC oscillator circuit.A growing need exists today for small, compact, reliable,lightweight and self-contained rugged power supplies toprovide electrical power in such applications as electricautomobiles, homes, industrial, agricultural, recreational,remote monitoring systems and satellites. The majority oftoday's satellites are powered by solar cells and conventionalchemical batteries and require only a small amount of powerto operate. Radar, ad-vanced communications satellites and,especially, high-technology weapons platforms will requiremuch larger power sources than today's space powersystems can deliver. For the very high power applications,nuclear reactors appear to be the answer. However, for theintermediate power range, 10 to 100 kilowatts (kw), thenuclear reactor presents formidable technical problems. Giventoday's efficiencies, it would require many acres of solarpanels to provide 100 kw. Similarly, enough chemical fuel toprovide 100 kw for any significant period of time would betoo heavy and bulky for practi-cal use.Heretofore, there have been known several methods forconversion of radioactive energy released during the decayof natural radioactive elements into electrical energy. Agrapefruit-sized radioisotope thermo-electric generator thatutilized the heat produced from alpha particles emmitted asplutonium-238 decays was devel-oped during the early 1950's.However, trie power output was limited to a few hundredwatts. Other methods converting the energy of radioactivedecay directly into electrical energy are disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,290,522; 3,409,820; and 3,939,366.U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,522 entitled "Nuclear Emission ElectricalGenerator" issued to Robert Ginell on Dec. 6, 1966,discloses apparatus which provides electrical power bymodulating the density of a cloud of charged particlesconfined within an enclosed space by a mag-netic field. Aradioactive material is positioned at the center of anenclosing hollow sphere having its inner surface coated withsilver. The sphere is centrally posi-tioned between the polesof a permanent magnet. The variation in the density of thecloud of charged particles causes a variation in the magneticfield created by the cloud. This variation hi the magnetic fieldcuts an elec-trically conductive means to create an electricalpoten-tial and current therein. The density of the cloud ofcharged particles may be varied by applying a periodi-callyvarying electro-static or electro-magnetic field to the confinedcloud of charged particles. The electrical energy is derivedfrom the kinetic energy imparted to the charged particles(decay products) on the occur rence of a spontaneousdisintegration event during the decay of the radioactivematerial. However, with this

system, the conversion efficiency is very low and theamount of electrical power provided too small for mostapplications.U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,820 entitled "Electric PowerAppartus" issued to James O. Burke on Nov. 5, 1968,discloses an amplification of an electric current by theconduction of electric current through a radioactivematerial. While providing some current amplification,the system requires an external power source, such as aconventional battery, and thus, cannot provide suffi-cient power for most applications.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,366 entitled "Method of Convert-ing Radioactive Energy to Electric Energy and Devicefor Performing the Same" issued to Yasuro Ato et al. onFeb. 17, 1976, discloses an apparatus in which radioac-tive energy is converted to electric energy by irradiat-ing a semiconductor material with radioactive decayproducts to produce a number of electron-hole pairs inthe material. A magnetic field is applied across the semi-conductor material in a direction perpendicular to thedirection of diffusion of the electron-hole pairs and tothe direction of the applied magnetic field thus collect-ing the electrons and the holes at electrodes providedon the respective end faces of the semiconductor mate-rial to produce an electric potential across the semicon-ductor material. While the conversion efficiency of thesystem disclosed by Ato et al. is considerally higherthan that disclosed by either Burke or Ginell, the poweroutput of the system is not great enough for applicationssuch as electric automobiles or satellites.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is toprovide an apparatus for the direct conversion of theenergy of radioactive decay to electric energy.Another object is to provide an electric power sourcewhich is small, compact, reliable, lightweight, self-con-tained and rugged and therefore adaptable for use inautomobiles, homes, industrial, agricultural and recre-ational applications and satellites.Still another object is to provide an electric powersource capable of providing large amounts of power forlong periods of time with little or no maintenance orrefueling required.In accordance with the principles of the present in-vention, a nuclear battery in which the energy impartedto radioactive decay products during the spontaneousdisintegrations of radioactive material is utilized to sus-tain and amplify the oscillations in a high-Q LC tankcircuit is provided. The inductance in the tank circuitcomprises the primary of a power transformer and iswound about a core composed of a mixture of radioac-tive materials. A mixture of radioactive materials pro-duces a greater flux of radioactive decay products thanthe use of a single radioactive material by itself pro-duces thereby providing the necessary flux for largego power output from a small core volume. Use oflong-lived isotopes, such as radium, ensures that thenuclear battery will have a constant output for at least tenyears.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other and further objects and advantages of the pres-ent invention will be apparent from the following de-tailed description with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which

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FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an LC equivalent resonantcircuit according to the principles of the pres-ent invention;FIG. 2 is a wiring diagram of a nuclear battery con-structedaccording to the principles of the present in- vention;FIG. 3 is a plan view of the top of the radioactive core ofthe nuclear battery shown in FIG. 2.FIG. 4 is a plan view of the top of the nuclear batteryshown in FIG. 2; andFIG. 5 is a side view taken along the line A - A of the nuclearbattery shown in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 1, an equivalent electrical circuit of anuclear battery constructed according to the principles of thepresent invention is shown. An LCR circuit 1 is comprised ofa capacitor 3, inductor 5, trans-former T primary winding 9and resistance 11 con-nected in series. It is assumed that theelectrical conduc-tors connecting the various circuit elementsand form-ing the inductor 5 and primary winding 9 areperfect conductors; i.e., no DC resistance. Resistor 11 is alump resistance equivalent to the total DC resistance of theactual circuit components and conductors. The induc-tor 5 iswound on a core 7 which is composed of a mixture ofradioactive elements decaying primarily by alpha particleemission.When current flows in an electrical circuit energy isdissipated or lost in the form of heat. Thus, when oscil-lations are induced in an LCR circuit, the oscillationswill gradually damp out due to the loss of energy in thecircuit unless energy is continuously added to the cir-cuit to sustain the oscillations. In the LCR circuitshown in Figure 1, a portion of the energy imparted tothe decay products, such as alpha particles, during theradioactive decay of the materials making up inductorcore 7 is introduced into the circuit 1 when the decayproducts are absorbed by the conductor which formsinductor 5. Once oscillations have been induced in theLCR circuit 1, the energy absorbed by inductor 5 fromthe radioactive decay of the core 7 materials will sustainthe oscillations as long as the amount of energy ab-sorbed is equal to the amount of energy dissipated in theohmic resistance of the circuit 1. If the absorbed isgreater than the amount of energy lost through ohmicheating, the oscillations will be amplified. This excessenergy can be delivered to a load 17 connected acrossthe transformer T secondary winding 13.The processes involved in the conversion of the en-ergyreleased by the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactivematerial into electrical energy are numerous and complex.Materials that are naturally radioactive decay by theemission of either an alpha particle or a beta particle, andgamma rays may accompany either process. Radioactivematerials that decay primarily by alpha particle emission arepreferred as the inductor core 7 material. Alpha particles areemitted with very high speeds, on the order of 1.6 X 107

meters per second (m/s), and, consequently, have very highkinetic en-ergy. Alpha particles emitted when radium, forexam-ple, decays are found to consist of two groups, thosewith a kinetic energy of 48.79 X 105 electron volts (ev) andthose having an energy of 46.95 X 105 ev. This k-netic energymust be dissipated when the alpha particles are absorbed bythe conductor forming inductor 5. During the absorptionprocess, each alpha particle will

collide with one or more atoms in the conductor knock-ing electrons from their orbits and imparting some ki-netic energy to the electrons. This results in increasednumbers of conduction electrons in the conductorthereby increasing its conductivity.Since the alpha particle is a positively charged ion,while the alpha particle is moving it will have an associ-ated magnetic field. When the alpha particle is stoppedby the conductor, the magnetic field will collapsethereby inducing a pulse of current in the conductorproducing a net increase in the current flowing in thecircuit 1. Also, there will be additional electronsstripped from orbit due to ionization produced by thepositively charged alpha particles.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the nuclear battery 20 isconstructed in a cylindrical configuration. Inductor 5 isconstructed of copper wire wound in a single layeraround the radioactive core 7. Decay products, such asalpha particles, are emitted radially outward from thecore 7 as indicated by arrows 2 to be absorbed by thecopper conductor forming inductor 5. Eight transform-ers 15 are arranged in a circular pattern to form a cylin-der concentric with and surrounding inductor 5. Thetransformers 15 have primary windings 9a-9h con-nected in series which are then connected in series withinductor 5 and capacitor 3 to form an LCR circuit. Thecentral core 7, inductor 5 and the eight transformers 15are positioned within a cylindrical-shaped container 19.Copper wire is wound in a single layer on the outsidewall and the inside wall of cylinder 19 to form windings23 and 21 respectively. The transformers 15 secondarywindings I3a-I3h and windings 21 and 23 are con-nected in series to output terminals 25 and 27. The con-figuration of inductor 5 is designed to insure maximumirradiation of the copper conductor by the radioactive

core source 7. The cylindrical configuration of thepower transformer insures maximum transformer effi-ciency with minimum magnetic flux leakage. Referringnow to FIG. 3, the radioactive core 7 comprises aradium needle 39 surrounded by a cylinder ofpowdered thorium 31 having a plurality of uraniumrods 33 positioned within the thorium 31. The pow-dered thorium 31 is contained by concentric cylinderwalls 35 and 37. The use of a mixture of theseradioactive materials for the core 7 produces asynergistic effect in that a greater flux of alphaparticles is produced than by any one of the materialsabove due to additional induced disintegration eventsoccuring.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, top and sideviews of a nuclear battery constructed in accordancewith the principles of the present invention is shown.The inductor core 7 consists of radium needle 39positioned longi-tudinally in the center of a cylinder ofpowdered tho-rium 31. The powdered thorium 31 iscontained by concentric cylinder walls 35 and 37 (amaterial such as light cardboard may be utilized for thispurpose). Induc-tor 5 is formed from two layers ofAmerican Wire Gage (AWG) #8 copper wire, onelayer 41 wound on the inward facing wall 37surrounding the radium needle 39 and the other layer 43wound on the outside of wall 35 thereby surroundingthe powdered thorium 31 and uranium rods 33. Theinductor core 7 is 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 6inches long, with an overall diameter of 1 5/8 inchesfor inductor 5. The eight transformers 15 each have acore 45 of laminated silicon steel 3/4 inches square by6 inches in length. The primary windings 9a-9h eachconsist of four layers of AWG #18 copper wire and thesecondary windings 13a-13/i each consist

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of two layers of AWG #12 copper wire. Thetransformers 15 have an overall outside diameter of 11/4 inches. The outer cylinder 19 is laminated siliconsteel and an inner winding 21 of AWG # 12 copperwire and an outer winding 23 of AWG # 12 copperwire. End plates 47 and 49 consisting of 1/2 inchthick annular rings of laminated silicon steel havingan inner diameter of 2 3/4 inches and outer diameter of4 3/4 inches are utilized to provide a low reluctancepath to complete the magnetic circuit as shown bydashed line 51.When assembled, the nuclear battery is immersed in anoil-filled can (not shown) equipped with heat sinks (notshown) to provide the necessary cooling for the powertransformer. The capacitor 3 used in the LCR 15 circuitis a high Q energy discharge resonant capacitor of theoil filled type.Using a one millicurie radium needle 39, 200 grams ofuranium 33 and 100 grams of powdered thorium 31 inthe configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, at 86 kiloHz,20 a continuous output of 23 amperes at 400 volts into aresistance load has been achieved. A configuration uti-lizing additional radium needles 53, as shown in FIG. 4,may be used to achieve higher power outputs.While I have shown and descr ibed the prefe r redembodiment of my invention, it wil l be apparent tothose skilled in the art that this invention is not limitedto the specific structure described herein and that nu-merous changes and variations may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention orexceeding the scope of the appended claims. I claim:

1. Apparatus for converting radioactive energy toelectrical energy, said apparatus comprising:an electrical conductor wound on a core to form aninductor having a first inductance, said core being ofradioactive material;a capacitor having a predetermined capacitance C; atransformer having a primary winding, a secondarywinding and a trans former core , sa id primarywinding and said secondary winding wound on saidtransformer core, said primary winding having a secondinductance, said secondary winding forcoupling electrical energy to a workload; andelectrical conductor means for connecting said inductor,said capacitor and said primary winding in seriesfashion to form a series LCR circuit wherein electricaloscillations are induced, said electrical oscillationsbeing sustained and amplified by the energytransferred to said electrical conductor by theradioactive decay of said radioactive material, whereinL is the sum of said first inductance and said secondinductance and R is a predetermined resistance.

1. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said core is comprised of at least two different radioactive materials.

2. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said radioactivematerials decay primarily by alpha particle emission.

3. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said core is comprised of three radioactive materials.

4. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said three radioactive materials comprise radium, uranium and thorium.

5. Apparatus for converting the energy of radioactivedecay products to electr ical energy, said apparatuscomprising:an electrical conductor wound on a core to form aninductor having a first inductance, said core beingfabricated of radioactive material;a capacitor having a predetermined capacitance C; aplurality of transformers disposed in a generally circularconfiguration to form a cylinder, said core being disposedwithin said cylinder, the longitudinal axis of said corebeing coincident with the longitudinal axis of said cylinder,each of said plurality of transformers having a primarywinding and a secondary winding, each of said pluralityof primary windings connected in series fashion with theremaining primary windings, each of said plurality ofsecondary windings connected in series fashion with theremaining secondary windings, said series-connectedsecondary windings for coupling electrical energy to aworkload; and electrical conductor means for connectingsaid inductor, said capacitor, said series-connected primarywindings and a predetermined resistance R in a seriesfashion to form a series LCR circuit wherein electricaloscillations are induced, said electrical oscillations beingsustained and amplified by the energy transferred to saidelectrical conductor by the radioactive decay of saidradioactive material.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said core is comprised of at least two different radioactive materials.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7 wherein said series LCRcircuit comprises an inductance L equivalent to the sumof the inductances of said inductor and said series-connected primary windings, capacitance C and a resistance R equal to the total distributed DC resistance ofsaid LCR circuit.

9. Apparatus as in claim 8 further including an outercylinder enclosing said cylinder and having its longitudinal axis coincident with the longitudinal axis of saidcore, an inner winding disposed adjacent the inner surface of said outer cylinder, an outer winding wound onthe outer surface of said outer cylinder, said inner andouter windings connected in series fashion with saidseries-connected secondary windings for coupling electrical energy to a workload.

10. Apparatus as in claim 9 wherein said core is comprised of a mixture of radium, uranium, and thorium.

Fig. 1 ist ein schematisches Diagramm einesLC gleichenden resonanten Schaltkreis inAnlehnung der Prinzipien dieser Erfindung:Fig. 2 ist das Verdrahtungsschema derNuklearbatteriekonstruktion in Anlehnungder Prinzipien dieser Erfindung:Fig. 3 ist die Draufsicht des radioaktivenKerns der Nukleare Batterie die in Fig. 2gezeigt ist.Fig. 4 ist die Draufsicht auf die NukleareBatterie die in Fig.2 gezeigt ist; undFig. 5 ist eine Seitenansicht am Schnitt A –Agezogen der Nuklearen Batterie die in Fig. 2gezeigt ist.DETAILIERTE BESCHREIBUNG DERBEVORZUGTEN AUSFÜHRUNG

Wenden wir uns nun Fig. 1 zu, ein elektrischerSchaltkreis wird gezeigt der Nuklear BatterieKonstruktion entsprechend in Anlehnung derPrinzipien dieser Erfindung. Der LCR-Kreisenthält den Kondensator 3, die Spule 5, denTransformator T, die primär Windung 9 undden Widerstand 11 alle in Serie geschaltet. Eswird angenommen, dass die elektrischeLeiterverbindung der vielenSchaltungselemente und die Induktivität 5 unddie primäre Windung 9 perfekte Leiter wären,d.h. kein DC-Widerstand. Widerstand 11 istein Lastwiderstand entsprechend demgesamten DC-Widerstandes der 25 aktuellenSchaltungskomponenten und Leitern. DieInduktivität 5 ist auf einen Kern gewickelt, deraus einer Mixtur von radioaktiven Elementenbesteht, welche hauptsächlich Alfa-Strahlungabgeben. Wenn Strom in einem elektrischenSchaltkreis fließt, wir Energie verschwendetoder geht in Form von Hitze verloren. Deshalbgilt, wenn Schwingungen in einen LCR-Kreisgegeben werden, werden die Schwingungenabklingen und an Energie verlieren, es seidenn, es wird ständig Energie zugeführt um dieSchwingung zu erhalten. In dem in Fig. 1gezeigtem LCR-Kreis wird eine PortionEnergie dem Zerfallsprodukt verliehen, wieAlfa-Partikeln, während dem radioaktivenZerfall des Materials; dann kommt der Kern 7in die Betrachtung des Schaltkreises 1 mithinein, wenn die Zerfallsprodukte von demLeiter, welcher Induktivität 5 bildet, absorbiertwerden. Ist einmal die Schwingung in demLCR-Kreis eingeleitet, wird durch dieInduktivität 5 von dem radioaktivem Zerfalldes Materials von Kern 7 absorbiert undsolange aufrecht erhalten, bis die absorbierterEnergie gleich der im Widerstand derSchaltung 1 verbrauchten ist. Wenn dieAbsorption größer ist, als die Menge desEnergieverlutes durch ohmsches Aufheizen,

wird die Schwingung verstärkt. DieseZusatzenergie kann der Last 17 zugeführtwerden, welche über den Trafo T und derSekundärwindung 13 angeschlossen ist. DieProzesse, die in der Umwandlung der Energieausgelöst durch den spontanen Zerfall einesradioaktiven Materials in elektrische Energiebeteiligt sind, sind zahlreich und kompliziert.Materialien, welche natürlich radioaktiv sind,zerfallen in Alfa-Partikel, Beta-Partikel undGamma Strahlen begleiten vielleicht denProzess. Material, welches primär in Alfa-Partikel zerfällt ist für das Kernmaterial derInduktionsspule 7 vorzuziehen. Alfa-Partikelwerden mit einer sehr hohen Geschwindigkeitausgesandt, in der Regel mit 1,6 x 10^7 Meterpro Sekunde und, daraus Folgt, sie haben einehohe kinetische Energie. Die ausgestrahltenAlphapartikel wenn Radium z.B. zerfällt,werden zwei Gruppen bestehend aus, denenmit einer kinetischen Energie von 48,79 x 10^5Elektronenvolt (ev) und, die eine Energie vonev 46,95 X10^5 gefunden. Diese kinetischeEnergie muss verschwinden, wenn die Alfa-Partikel von dem Leiter der die Induktivität 5bildet absorbiert werden. Während desAbsorptionsprozesses, wird jeder Alfa-Partikelmit einem oder mehrer Atome in dem Leiterzusammenstoßen, Elektronen aus ihrem Orbitschlagen und kinetische Energie dem Elektronhinzufügen. Das Ergebnis ist eine Erhöhungder freien Elektronen in dem Leiter unddadurch eine Erhöhung seiner Leitfähigkeit.Weil das Alfa-Partikel ein positiv geladenesIon ist, wird es während es sich bewegt, einassoziierendes Magnetfeld haben. Wenn dasAlfa-Partikel von dem Leiter gestoppt wird,wird das Magnetfeld zusammenbrechen unddadurch einen Puls von Strom in dem Leiterinduzieren und eine Nettoerhöhung desStromes in Schaltung 1. Also, dort werdenzusätzliche Elektronen aus dem Orbit aufGrund von Ionisation des positiv geladnenAlfa-Partikels produziert. Bezug nehmend aufFig.2, ist die Nuklear Batterie 20 in einerzylindrischen Konfiguration konstruiert. DieInduktivität 5 ist mit Kupferdraht konstruiert,der einlagig um den radioaktiven Kern 7gewickelt ist. Zerfallsprodukte, wie zumBeispiel Alfa-Partikel, werden radial auswärtsdes Kerns 7 emittiert, wie die Pfeile 2 zeigen,um von dem Kupferleiter der die Induktivität 5formt absorbiert zu werden. AchtTransformatoren 15 werden in einemkreisförmigen Muster geordnet, um einenZylinder zu bilden, der konzentrisch dieInduktivität 5 umgibt. Die Primärwindungen9a-9h des Transformators 15 sind in Reihe

geschaltet, die wiederum mit der Induktivität 5und dem Kondensator 3 in Reihe geschaltetsind, um einen LCR-Kreis zu bilden. Derzentrale Kern 7, Induktivität 5 und die achtTransformatoren 15 sind innerhalb eineszylinderförmigen Behältnisses 19 aufgestellt.Kupferdraht ist einlagig auf der Außenseiteund der Innenseite des Zylinders 19 gewickelt,um die Windungen 21 und 23 zu bilden. DesTransformators 15 Sekundärwindungen 13a-13h und die Windungen 21 und 23 sind inReihe mit den Ausgangsklemmen 25 und 27verbunden. Die Konfiguration von derInduktivität 5 ist so gestaltet, um einemaximale Bestrahlung des kupfernen Leitersdurch den radioaktiven Kern 7 zugewährleisten Die zylindrische Konfigurationdes Leistungstransformators gewährt einemaximal Transformatoreneffizienz mitminimalen magnetischen Verlusten. Bezugnehmend auf Fig.3, der radioaktive Kern7umfasst eine Radiumnadel 39 umgeben voneinem Zylinder aus pulverisiertem Thorium 31mit einer Vielzahl von Uranstäben 33 in demThorium 31 eingebettet. Das pulverisierteThorium 31 wird von konzentrischzylindrischen Wänden 35 und 37 gekapselt DerGebrauch der Mischung dieser radioaktivenMaterialien für den Kern 7 produziert einenSynergieeffekt, der in einem größeren Alfa-Partikelfluss, als bei einem einzelnen der obengenannten Materialien resultiert ,welches sichin einem zusätzlich induziertemZerfallsprozess äußert. Bezug nehmend aufFig.2 4 und 5, wird die Drauf und Seitenansichtder nuklearen Batterie gezeigt, in Anlehnungder Prinzipien dieser Erfindung. DirInduktivität 7 enthält einen Radiumnadel, dielängswärts in dem Zylinder von pulverisiertemThorium 31 sitzt. Das pulverisierte Thoriumwird von konzentrischen zylindrischenWänden 35 und 37 gehalten (ein Material wieleichte Pappe kann für diesen Zweckverwendet werden). Die Induktivität 5 ist auszwei Lagen von AWG #8 (D=3,26,Qmm=8,35) Kupferdraht hergestellt, die einenLage 41 ist auf der Innenseite der Wand 37umgeben von der Radiumnadel, die andere,Lage 43, ist auf der Außenseite der Wand 35umgeben von dem pulverisiertem Thorium 31und den Uranstäben 33. Die Induktionsspule(Kern) 7 ist 1 ¼ Inch (3,81 cm) imDurchmesser und 6 Inch (15,42 cm) lang, miteinem Gesamtdurchmesser 1 5/8 Inch (41,27mm) für die Induktivität 5. Jeder von den achtTransformatoren 15 besitzt ein 3/4 Inch (1,905cm) breiten und 6 Inch (15,42 cm) langenKern 45 aus laminiertem Siliziumstahl. Jede

Primärwindung 9a-9h besteht aus vier LagenAWG #18 (D=1,024, Qmm=0,823)Kupferdraht und die Sekundärwindung 13a-13ibesteht aus zwei Lagen AWG #12 (D=2,05,Qmm=3,31) Kupferdraht. Der Transformator15 hat einen Gesamtaußendurchmesser von 1¼ Inch (3,175 cm). Der äußere Zylinder 19 istaus laminiertem Siliziumstahl und die innereWindung 21 aus AWG # 12 (D=2,05,Qmm=3,31) Kupferdraht und die äußere Spule23 aus AWG #12 (D=2,05, Qmm=3,31)Kupferdraht. Endplatte 47 und 49 bestehen aus½ inch (1,27 cm) dickem ringförmigen Kreisaus laminiertem Stahl mit demInnendurchmesser von 2 3/4 inch (6,985cm)und einen Außendurchmesser von 4 4/3Inch (12,065 cm), es wird gebraucht, um eineniedere Reluktanz zu erhalten und denmagnetischen Kreis zu vervollständigen, wie inden gestrichelten Linien 51 zu sehen. Wenn siezusammengebaut wird, wird dieNuklearbatterie in einem ölgefüllten Kanister(nicht gezeigt) eingebaut ausgestattet mitKühlblechen (nicht gezeigt) um dasnotwendige Abkühlen für denLeistungstranformator zur Verfügung zustellen. Der Kondensator 3, der im LCR-Stromkreis benutzt wird, ist einResonanzölkondensator mit hohem Q. DasGebrauchen von einer millicurie Radiumnadel39, 200 Gramm Uran und 100 Grammpulverisiertem Thorium 31 in derKonfiguration gezeigt in Fig. 2 und 3 b, bei 86kHz, konnte ein kontinuierlicher Strom von 23Ampere bei 400 Volt in der Last erreichtwerden. Eine Konfiguration mit einerzusätzlichen Radiumnadel 53 , wie in Fig. 4gezeigt, kann benutzt werden um eine nochhöhere Ausgangsleistung zu erreichen.Während ich die bevorzugte Bauart meinerErfindung gezeigt und beschrieben habe, ist esden Fachleuten offensichtlich, dass dieseErfindung nicht auf die spezifische Strukturbegrenzt ist, die hierin beschrieben wird unddass zahlreiche Änderungen und Variationengebildet werden können ohne vom Geist derErfindung abzureisen oder den Bereich derangefügten Patentansprüche zu übersteigen.

Meine Patentansprüche:1. Apparat für das Umwandeln derradioaktiven Energie in elektrische Energie,besagter Apparat enthalte:--------------------Ende Übersetzung-------