At 12:23 PM 19991109 -0800, Jeremiah Alfrey wrote: >Does anyone in the list know anything about the regulations for nuclear power? >I know for a fact that most if not all of the satelites in orbit have nuclear >power supplies as well as rechargable batteries. Where does your information come from? Regulations: you can't get it. Really. If Steve Mann applied for a special research permit, he probably couldn't get one - but if he did, it would be licensed for use inside one particular lab. Not ideal for a wearable. NASA seems to think that most satellites are solar-powered with rechargeable batteries for shaded portions of orbits. Radiothermal generators are primarily used on planetary explorer vehicles (Cassini, Galileo, Voyager, Pioneer...) and the occasional milsat. The current model weighs 120 pounds and produces about 260 watts. DoE has released 44 RTGs and about 250 RT heater units, that they're willing to admit to, anyway. Now, the heater units are interesting: 1.4oz, 1"x1.3" cylinder, generating 1 watt as heat for a minimum of 5 years. Still not likely to be licensed for private mobile operation, though. >If you could get only a small amount of atomic material you could do that >differntial heat power technology. >The only draw back is that the power supply might be a little heavy and you >wouldn'd want to get it too hot. Like over 500degrees would be a little too hot. Well, the RTGs are about 70% efficient in turning heat to electricity. So, a "battery" of 20 RT heaters, plus conversion equipment, could produce a constant 14 watts at a weight penalty of 28 oz plus... -dsr- -- Subcription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" toWear-Hard Mailing List Archive (searchable): http://wearables.blu.org
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