Diamonds for Power? Who knew!?
We all love carbon, well if it's been under high pressure and high temperature (and has our 4 favorite C's) a.k.a. a diamond! What if we could create a diamond that produces electricity? Well we can! Unlike typical synthetic diamonds, these man-made diamonds are produced from nuclear waste from power plants. These diamonds generate an electrical current when placed in a radioactive field. VÓILA! A nuclear powered diamond battery. For it to be used safely, a layer of non-radioactive diamond (carbon) would surround the first layer, creating a safe and useful diamond. This layer absorbs dangerous radiation and creates more electricity. Only a tiny bit of radiation can be detected on the outside of the carbon-coated diamond. How much radiation? Less radiation than a banana!
Since the shelf life of the nuclear waste (carbon-14) takes thousands of years to decay, we would have loads of power from these diamonds until the year 7746. Keep in mind; diamonds are the hardest substance known to man making it a more safe (and a beautiful) choice of a battery. What a great, safe way to utilize the carbon-14?! Check out the video from the University of Bristol for more information. And pardon me, while I go drive my diamond powered car! #DiamondBattery