From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Fri Feb 15 2002 - 08:32:17 MST
On Fri, Feb 15, 2002 at 06:51:58AM -0800, Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
>
> On Thu, 14 Feb 2002, Anders Sandberg wrote:
>
> > We have spent most work on photovoltaics at wavelengths close
> > to solar radiation, but I don't see why similar ideas can't be used for
> > higher frequencies.
>
> I'm not so sure. Anything at the UV-C frequencies or above has energy
> levels that exceed atomic bond strengths. I'm moderately sure that
> gamma radiation embrittles most materials
What about a liquid gammavoltaic? Imagine a sheet of mercury. The
gamma photons strip away electrons near the surface, causing a
charge imbalance that might be harvestable as electrons flow from
the interior to replace them. You will still need to contain it, but
the containment could be replaced over time as needed, or based on
some form of inertial confinement.
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