DARPA wants to bypass the thermal middleman in nuclear power systems

Re:DARPA wants to bypass the thermal middleman in nuclear po... by baking on Friday August 09, 2024 @06:24PM (#41205859)

I think the issue is the low absorption rate. Eli Yablonovitch proposed a box of PV cells facing inward containing a heat source where the IR light would bounce around until converted to electricity or absorbed as heat. This could be used inside a water heater so waste heat could be stored. Known as thermo-photovoltaics. See this talk I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDxJsa8miNQ

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Re:DARPA wants to bypass the thermal middleman in nuclear po... by not2b on Friday August 09, 2024 @06:43PM (#41205974)

Yes, I see how direct conversion could work with alpha and beta radiation, but it seems the gamma and the neutrons would just blast through everything and you'd capture only a tiny percent of the energy.

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Re:DARPA wants to bypass the thermal middleman in nuclear po... by baking on Friday August 09, 2024 @06:51PM (#41206021)

Sorry, I was responding to the part about IR.

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