Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-01-27
BotteY
Continued From First Page.)

in New York's Radio City yester-
day is tiny, with its power COM
ing from an almost invisible
amount of radioactive strontium,
natural element.
Strontium- 80, a waste product
formed in atomic reactors when
uranium 1885 atoms split, was
used in the battery. This stron-
tium constantly shoots out radia-
ton of several billion electrons
each second. The new trick in
the battery is to make each of
these electrons from the stron-
tium give birth to 100000 more
electrons.
This is done by a wafer of sill
con. similar to a regular transis-
tor, which is a tiny but potent
substitute for vacuum tubes used
to amplify current.
Electrons Flow as Current.
Electrons from the strontium
race through the silicon wafer,
each knocking loose 100000
electrons from atoms of silicon.
The electrons flow out as cur
rent.
The battery runs when the
Strontium is brought close to the
silicon. and it stops when the
strontium is pulled away. The
strontium in this experimental
battery is in the tip of rod
which is pushed into contact
with the silicon wafer.
Only enough current-a mil
lionth of watt-was produced
in the experimental battery to
make a steady hum in a tele-
phone earpiece to which it was
connected.
A telegraph key was connected
to this circuit. And Mr.. Sarnoff.
once a ship radio operator. tap
ped out a pioneer message with
electricity obtained by the direct
conversion of atomic energy. 1t
read:
Atoms for peace. Man is still
the greatest miracle and the
greatest problem on this earth"
Good for 20 Years.
Despite the size of the expert
mental battery, it is good for 20
years since it takes that long
for the strontium to lose half
its power.
Much work remains to make
the battery more efficient, but
Mr.. Sarnof said the RCA de-
velopment may prove to be as
significant as Edison's. CONVEX
sion of electricity to light"
Baby though it is, the Battery
may be like Faraday's first pro-
duction of electricity 100 years
ago. No one then could foresee
that his baby would grow into
great power stations, lighted
homes, auto batteries and the
energy Of billions of horses, Mr..
Sarnof said.
He said the success OF this
atomic battery marks a major
break-through" toward getting
electricity directly from the
nuclei of atoms.
Mr.. Sarnoff foresaw that the
batteries-after they are made
more efficient-may supply pow
er for radio. and telephone COM
munication. And some day a
little box in your house might
run your lights and all electrical
equipment" Mr.. Sarnoff said.
Strauss Halls Development.
Lewis L. Strauss, chairman Of
the Atomic Energy Commission
in Washington, sent a letter to
Mr.. Sarnof saying, From here
it looks as though the develop
ment might have real usefulness
in the communication field"
Although in such an amount
as to be almost invisible, the
strontium- in the battery
costs $25. Mr.. Sarnoff said that
with high demand for it the cost
could be reduced to a few cents.
The main cost comes in separat-
ing it from other radioactive
chemicals.
Development work on the bat
terry in RCA laboratories was
credited to DR.. Ernest Linder,
Paul Rappaport. DR.. Irving Wolff
and DIR. f.. w. EngStrOm.