Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!vsi1!daver!lynx!neal
From: neal@lynx.uucp (Neal Woodall)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: How is Voyager powered?
Summary: RTG's for the home??? Maybe!!!
Message-ID: <6087@lynx.UUCP>
Date: 29 Aug 89 04:41:47 GMT
References: <26965@amdcad.AMD.COM> <1910@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> <1989Aug25.170058.6538@cs.rochester.edu>
Reply-To: neal@lynx.UUCP (Neal Woodall)
Distribution: na
Organization: Lynx Real-Time Systems Inc, Campbell CA
Lines: 39

In article <1989Aug25.170058.6538@cs.rochester.edu> dietz@cs.rochester.edu.UUCP (Paul Dietz) writes:
>In article <1910@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> oconnordm@CRD.GE.COM (Dennis M. O'Connor) writes:

>>I believe Voyager uses one or more RTGs. RTGs contain a sub-critical
>>mass of a fissionable material ( plutonium, I think ? ). The
>>fission occuring causes the fuel to be hot.

>No, the RTGs use Pu-238, which undergoes alpha decay, not fission.

I read recently (in the Wall Street Journal maybe) about a company that
wants to market a commercial RTG in the US! The design was their own, was
based on decay of strontium 90, was the size of a large coffee can, and
supplied 75 watts (no voltage/current given). It can supply power for
about 25 years (even though the article did not say it, I am sure that
the power by the end of the RTG's lifetime must be way down).

And, the company wants to market a larger version in the future! They
envision a larger version that will be about the size of a 5 gallon water
container (like is used on a water cooler) and will produce about 300
watts! Now we are talking about some useful power!

The article said nothing about the cost of such a device, but since it was
in the WSJ, I would assume that the thing has some kind of viable life as
a commercial product, IFF the NRC will allow the sale of them in the US.
"Who would buy them", you ask? Well, how about survivalists, or people who
live in very remote areas, or even people who are pissed off at the electric
utilities (assuming the cost is not prohibitively high). I would buy one of 
the large ones if it were less than 2500 $ or so.....it would be a great way
to power a VERY remote mountain retreat.

I will try to find the article an post more details......







Neal