In space exploration, solar cells are most commonly used, the former is cheaper, the disadvantage is that it does not have to rely on the sun, and isotope thermogenerators, which are more ideal for power supply.

Isotope thermoelectric generator is also called "nuclear battery" or "atomic energy battery", the principle is the Seebeck effect, according to this thermoelectric effect, at a certain temperature, the material itself will produce a potential difference, the use of radioactive isotope Pu-238 decay process to release heat energy, through the thermocouple into electrical energy, with small size, light weight, stable and reliable performance, long working life, good environmental tolerance and other characteristics, can be space and a variety of special, harsh environmental conditions of high-altitude, ground, The energy is provided by automatic observation stations or signal stations at sea and on the seabed.

Isotope batteries have been used in large countries such as the United States, Lucia, and Dongguo, and are mainly used for the energy supply of spacecraft.

This thermoelectric generator is composed of some semiconductor materials with excellent properties, such as bismuth telluride, lead telluride, germanium-silicon alloy and selenium compounds, which are connected in series. In addition, there must be a suitable heat source and transducer, and a temperature difference between the heat source and the transducer can be formed to generate electricity.

In fact, there is no technical difficulty in this generator itself, the difficulty is the production cost, and the key lies in the raw material Pu-238.

Plutonium-238 is an isotope of plutonium, silvery-white metal, melting point 640 °C, boiling point 3234 °C, atomic number 94, belonging to the periodic B group, with a half-life of 86.4 years Because it only emits α rays during decay, and there are few spontaneous fission neutrons, it is safe and stable, so it has become the most important nuclide of isotope batteries.

But it is not a naturally occurring isotope, at the end of 1940, the United States scientists Seaborg, Macmillan and others discovered plutonium-238 when the United States bombarded uranium with a 16-megaelectron-volt deuterium nuclear accelerated by a 60-inch cyclotron.

At present, plutonium-238 for industrial use is mainly obtained by neutron irradiation of neptunium-237, which is extremely expensive and has a very low yield.

The average value per kilogram is more than £14 million......

For example, the plutonium-238 nuclear battery used in the Perseverance rover has a total weight of only 4.8 kilograms, but the cost is about 70 million pounds...... And so far, the total production of plutonium-238 in the United States is only a few hundred kilograms......

However, what the world does not realize is that the production cost of Hawk Island plutonium-238 is only 330,000 pounds/kg!

Because they improved the production technology of plutonium-238, the material was changed from neptunium-237, a by-product of nuclear reactions, to uranium-238, which is relatively abundant in nature......

As for where uranium-238 comes from, there is uranium mining on Hawke Island itself, but it is not produced much at the moment......

Don't underestimate this small technical improvement, its entry difficulty is more than 3 million! ……

After having this technology, the cost of nuclear batteries produced by Hawk Island is only one-fortieth of that of the United States, and the United States makes a nuclear battery, and Hawker Island can manufacture forty of the same power, and the output has also been greatly improved, and it can produce 500 kilograms a month......

What does this mean?

This means that Hawk Island can maintain a stable heat and power supply for a long time in landing explorations such as the Moon and Mars, almost unrestricted by night!

Yes, plutonium-238 nuclear batteries can not only provide electricity, but also provide direct heating, because plutonium-238 decay itself will release energy, and if you use this energy to generate electricity, you will also lose part of the energy, and it is more cost-effective to heat directly......

This is also the confidence of Hawk Island to dare to build a lunar base in advance, in fact, for a long time, for the United States, the lunar base is not a problem in technology, the problem is in the cost.

The moon base is different from the space station, it has a dark night, and the night is very long, there are 14.77 days, which is also destined to the solar power generation equipment can not stably provide stable power supply for the moon base, long nights, the temperature of more than 100 below zero, if you can not provide enough power of electricity, it will inevitably freeze any astronaut to death......

Solar panels can theoretically solve this problem by using more lithium batteries to store electricity, or by bringing their own fuel oxidizers such as hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity.

But the cost is unacceptably high, this is the moon!

Because the moon is farther away from the blue star than the low-earth orbit where the space station is located, the transportation cost is higher, and with the current strongest rocket carrying capacity in the United States, it can only transport 30-40 tons at a time, and the launch cost is almost 4 billion pounds......

The power supply efficiency of lithium batteries or hydrogen-oxygen generators is too low, and if you want to meet the power supply problem of the moon base at night, I am afraid that it will not solve the problem without launching hundreds of times......

The plutonium-238 nuclear battery is completely different, although due to the conversion rate, the power it can provide is actually not high, but it can provide a large amount of heat directly and stably for a long time!

In the process of decay, the spontaneously generated heat per gram of plutonium-238 can produce 0.6 electrical energy, and about 20 times the heat.

According to the calculations of Hawk Island, only about 1,000 kilograms of plutonium-238 nuclear batteries are needed to ensure the power and heating needs of a 5-person core cabin! And since plutonium-238 has a half-life of up to 86 years, this device can be valid for more than 10 years!

According to the cost of the United States, 1,000 kilograms of plutonium-238 nuclear batteries need about 15 billion pounds, and it is difficult to build them in a short time, but according to the new technology of Hawk Island, the cost of 1,000 kilograms of plutonium-238 nuclear batteries only needs to be 330 million pounds...... Counting the launch cost, the launch cost of 1,000 kilograms in the United States is about 100 million pounds, the launch cost of Musk is almost 60 million pounds, and the launch cost of Hawk Island is almost 30 million pounds......

That's 360 million pounds in total!

This price, too, is cheap enough for space exploration and is completely acceptable!

Now Hawk Island, the biggest advantage is the cost advantage.

The production technology of plutonium-238, they did not disclose it to the public, and the outside world did not know that they had been able to reduce the cost to such a low level.

Because He Xiao plans to sell a little bit after the follow-up production capacity is raised, of course, it will be sold at a high price.

Lack of money! Space exploration is too expensive, there is no return in the short term, and most people are reluctant to invest, so the oil tyrant countries are willing to give him some financing, and many of them actually look at the face of seawater melting equipment......

A kilogram is sold for 10 million pounds, and the United States and the East must rush to ask for it, after all, they are far from being in short supply now. It's cheaper to buy it outright......

The United States even has to import plutonium-238 or its production material, neptunium-237, from its rival Lucia......

Of course, you can't sell too much, and if you sell too much, it will arouse the suspicion of the United States......

But it's not a problem to worry so much about the United States doing itself.

It's time to improve the military strength of Hawk Island, at least so that the United States does not dare to fight itself......

Although with the current military strength of Hawk Island, there is a high probability that the United States will not dare to fight, not that it can't be defeated, but that it is afraid of falling into the quagmire of war.

And no matter what, Hawk Island is also an overseas dominion of the Tulip Country, and there is no reasonable reason and it is not convenient to make a move.

But it's not safe! Your own destiny must still be in your own hands!

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Chapter 091 - Pluium-238 Nuclear Battery Free Read.