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Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
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A radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or radioisotope power system, is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioact
A pellet of 238PuO2 as used in the RTG for the Cassini and Galileo missions. This photo was taken after insulating the pellet under a graphite blanket
A pellet of 238PuO2 as used in the RTG for the Cassini and Galileo missions. This photo was taken after insulating the pellet under a graphite blanket for several minutes and then removing the blanket. The pellet is glowing red hot due to the heat from radioactive decay (primarily α). The initial output is 62 watts.
Inspection of Cassini-Huygens RTGs before launch
Inspection of Cassini-Huygens RTGs before launch
New Horizons in assembly hall
New Horizons in assembly hall
90Sr-powered Soviet RTGs in dilapidated condition.
90Sr-powered Soviet RTGs in dilapidated condition.
Plutonium-238
Videos
Plutonium-238 is a radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years.
Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
…Commission. The project was led by Dr. Bertram C. Blanke. The first RTG launched into space by the United States was SNAP 3B in 1961 powered by 96 grams of plutonium-238 metal, aboard the Navy Transit 4A spacecraft. One of the first terrestrial uses of RTGs was in 1966 by the US Navy at uninhabited Fairway Rock in Alaska…
Plutonium-238 oxide pellet glowing from its decay heat
Plutonium-238 oxide pellet glowing from its decay heat
Ernest O. Lawrence's 60-inch cyclotron at the University of California Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, in August, 1939, the most powerful acc
Ernest O. Lawrence's 60-inch cyclotron at the University of California Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, in August, 1939, the most powerful accelerator in the world at the time. Glenn T. Seaborg and Edwin M. McMillan (right) used it to discover plutonium, neptunium, and many other transuranic elements and isotopes, for which they received the 1951 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Diagram of the 238Pu Milliwatt RTG source.
Diagram of the 238Pu Milliwatt RTG source.
Radioisotope-powered cardiac pacemaker developed by the Atomic Energy Commission in the United States. The atomic battery stimulates the pulsing actio
Radioisotope-powered cardiac pacemaker developed by the Atomic Energy Commission in the United States. The atomic battery stimulates the pulsing action of a malfunctioning heart. Circa 1967.