Overview
- A video from Double M Innovations shows a simple build that sandwiches small tritium vials between two amorphous solar cells and seals the stack in foil.
- Tests recorded roughly 0.45 to 0.5 volts per cell and only nanoamp current, yet a small capacitor crept to about 2.8 to 2.9 volts after a long wait.
- The setup uses the vials’ phosphor glow from tritium’s beta decay to feed the solar cells, though Hackaday noted uncertainty about how much output comes from that glow versus other effects.
- Output is negligible in use, with the creator saying it might only flash an LED on occasion, but the tritium source has a ~12‑year half-life that supports steady trickle charging.
- Reporters contrasted the DIY trick with commercial and research efforts that better match materials or use alpha emitters, including DARPA-backed projects targeting far higher power.