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Topic: Radioisotope thermal generator

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	NASA - JPL Solar System Simulator
		Accurate except no thermal blanketing is shown (this would cover most of the central structure of the spacecraft).
		Thermal louvres assembly for Cassini spacecraft from CAD models.
		Radioisotope thermal generator assembly for Cassini spacecraft from CAD models.
	samadhi.jpl.nasa.gov /models (411 words)

	Radioisotope thermoelectric generator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		RTGs can be considered as a type of battery and have been used as power sources in satellites, space probes and unmanned remote facilities.
		The design of an RTG is simple by the standards of nuclear technology: the main component is a sturdy container of a radioactive material (the fuel).
		As well as this, RTGs were used to power the two Viking landers and for the scientific experiments left on the Moon by the crews of Apollo 12–17.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Radioisotope_thermal_generator (2112 words)

	POWER SYSTEMS
		RTGs have been used since the 1960s to power satellites for which solar cells are undesirable or impractical.
		RTGs work by using the heat generated by the radioactive decay of an artificially-produced isotope to heat one end of a solid-state thermoelectric generator [Piscane94], the other end being cooled by exposure to space.
		The generator consists of series-wired alternate p-type and n-type semiconductor elements; a temperature gradient along each element causes it to produce a potential difference across it due to the thermoelectric (Seebeck) effect.
	homepage.mac.com /sjbradshaw/msc/power.html (1725 words)

	Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-04)
		A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) is a very simple electrical generator which obtains its power from passive radioactive decay.
		Such a generator uses the fact that radioactive materials (such as plutonium-238) generate heat as they decay into non-radioactive materials.
		Nuclear power stations generate power by a nuclear chain reaction in which the nuclear fission of an atom releases neutrons which cause other atoms to undergo fission.
	www.sciencedaily.com /encyclopedia/radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator (1037 words)

	Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-04)
		Powered by strontium-90, these now pose environmental and security concerns, as leakage or theft of the radioactive material could pass unnoticed for years (or possibly forever; some of these lighthouses cannot be found because of poor record keeping).
		However, the bi-metallic thermocouples used to convert thermal energy into electrical energy degrade as well; at the beginning of 2001, the power generated by the Voyager RTGs had dropped to 315 W for Voyager 1 and to 319 W for Voyager 2, so the thermocouples work at about 80%.
		But RTGs are still a potential source of radioactive contamination: if the container holding the fuel leaks, the radioactive material will contaminate the environment.
	hallencyclopedia.com /Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator (1290 words)

	Thermal shunt for radioisotope thermoelectric generator-chemical battery hybrid configuration - Patent 4097654
		A thermal shunt is provided to recover the rejected heat from a radioisot thermoelectric generator utilized in a hybrid configuration with a chemical battery to maintain the chemical battery at a temperature above the environmental ambient temperature.
		RTG 10 is a cylindrically shaped unit whose energy source is a radioisotope pellet positioned within the cylindrical casing of RTG 10 and in thermal contact with an array of thermocouples.
		Block 22 functions as a thermal shunt to conduct heat rejected from the surface of RTG 10 and direct this heat to batteries 12 and 14.
	www.freepatentsonline.com /4097654.html (1430 words)

	Viking program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Scientific instruments for conducting imaging, atmospheric water vapor, and infrared thermal mapping were enclosed in a temperature-controlled, pointable scan platform extending from the base of the orbiter.
		Power was provided by two radioisotope thermal generator (RTG) units containing plutonium-238 affixed to opposite sides of the lander base and covered by wind screens.
		Each generator was 28 cm tall, 58 cm in diameter, had a mass of 13.6 kg and provided 30 W continuous power at 4.4 volts.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Viking_Lander (1324 words)

	Radioisotope Thermal Generator (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-04)
		Radioisotope Thermal Generators produce electricity from the heat emitted by decaying radioactive material.
		In an RTG this temperature difference is maintained by cooling one plate in the vacuum of space and heating the other with the radioactive decay of plutonium 238.
		RTGs are extremely reliable because they have no moving parts and can provide hundreds of watts of power for decades.
	cede.psu.edu /~rpw133/Project2/RTG.htm (95 words)

	radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)
		RTGs employ banks of thermoelectric elements (typically silicon-germanium unicouples) to convert the heat generated by the decay of a radioisotope, such as plutonium-238 (half-life of 87.7 years), into electricity.
		They are relatively expensive and heavy, and, because they produce nuclear and thermal radiation that can interfere with electronics and science instruments, are generally mounted some distance away from other equipment.
		RTGs have also been used to power Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager, Viking, the Apollo surface experiments, and, more recently, Ulysses.
	www.daviddarling.info /encyclopedia/R/RTG.html (217 words)

	Radioisotope thermoelectric generator : RTG (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-04)
		A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) uses the fact that radioactive materials (such as plutonium) generate heat as they decay into non-radioactive materials.
		Fission generates very large amounts of heat, but is much more complex and not as reliable as simply using the heat produced by radioactive decay.
		It was agreed the terms of surrender.html">surrender.html">surrender.html">surrender.html">surrender, and I appointed Major Generals Wheeler and desirous of retaining their arms.
	www.explainthat.info /rt/rtg.html (586 words)

	Search Encyclopedia.com
		generator generator, in electricity, machine used to change mechanical energy into electrical energy.
		Btu, unit for measuring heat quantity in the customary system of English units of measurement, equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water at its maximum density [which occurs at a temperature of 39.1 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) ] by 1°F. The Btu may also...
		A water, or hydraulic, turbine is used to drive electric generators in hydroelectric power stations.
	www.encyclopedia.com /searchpool.asp?target=Radioisotope+thermal+generator (342 words)

	Welcome to allGENERATORS.org!
		Generators are a common fixture in a number of different types of settings, from homes to offices to industrial buildings.
		Generators can be extremely large, producing power for entire city blocks, or very small when needed only as backup by a home or small office in case of a power outage.
		The age of a generator will also have a large impact in its design, since the technology of power generation is continually changing and developing in response to various factors, from efficiency to environmental friendliness and resource depletion.
	www.AllGenerators.org (632 words)

	Argonne-West aids NASA spacecraft travel
		RTGs convert heat from radioactive decay to electricity and have been standard equipment on spacecraft since 1969.
		One of the first RTGs used in the space program was placed on the moon’s surface by the Apollo 11 crew to power experiments during the two-week lunar nights when solar panels are useless.
		The RTG’s heat source is a form of plutonium that is unattractive for use in weapons.
	www.anl.gov /Media_Center/Frontiers/2004/d9ee.html (471 words)

	Search Encyclopedia.com
		heat capacity heat capacity or thermal capacity, ratio of the change in heat energy of a unit mass of a substance to the change in temperature of the substance; like its melting point or boiling point, the heat capacity is a characteristic of a substance.
		Originally defined in thermodynamics in terms of heat and temperature, entropy indicates the degree to which a given quantity of thermal energy is available for doing useful work—the greater the entropy...
		commutator commutator, device used in an electric generator to convert the alternating current produced in the generator into direct current before the current is sent into an external circuit; it is basically a rotary switching device synchronized with the frequency of the alternating current.
	www.encyclopedia.com /search.asp?target=Radioisotope+thermal+generator&rc=10&fh=3&fr=21 (433 words)

	radioisotope
		Cotara(R) is designed to bind to the dead or dying tissue within the tumor and, once bound, its radioisotope irradiates nearby cells resulting in the death of...
		SPECT is a radioisotope test that produces a three-dimensional picture of the amount of blood flowing in certain regions of the brain.
		Radioisotope measurements suggest that the zircons were crystallized, erupted with volcanic ashes, and deposited about 663 million years ago.
	www.cancer-help.org /cancer/0604/radioisotope.html (1656 words)

	Cassini Cancers ("The Plutonium Story") by Horst Albin Poehler, Ph. D.
		The purpose of the three radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) is to supply 855 watts of electrical power to the spacecraft on its Saturn mission.
		The RTG assembly is completed by stacking 18 modules, side by side, in a column, surrounding them with thin multifoil insulation, and a cover of 1/16 inch aluminum, to form a cylinder, 1.5 feet in diameter and 4 feet long, Figure 4.
		The most significant environments threatening the RTGs from command destruct shutdown would be blast overpressures (shock waves) from the explosion of the liquid propellants and fragments generated by the breakup of the Cassini spacecraft, the Centaur, and the SRMUs.
	www.animatedsoftware.com /cassini/hp9708ps.htm (5837 words)

	Phobos Final
		During this period the RTG (on the stationary lander) is the sole source of power for the entire spacecraft.
		The boom for the RTG is constructed of steel and titanium.
		During the launch configuration, the RTG boom is rigidly attached to the payload fairing of the launch vehicle (NASA, 1977).
	www.tsgc.utexas.edu /archive/design/phobos (10264 words)

	POWER SYSTEMS (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-04)
		RTGs have been used since the 1960s to power satellites for which solar cells are undesirable or impractical.
		RTGs work by using the heat generated by the radioactive decay of an artificially-produced isotope to heat one end of a solid-state thermoelectric generator [Piscane94], the other end being cooled by exposure to space.
		The generator consists of series-wired alternate p-type and n-type semiconductor elements; a temperature gradient along each element causes it to produce a potential difference across it due to the thermoelectric (Seebeck) effect.
	www.cix.co.uk /~sjbradshaw/msc/power.html (1725 words)

	Compact DC electric power generator using low bandgap thermophotovoltaic cell strings with a hydrocarbon gas burner ...
		The thermophotovoltaic generating method of claim 1 wherein the cells in the strings are Ga.sub.1-x In.sub.x Sb cells where x is a value between 0 and 0.2.
		The thermophotovoltaic generating method of claim 1 further comprising supplying cooling air to the cell strings and supplying air to the burner-emitter-regenerator by means of a fan.
		The thermophotovoltaic generator of claim 8 wherein the burner tube has a polygonal surface with a number of sides being equal to a number of the cell strings.
	www.freepatentsonline.com /5312521.html (4576 words)

	thermal electric generator (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-04)
		SEDA accreditation, a 'green' electricity generator is 'one which utilises a renewable energy...
		Newell consist of one propane-powered thermal electric generator, one propane tank, and one environmental shelter of frame and plywood construction.
		Members purchasing and installing a heat pump, an electric thermal storage system, back up generator, energy efficient ventilation system for a barn or a natural-air grain dryer are eligible for a 8...
	www.home-generators.us /thermalelectricgenerator (1358 words)

	Cassini Cancers ("The Plutonium Story") by Horst Albin Poehler, Ph. D.
		The purpose of the three radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) is to supply 855 watts of electrical power to the spacecraft on its Saturn mission.
		Electricity is generated by a bank of thermocouples that convert the heat emitted by the plutonium fuel to electrical power.
		The most significant environments threatening the RTGs from command destruct shutdown would be blast overpressures (shock waves) from the explosion of the liquid propellants and fragments generated by the breakup of the Cassini spacecraft, the Centaur, and the SRMUs.
	www.lovearth.net /poehler.htm (5753 words)

	Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-04)
		A thermocouple is a thermoelectric device that converts thermal energy directly into
		radioisotope heater units are also used by various spacecraft for heating including the
		thermal energy into electrical energy degrade as well; at the beginning of 2001, the power generated by the Voyager RTGs had dropped to 315 W for Voyager 1 and to 319 W for Voyager 2, therefore the thermocouples were at that time, working at about 80% their original level.
	en.efactory.pl /RTG (2014 words)

	Apollo 12 Science Experiments
		Each experiment was connected by a cable to the ALSEP central station, which provide radio communication to Earth and electrical power from a radioisotope thermal generator.
		Some of these experiments continued to return data until September 1977, when the entire ALSEP network was turned off due to lack of funding for the ground support team.
		It summarizes some of the general problems encountered with these experiments and provides guidelines for the design of future lunar surface experiments.
	www.lpi.usra.edu /expmoon/Apollo12/A12_science.html (382 words)

	Mars 96 Failure Fuels Cassini Protest
		This form of radiation is in general less hazardous than that made up of gamma rays (pure energy) or neutrons, both of which penetrate the body far easier than alpha particles.
		If one of those pieces were to penetrate the wall of the cargo bay and impact the RTG at the right angle (it would have to be within about 15 degrees of edge-on), it might slice a fuel pellet open like a knife, resulting in some plutonium release.
		RTGs now, Reactors later: The critics argue that if the government gets us to accept RTGs now, then it will be able to put reactors in Earth orbit when they're ready, and the public will accept it.
	www.rmbowman.com /ssn/cassini.htm (5133 words)

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