In a bizarre combination of engineering genius and pure foolishness, YouTuber Ian Charnas has built a nuclear-powered Game Boy knock-off that will last for 100 years. His YouTube banner states that he is "winging it", but his invention actually works, and can even be used to play Tetris. And don't worry about radiation burns – Charnas claims his device only emits as much radiation as granite, which many kitchen countertops, public benches, and sculptures are made out of.
Charnas custom-built his very own nuclear battery, capable of producing power for the next 100 years. The battery consists of a row of 25 tiny tritium tubes with two solar cells on either side. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen gas that breaks down into helium. This happens when one of the neutrons in the tritium splits into a proton and an electron – and some other subatomic particles you don't need to worry about. The electron is fired out of the atom and hits the phosphorus coating of the tube, causing a reaction that emits a green glow.
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No dangerous radiation actually leaves the tube, so the battery is perfectly safe unless you crack open the tritium tubes inside and inhale the radioactive gas. This battery produces just enough power to slowly charge some thin-film solid-state batteries that hold their charge incredibly well. The amount of power generated by Charnas' DIY nuclear battery isn't high enough to power a standard Game Boy. Instead, he uses it to power a Tetris handheld. Even so, this is an incredibly impressive feat of electronic engineering.
The custom nuclear cell slowly charges the solid-state batteries, which then in turn power the handheld. Charnas had to leave his device charging for two whole months to get one hour of playtime out of his handheld, so don't expect his invention to be replacing more conventional power sources anytime soon.
If you'd like to own the world's "only portable nuclear-powered video game system", you can enter a raffle Charnas is holding. All proceeds will go towards Chernobyl Children International, a charity helping children dealing with the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
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