Would it be dangerous for our health?
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00:00 Do you remember when cell phones
00:06 used to be the size of a brick?
00:08 Well, they're about to be the next big thing.
00:12 Again.
00:14 But while that may be just a bit inconvenient,
00:18 you won't have to charge your phone
00:19 for the next 100 years.
00:22 This is WHAT IF,
00:24 and here's what would happen
00:26 if all our gadgets were nuclear-powered.
00:30 Batteries provide portable,
00:32 convenient sources of energy
00:34 for powering devices without wires,
00:36 or cables, or cords.
00:39 They're in our phones,
00:40 our computers,
00:41 our toys,
00:42 our tools,
00:44 and even life-saving technology
00:46 like pacemakers.
00:48 But every battery,
00:49 even the rechargeable ones,
00:51 has a life cycle.
00:53 We've gotten better at making batteries
00:54 last longer,
00:55 but even still,
00:57 Americans throw away
00:58 3 billion batteries every year.
01:02 That's about 180,000 tons of batteries.
01:06 And each one contains
01:08 incredibly harmful materials.
01:11 As convenient as they are,
01:13 batteries are bad for the planet.
01:16 Now, scientists are looking into
01:18 nuclear batteries.
01:20 They would be eco-friendly,
01:22 and could last a lifetime.
01:23 But the real question is,
01:26 would they be safer?
01:30 In 2016,
01:32 a research team at the University of Bristol,
01:34 in the UK,
01:35 created a diamond.
01:37 But that's not even the cool part.
01:39 The cool part is that
01:40 when the team placed their diamond
01:42 in a radiation field,
01:44 it was able to generate
01:46 a small electrical current.
01:49 This nuclear battery that they created
01:51 wasn't very powerful,
01:53 but it was super long-lasting.
01:57 You couldn't put it in a smartphone yet,
01:59 but you could use something like it
02:01 to power smoke detectors,
02:02 emergency signs,
02:04 or e-readers for thousands of years.
02:08 Nuclear batteries would change
02:09 the tech industry forever.
02:12 But it will probably be a while
02:14 before we see that change.
02:16 And we're still not sure
02:18 whether we'd like what we'd see.
02:21 Radioactive batteries have been around
02:23 for more than a century,
02:24 but they aren't used commercially yet
02:26 because, well,
02:28 you've seen how people are
02:29 with their devices.
02:32 If nuclear batteries
02:34 powered our wireless technology,
02:36 sleek and slim designs
02:37 would be out of the question.
02:39 Our cell phones would probably go back
02:42 to being the size of a brick,
02:44 since they'd need a thick outer shell
02:46 to protect us from the dangerous
02:48 radiation of decaying nuclear materials.
02:51 Dropping your phone could even be fatal
02:54 to you and those around you
02:56 if a crack released enough harmful radiation.
02:59 As an extra precaution,
03:00 we'd probably have to start wearing clothes
03:03 made of lead and nickel,
03:04 since they block radiation.
03:07 But even if we were extra careful
03:09 about how we treat our nuclear-powered devices,
03:13 we'd have more long-term risks to worry about.
03:16 If we never had to take a break
03:18 to charge our gadgets,
03:19 we'd spend even more time
03:21 glued to our screens.
03:23 Currently, the average American
03:24 spends over five hours
03:26 each day on their phone.
03:28 And 13% of millennials
03:30 say they spend over 12 hours per day
03:33 on their phones.
03:34 If all our batteries lasted forever,
03:37 we might interact with other people
03:39 even less than we do now.
03:41 We'd also damage our eyesight,
03:43 since device screens emit blue light
03:46 and hurt our eyes.
03:48 On the bright side,
03:49 we could use nuclear batteries
03:50 in pacemakers and in hearing implants.
03:54 They would last a lifetime
03:55 and never need to be changed.
03:57 And nuclear batteries would be
03:59 an environmentally sound choice as well.
04:03 A diamond-powered battery
04:04 doesn't produce harmful carbon emissions.
04:08 While the idea of nuclear energy
04:10 tends to remind people of horrible tragedies
04:12 like the Chernobyl disaster,
04:15 the type of radioactive waste material
04:17 that's used in nuclear batteries
04:19 is relatively safe,
04:20 because it can be more easily controlled.
04:24 But the reason why nuclear batteries
04:26 aren't in consumer products yet
04:28 is because researchers are still working
04:31 on making them completely safe
04:33 for the average user.
04:34 Even small doses of radiation,
04:36 like the Sun's rays,
04:38 can be handled by our bodies.
04:39 So a big concern with nuclear batteries
04:42 isn't really the nuclear aspect,
04:44 but how it would affect our society
04:46 and our mental and physical health.
04:49 The constant use of smartphones
04:51 and other gadgets
04:52 can cause several complications
04:53 like eye strain,
04:55 neck pain,
04:56 and wrist pain,
04:57 like carpal tunnel syndrome.
05:00 And spending too much time online
05:02 can lead to increased anxiety
05:04 and antisocial behavior.
05:08 Whether our batteries last 100 years
05:11 or 8 hours,
05:13 we still need to disconnect.
05:15 Real human contact
05:16 is not only essential
05:18 for your physical and mental health,
05:20 it's also irreplaceable.
05:23 But at the same time,
05:25 we all need our personal space.
05:28 Can you imagine how suffocated you'd feel
05:30 if everyone on Earth lived in one city?
05:35 Well, that's a story for another WHAT IF.
05:40 ♪ ♪
05:45 (upbeat music)