Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems．While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves．University of Missouri（MU） researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient．
“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density（密度）”，said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and puter engineering at MU．“The radioisotope（放射性同位素） battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries．”
Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro / nanoelectromechanical systems （M/NEMS）．Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe．
“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems．”
His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor（半导体）．Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor．
“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure（晶体结构） of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem．”
Together with J．David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery．In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials．Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair．
【小题1】Jae Kwon gave examples in Paragraph 4 ．A．to show chemical batteries are widely applied． B．to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used．C．to describe a nuclear-powered system．D．to introduce various energy sources．【小题2】According to Jae Kwon, his nuclear battery ．A．uses a solid semiconductorB．will soon replace the present ones．C．could be extremely thinD．has passed the final test．【小题3】The text is most probably a ．A．science news reportB．book reviewC．newspaper adD．science fictionB
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(答案→)B
解析：本文介绍了新型的核技术的电池的发展，这种电池体积更小，能量更大。
【小题1】B 推理题。根据本段nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems．”说明现在的技术已经很完美，安全性能也很高，说明主语的电池可以被安全地使用，故B正确。
【小题2】C 细节题。根据文章最后一句Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair．说明这样的电池可能会非常thin。故C项正确。
【小题3】A 推理题。本文是关于新型的电池的研究，其中涉及到高科技的核技术，那么最有可能是从科技报告中取出来的，故A正确。