just try this:

Mix TiO2 with vinegar and put it onto a NORMAL glas plate.
Then heat the glas plate and apply the dye.
Let the dye soak into the TiO2 and then let it dry.
Then use a burning candle to make a black graphite (lamp black) layer ontop of this TiO2.
This will be the conducting electrical current pickup layer.

Then soak this glas plate into the Iodine electrolyte and use with a bit distance
just graphite paper ( a mix of graphite and acrylic binder) as the second electrode.

Then use a light to shine onto the glas plate to see, if this cell is light sensitive.

Instead of the lampblack layer on the TiO2 you could also use a silver metal wire
or silver mesh to collect the current from the TiO2, if your arguments are
valid, but I guess, as the ITO-TiO2 is missing, there will be no PN-layer and thus
no conversion of light.
You will only see galvanic voltage effects.

I don't really have the time to do experiments at the moment but just one guess why it does not work: the heat of the candle destroys all the dye molecules!

the whole laser dye thing --> i don't know if any of those work but the thing is that they are all almost white or blue -> they absorb nearly nothing of the visible spectrum

the interesting thing about betavoltaic solar cell batteries is night or day when they are not in use you can store unused energy potentials in batteries or super caps to increase energy density output.

this is the next generation of green energy, it is to bad we have to make sure we don't violate certain Isotope laws for certain isotopes, it's like the government knows it's potential and keeps it from being discovered to its highest potential. power mongers have their grips on the most advanced technology used in super secret nuclear spacecraft hidden in the deepest of skunk works. real shame actually.

to;Stefan
Stefan, if I built a betavoltaic solar cell battery that met radiological safety requirements and built it to the specifications of a D size battery and it did what I say it does as a thirty year battery would you except it for qualification of the OU prize? you could simply place the D size BVSCB in a single celled D sized flash light and turn it on and it will not run down for thirty years, hopefully I wouldn't have to wait 30 years to win the prize.

Jerry

the interesting thing about betavoltaic solar cell batteries is night or day when they are not in use you can store unused energy potentials in batteries or super caps to increase energy density output.

this is the next generation of green energy, it is to bad we have to make sure we don't violate certain Isotope laws for certain isotopes, it's like the government knows it's potential and keeps it from being discovered to its highest potential. power mongers have their grips on the most advanced technology used in super secret nuclear spacecraft hidden in the deepest of skunk works. real shame actually.

to;Stefan
Stefan, if I built a betavoltaic solar cell battery that met radiological safety requirements and built it to the specifications of a D size battery and it did what I say it does as a thirty year battery would you except it for qualification of the OU prize? you could simply place the D size BVSCB in a single celled D sized flash light and turn it on and it will not run down for thirty years, hopefully I wouldn't have to wait 30 years to win the prize.

Jerry

Hi Jerry,
if it can at least provide 1 Watts of power contineously and the
materials for it would not be too expensive and would
be available to the general public and it could be selfmade by a hobbyist-tinkerer, why not !

Just build it an apply it for the OU prize !

Many thanks in advance.

Regards, Stefan.

Hi Stefan.

Tritium is currently produced via Neutron bombardment of a Neutron source, the Neutrons are slowed down by a high thermal cross section shield so that Hydrogen's high affinity for Neutrons captures it and converts the Hydrogen to Deuterium, the same is done for Tritium by bombarding Deuterium with a Neutron source.

it is actually the conversion of ordinary water bombarded by Neutrons and being converted to Heavy Water. Deuterium or Tritium rich.

here is a place Tritium can be bought.
http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/faq.html

you can also purchase it from third party retailers.

Tritium requires no license to purchase it or to have it.
technically Tritium is a waste material.

Tritium is inexpensive for its energy potential.

what I gauge energy comparison on is Antimatter reacts with its matter equivalent to release 1.8*10^17 joules per kilogram of antimatter annihilated. This is equivalent to ~43 million tons of TNT.

that is a lot of ionizing radiation.

it makes all other forms of energy conversion look horribly out dated.

1/2 kilogram of Hydrogen contains 9.0 × 10^16 joules of energy potential.

no OU, just highly efficient.

Jerry

..a theoretical matter, which, would consume all non antimatter; thus there would be fuel and no byproducts.

this is something I have thought about in the past and my thoughts on it were this.

with solar cells there is three layers that MUST exist.

a P which is a layer of positively active or basically a layer of atoms that have a need for electrons. the way I have always seen this is that there is a certain amount of electrons all atoms want in their outer most shell. this amount actually though is in two areas. so they can either gain electrons if they do not have it or loose them.

so say we fill a doping agent like clear lacquer with something that is positively charged. the lacquer needs to be mostly silicone or carbon based so that it is neutral. once the positive materials are added then the whole mess becomes positive and wants to absorb electrons.

make a second batch of this stuff but substitute a negatively charged substance (has enough electrons and wants to drop as it is easier thus it is trying to give those electrons away)

and ofcourse we need a third doped material that has a balance so it becomes a barrier. the barrier needs to be thin right? so how about a thinner in it so that when it all drys up it leaves an even coat of it but is extremely thin.

once you have all of this you need a base to place it all on and it should be conductive, as well as have a color to it. darker the better. the dark substance can be suspended though too in one of the two doped layers.

here is the trick too on choosing the doping agents, they must not only be either negative or positive but also you need to look at the frequency of light it interacts with. the more of that frequency in the light you are using to generate the electricity the more electricity or electrons the doping agents will absorb or give off. so if you choose something in the blue spectrum for the top (best as blue can be killed easier than red) then you should choose something that is effected by red for the bottom layer. the middle layer should be as clear as possible.

so for argument sake we use a plate of aluminum for the plate to apply everything to.

next we spray paint on the doped negatively charged substance.
let it dry then spray on the barrier substance.
again let this dry and then spray on the positive charged substance.

the last layer on all of this is going to be the collection or release frame wich is just a bunch of collectivly  connected traces of something conductive. I have not looked so I am not sure what charge the aluminum is so that should be checked on as well. each metal is positively or negatively prone thus why acids and differning metals make batteries. you would want though something on both sides that is not only opposing but also inert to oxidation at least to the solar cells P and N layered materials both doping and substrate substances.

real trick is if you use a flexible paint and dope it with fine powdered metal to get it to conduct power you could make solar cells that are nothing more than stickers. imagine being able to just peel and stick as much solar power as you need on something like a car or the roof of an RV.

Here is a new video of NurdRage how to make a selfmade Graetzel solar cell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrdUlPM4x0Y

I wonder, if it would be possible just to use stainless steel mesh as the electrodes..

Just sinter the TiO2 between this stainless steel mesh and also put  graphite onto the other stainless steel mesh electrode.. I guess this should also work then...

This would dramatically reduce the costs...
Then one would only need to find a better and more stable dye
with higher efficiency...

So the sun can go into the holes of the stainless steel mesh and go into the dye soaked
TiO2 with electrolyte around it.

I will try it soon.

Regards, Stefan.