Experimental Atomic Battery -- Seen through a magnifying glass is the tiny experimental atomic battery announced today by RCA. By a new method the battery makes it possible to convert atomic energy directly and simply into small but useable quantities of electrical energy. Cylinder at right has a thin coating of radioactive material on its face. It is placed next to transistor-like wafer. Radiated electrons bombard wafer and release many more electrons which provide battery's current and voltage. Experiment may be forerunner of thimble-sized atomic batteries capable of operating for at least 20 years. January 26, 1954. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).