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The new part is that it's using Americium. That's it. It's a challenge to use the material for various reasons but the wonderful thing about it is that it's easier to get hold of apparently.

The UK, in fact, has a problem with its plutonium stockpiles being polluted increasingly by Americium and now there's something it can be used for.

There are significant disadvantages (lower power per weight, high gamma ray activity) and some upsides (longer half-life by a big factor).

Piles of plutonium are pretty difficult to come by.

I figured by 1985 it’d be available in every corner drugstore.

If you have good contacts to Gadaffi and the Libyans, you might get it from them.

Just have some pinball machine parts ready to trade.

While this wasn't available in 1985, if it's a pile of parts that add up to, say, Addams Family Pinball, then that's the going rate for at least 1.5 grams of weapons-grade plutonium from the DoE last I checked (NRC and possible state fees not included).

With that much and some careful engineering, I can probably generate 1.21 jigawatts of power.

Nawh, it's already obsolete with Mr. Fusion. Just add banana peels.

it's not plutonium. it's americium