Tritium

Tritium is a very rare kind of gas.

It is a part of hydrogen. It is much heavier than the hydrogen we know.

This gas can glow in the dark.

We use it in watches. It helps them shine at night. It can also make key chains glow.

Tritium does not stay the same forever. It slowly changes into something else. It turns into helium. This happens over many years.

We can make this gas in special power plants. It can also come from space. Space rays hit the air to make it.

Scientists use it to study things. It can even help make power. It is a very busy little gas.

Tritium is a rare type of hydrogen. It is a heavy isotope, which means it has more parts in its center than common hydrogen.

A tritium nucleus has one proton and two neutrons. Most hydrogen has no neutrons at all.

Tritium is radioactive. This means it is not stable. It slowly changes into helium-3. This change is called decay. It takes about 12.32 years for half of a sample to decay.

We use tritium in many ways. It can make things glow in the dark. This is called radioluminescence. It helps watch hands shine at night.

It also works in some batteries and medical tools. Scientists use it as a tracer to study things.

Nature makes a tiny amount of tritium. Cosmic rays from space hit our air to make it. Most tritium is made by people. We can make it in nuclear reactors. We often use lithium to make it. It can also be used as fuel for nuclear fusion. Fusion is a way to make huge amounts of power.

Tritium is a rare and special type of hydrogen. Scientists call it an isotope, which means it is a version of an element with a different weight. While most hydrogen is very light, tritium is the heaviest version that stays together in one piece. Its center, or nucleus, contains one proton and two neutrons. This makes it much heavier than the common hydrogen found in water. Because it is radioactive, it is not stable and will eventually change into something else.

This change is a process called decay. Tritium turns into helium-3 through a type of decay called beta-minus decay. During this process, it releases a small amount of energy and a tiny particle called an electron. It takes about 12.32 years for half of a tritium sample to decay. This timing is known as its half-life. The particles it releases are very weak. They can only travel through a tiny bit of air. They cannot even pass through the dead outer layer of human skin.

People first detected tritium in 1934. Three scientists named Ernest Rutherford, Mark Oliphant, and Paul Harteck found it. They did this by hitting deuterium with other particles. Later, in 1939, Luis Alvarez and Robert Cornog were the first to isolate it. They also discovered that it was radioactive. In 1954, a scientist named Willard Libby found a new use for it. He realized it could help date old water and wine.

Most tritium on Earth is made by people in nuclear reactors. One way to make it is by using lithium. When neutrons hit lithium-6, it creates tritium through a reaction that releases energy. It can also be made from boron-10 or deuterium. In Canada, the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station recovers tritium from heavy water. Between 1989 and 2011, this facility produced a lot of it. In the United States, special reactors at the Savannah River Site produced tritium for many years.

We use tritium in many interesting ways every day. It is used in radioluminescent lights. This means it makes things glow without needing electricity. You might see this in watches that shine in the dark. It is also used in night sights for tools and key chains. Scientists use it as a tracer to follow things in medical studies. Finally, it can be used as fuel for nuclear fusion. This is a way to create huge amounts of energy.

Tritium is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen. An isotope is a version of an element that has a different number of neutrons in its nucleus. While most hydrogen on Earth is the light version called protium, tritium is the heaviest particle-bound isotope of hydrogen. Its nucleus, sometimes called a triton, contains one proton and two neutrons. Because it is unstable, it undergoes radioactive decay. This means it will eventually transform into a different element.

The process of decay is known as beta-minus decay. During this process, a tritium nucleus transforms into a helium-3 nucleus. This reaction releases 18.6 keV of energy. The energy is carried away by an electron and a nearly undetectable electron antineutrino. The electron's kinetic energy varies, with an average of 5.7 keV. These beta particles are very weak. They can only penetrate about 0.001 cm of air. They are also incapable of passing through the dead outermost layer of human skin.

Tritium has a half-life of 12.32 years. This is the time it takes for half of a sample to decay. Because of this relatively short timeframe, tritium is difficult to store for long periods. Scientists use the low energy of its decay for specific tasks. It is used in attempts to measure the absolute mass of the neutrino. However, these measurements have not yet succeeded. Because the radiation is so low-energy, scientists must use liquid scintillation counting to detect tritium-labeled compounds.

Humans first detected tritium in 1934. Scientists Ernest Rutherford, Mark Oliphant, and Paul Harteck found it by bombarding deuterium with deuterons. They could not isolate the substance at that time. In 1939, Luis Alvarez and Robert Cornog successfully isolated tritium. They were also the ones who realized it was radioactive. Later, in 1954, Willard Libby discovered that tritium could be used for radiometric dating. This allows scientists to determine the age of water and wine samples.

Naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare on Earth. It is formed in the atmosphere when cosmic rays interact with gases like nitrogen. The world maintains a balance between new production and decay. Natural sources produce about 4 megacuries of tritium per year. This creates a global equilibrium inventory of approximately 70 megacuries. Most tritium used today is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. One common method is the neutron activation of lithium-6. This is an exothermic reaction, meaning it releases 4.8 MeV of energy.

Tritium is used in many practical and scientific ways. It serves as the energy source in radioluminescent lights. These lights do not require electricity to glow. You can find them in watch faces, night sights for firearms, and self-illuminating key chains.

In medical and scientific settings, it acts as a radioactive tracer. It is also a critical fuel for nuclear fusion. In tokamak reactors and hydrogen bombs, tritium is used alongside the more abundant deuterium. This fusion process releases about 17.6 MeV of energy.

Managing tritium is a major task for nuclear power facilities. In Canada, the Darlington Tritium Recovery Facility recovers tritium from heavy water. Between 1989 and 2011, this facility produced a total of 25,000 Ci. In Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi plant has faced challenges with tritiated water. Experts decided that a controlled environmental release was the best way to treat low-concentration water. The water is diluted to less than 1500 Bq/L before release. This level is far below the limits recommended by the World Health Organization.