What is Tritium?
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with atoms three times the mass of ordinary light hydrogen atoms. Simply put: it glows for a long time. The half-life of tritium is 12.5 years, giving a tritium micro sphere a usable life of more than 15 years. Tritium requires no external batteries or light and is a safe, reliable way for a shooter to obtain a superior sight picture in low-light conditions. These sights are a tremendous aid in delivery of precise and accurate fire at night and in low light conditions. Night sights are identifiable by radioluminescent capsules installed into front and rear sight bodies. Decay of Tritium H3 creates soft beta rays that, when they strike the phosphor particles that coat the inside of the glass microsphere, are converted to visible light. Tritium’s half life (the time required to reduce the illumination level by 50%) is about 12.5 years. With a functional life exceeding 15 years.
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It is an odorless, tasteless, colorless gas that reacts with the human body in the same manner as natural hydrogen. Beta rays from the tritium hit phosphors to create the glow you see. Tritium has a half-life of 12.5 years, which means that in that time the lamp will be half as bright as it originally was.
Tritium is an isotope of the chemical element hydrogen. While a normal hydrogen atom has one proton, a tritium atom has two neutrons and one proton. Tritium is radioactive, and will slowly decay over a period of several decades; due to its short half-life, it is not found in nature. Tritium is primarily used for nuclear fusion and self-powered light sources. Tritium has a half-life of 12.3 years, and will beta-decay into the helium isotope Helium-3. When tritium decays, a neutron inside the nucleus will decay into a proton and an electron, which gets ejected at a high velocity. The decay of tritium is the primary source of Helium-3, which is not found in significant quantities in the Earth’s crust. Although it can cause surface burns, and may be dangerous if inhaled or ingested, the radiation given off by tritium is too weak to penetrate the skin. The deuterium-tritium fusion reaction is the easiest to obtain, and is currently the focus of research efforts into nuclear fusion. When a d
Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen. Chemically, tritium behaves like stable hydrogen and is usually found attached to molecules in place of hydrogen. For example, a water molecule may exchange one of its hydrogen atoms for a tritium atom, resulting in “tritiated water.” Tritium is constantly produced both by natural processes (the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmosphere) and by human-made processes. Tritium is used in a wide variety of consumer products such as illuminated watches, thermostat dials, and exit signs. Both the natural and human sources contribute to a worldwide background level of tritium. Q: Why is tritium used at Berkeley Lab? A: Berkeley Lab’s National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) was established as a National Institutes of Health national resource center in 1982. The Facility’s role is to conduct research, to help biomedical researchers study cell metabolism, and test new products that can be useful in curing disease. Facility staff and visiting rese
