Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used for nuclear fusion and self-powered lights. Its decay produces Helium-3 and is the working principle of hydrogen bombs. It has a long half-life and is not harmful in small doses.
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. This isotope 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 mainly used for nuclear fusion and self-powered light sources.
As tritium decays, a neutron within the nucleus will decay into a proton and an electron, which is ejected at high speed. Decay is the primary source of Helium-3, which is not found in significant quantities in the Earth’s crust. Although it can cause superficial burns and can be dangerous if inhaled or swallowed, the radiation emitted is too weak to penetrate the skin. Tritium has a half-life of 12.3 years.
The deuterium-tritium fusion reaction is the easiest to achieve and is currently the focus of nuclear fusion research efforts. When a deuterium and tritium atom collide, they can fuse to produce a helium nucleus and a neutron, which fly off at high speed. The neutron can then be passed through a lithium blanket to generate more fuel; when a lithium atom is hit by a neutron, it can split, producing a helium atom and another tritium atom. This is also the working principle of hydrogen bombs, which use a fission bomb to produce neutrons, generating tritium from the lithium inside the bomb.
Because of its long half-life, abundance, and lack of penetrating power, tritium has replaced radium as the energy source for self-powered lights. An exit sign, clock or viewfinder made with this isotope can continue to glow for decades without any external energy source. The green or red glow is not produced by the tritium itself; electrons from recently decayed atoms strike a phosphor, which then glows from the added energy.
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