Tritium Facts for Kids

Tritium is a special kind of hydrogen. Hydrogen is the lightest element we know! Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen. This means it's a different version of hydrogen.

Think of it like this: all hydrogen atoms have one proton. But ordinary hydrogen has no neutrons. Another type, deuterium, has one neutron. Tritium is heavier because it has one proton and two neutrons. The special symbol for Tritium is ³H or just T.

Where Does Tritium Come From?
How Is Tritium Used?
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Where Does Tritium Come From?

In nature, tritium is made high up in the Earth's atmosphere. It happens when tiny, fast-moving particles called cosmic rays hit nitrogen atoms.

Tritium doesn't stay around for a very long time. It has a half-life of about eight years. This means that after eight years, half of any amount of tritium will have changed into something else. Because of this, there isn't a lot of natural tritium in the air.

However, people can make much more tritium. They do this in special places called nuclear reactors. This allows us to use it for different things.

How Is Tritium Used?

Tritium has some important uses:

Powering the Future

Tritium is very important for something called nuclear fusion power. This is a way to create energy, similar to how the sun makes energy. Scientists hope fusion power can be a clean and powerful energy source in the future.

Tritium is also used in some very powerful explosions, like those in certain types of weapons.

Making Things Glow

One cool use for tritium is making things glow in the dark. It's often mixed with special materials called phosphors. You might see this in key-rings or on the sights of rifles.

Tritium makes the phosphors glow because it is radioactive. This means it gives off tiny bits of energy. When this energy hits the phosphor, the phosphor lights up.

A long time ago, before we could make a lot of tritium, people used a different material called radium to make things glow. But radium was very dangerous and could make people sick, even causing cancer. Tritium is much safer for these uses because it gives off less harmful radiation and has a shorter half-life.

Tritium in the Ocean

Sometimes, tritium can be found in unexpected places. For example, in 2013, scientists found higher levels of tritium in the Pacific Ocean near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This was two years after a big event called the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

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