More recently, people believed that an atom is an integral indivisible particle. Later it became clear that it consists of a nucleus and electrons rotating around it. At the same time, the central part was again considered indivisible and integral. Today we know that it consists of protons and neutrons. Moreover, depending on the number of the latter, the same substance may have several isotopes. So tritium - what is it? What is this substance, how to get and use it?
Tritium - what is it?
Hydrogen is the simplest substance in nature. If we talk about its most common form, which will be discussed in more detail below, then its atom consists of only one proton and one electron. However, it can also take "extra" particles, which somewhat change its properties. So, the tritium nucleus consists of a proton and two neutrons. And if protium, that is, the simplest form of hydrogen, is the most abundant element in the universe, then you can’t say about its "improved" version - it occurs in nature in small quantities.
The hydrogen isotope tritium (the name comes from the Greek word "third") was discovered in 1934 by Rutherford, Olyphant and Hartek. And in fact, they tried to find him for a very long time and hard. Immediately after the discovery of deuterium and heavy water in 1932, scientists began to search for this isotope by increasing the sensitivity of spectral analysis in the study of ordinary hydrogen. However, in spite of everything, their attempts were in vain - even in the most concentrated samples they could not even get a hint of the presence of a substance that simply had to exist. But in the end, the search was still successful - Oliphant synthesized the element using heavy water in the laboratory of Rutherford.
In short, the definition of tritium is as follows: a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, the core of which consists of a proton and two neutrons. So what is known about him?
About hydrogen isotopes
The first element of the periodic table is simultaneously the most common in the universe. Moreover, in nature it occurs in the form of one of its three isotopes: protium, deuterium, or tritium. The nucleus of the first consists of one proton, which gave it its name. By the way, this is the only stable element that does not have neutrons. The next in the series of hydrogen isotopes is deuterium. The nucleus of its atom consists of a proton and a neutron, and the name goes back to the Greek word "second".
Even heavier hydrogen isotopes with mass numbers from 4 to 7 were also obtained in the laboratory. Their half-life is limited to fractions of seconds.
The properties
The atomic mass of tritium is approximately 3.02 a. E. m. In terms of its physical properties, this substance is almost no different from ordinary hydrogen, that is, under normal conditions it is a light gas without color, taste and smell, and has high thermal conductivity. At a temperature of about -250 degrees Celsius, it becomes a light and flowing colorless liquid. The range within which it is in this state of aggregation is rather narrow. The melting point is about 259 degrees Celsius, below which hydrogen becomes a snow-like mass. In addition, this element dissolves quite well in some metals.
However, there are some differences in properties. Firstly, the third isotope has less reactivity, and secondly, tritium is radioactive and therefore unstable. The half-life is a little over 12 years. In the process of radiolysis, it turns into the third helium isotope with the emission of an electron and antineutrino.
Getting
In nature, tritium is contained in insignificant amounts and is most often formed in the upper atmosphere during the collision of cosmic particles and, for example, nitrogen atoms. However, there is also an industrial method for producing this element by irradiating lithium-6 with neutrons in nuclear reactors.
The synthesis of tritium in a volume of about 1 kilogram costs about $ 30 million.
Using
So, we learned a little more about tritium - what it is and its properties. But why is it needed? Let’s take a look below. According to some reports, the global commercial demand for tritium is about 500 grams per year, and about 7 kilograms are spent on military needs.
According to the American Institute of Energy and Environmental Research, 2.2 centners of superheavy hydrogen were produced in the United States from 1955 to 1996. And for 2003, the total reserves of this element were about 18 kilograms. What are they used for?
First, tritium is necessary to maintain the combat effectiveness of nuclear weapons, which, as you know, some countries still possess. Secondly, thermonuclear energy is not complete without it. Still tritium is used in some scientific studies, for example, in geology with its help date natural waters. Another purpose is the clock backlight power supply. In addition, experiments are underway to create ultra-low power radioisotope generators, for example, to power autonomous sensors. It is expected that in this case their service life will be about 20 years. The cost of such a generator will be about one thousand dollars.
Trinkets with a small amount of tritium inside also exist as original souvenirs. They emit a glow and look quite exotic, especially if you know about the internal content.
Danger
Tritium is radioactive, this explains part of its properties and uses. Its half-life is about 12 years, while helium-3 is formed with the emission of antineutrinos and an electron. During this reaction, 18.59 kW of energy is released and beta particles propagate in the air. It may seem strange to the layman that a radioactive isotope is used, say, to illuminate a watch, because it can be dangerous, can it not? In fact, tritium hardly threatens human health with anything, since beta particles in the process of its decay spread to a maximum of 6 millimeters and cannot overcome simple obstacles. However, this does not mean that working with it is absolutely safe - any ingestion with food, air or absorption through the skin can lead to problems. Although in most cases it is easily and quickly excreted, this is not always the case. So, tritium - what is it from the point of view of radiation hazard?
Protective measures
Despite the fact that the low decay energy of tritium does not allow radiation to seriously spread, so that beta particles cannot even penetrate the skin, do not neglect your health. When working with this isotope, you can, of course, not use a radiation protection suit, but basic rules, such as closed clothing and surgical gloves, must be observed. Since the main danger of tritium is when ingested, it is important to stop the activity in which this becomes possible. The rest is nothing to worry about.
If, nevertheless, it has been absorbed in large quantities into the tissues of the body, acute or chronic radiation sickness may develop, depending on the duration, dose and regularity of exposure. In some cases, this ailment is successfully cured, but with extensive lesions, a fatal outcome is possible.
In any normal body, there are traces of tritium, although they are absolutely insignificant and hardly affect the background radiation. Well, for lovers of watches with luminous hands, its level is several times higher, although it is still considered safe.
